Yesterday’s 22-12 loss to the Miami Dolphins effectively ended the Patriots season as they were eliminated from playoff contention. Look on the bright side. At least we don’t have to listen to talk about a “path” anymore.

With the loss, the Patriots will now play out the proverbial string against the Bills and the Jets. For the first time in 11 years and only the second time in the last twenty years, we are not talking about the playoffs around these parts.

Given the current state of the Patriots roster, we might not be talking about the playoffs for a while. The Patriots roster is bad as we are all aware and it needs to be overhauled.

The first place that Bill Belichick needs to start the overhaul is at quarterback. It is abundantly obvious that the quarterback of the future is not in the building based on Cam Newton’s performance and Jarrett Stidham’s inability to get on the field. Finding Tom Brady’s long term replacement is priority number one this off-season.

Addressing tight end, wide receiver, defensive line and linebacker is also a priority as the Patriots are thin talent wise at all of those positions.

The Patriots will also have some hard choices to make when it comes to some of the players currently on the roster. Will Belichick want to commit to guard Joe Thuney long term? Are Donta Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Stephon Gilmore and Patrick Chung on the roster next season. Then of course there is the future of Devin McCourty, who may opt to retire.

Belichick will have plenty of cap space, a high draft pick and roster flexibility. He will be able to bring in the players he wants to turn this thing around. The roster needs to overhauled especially at certain positions if the Patriots want to get back into playoff contention.

Years of cap mismanagement and not having Brady around to bail them out finally caught up to the Patriots. They are mediocre and being in the middle is a precarious spot to be in the NFL. Ask the Denver Broncos.

For the first time in twenty years, there is actual uncertainty surrounding the Patriots. Not media generated uncertainty. Real uncertainty. This is the most important off-season of Belichick’s career. How he fixes this team will determine what kind of success he has in his remaining tenure as Patriots coach.