Has Belichick the Master Finally Been Mastered?

Watching the Patriots-Saints game last night, it became clear that we may have been witnessing the beginning of the end of an era.

I know, I know. One game does not a trend make.  But...

What I saw was something I have not seen on the field or on the sidelines of a Patriots' game in a long time: frustration, confusion, disappointment and fatalism.  All of the first three are not new, although not often seen.  The last one, fatalism, is one I haven't witnessed before in its true form and in such abundance.

To see Hoody Bill look lost and searching for an answer, any answer, was a shock to the system. He was his typical stoic self in the first half, showing just a little emotion when Brady and company were able to put some points on the board. Then in the second half, he looked like he wanted to be almost anywhere but wearing the headphones and holding his play list on the New England sidelines.

A lot of the reason for that look had to do with the Saints' dominance on both sides of the ball. They were locked and loaded and came ready to play. They were playing at home to a very appreciative crowd and were battling to remain undefeated this season.

Why this happened can be explained by many things that have happened over the past year or so.

Trading Richard Seymour might be one of the biggest, as he took much of the heart and soul from the defense. The injury-riddled group that was left didn't have the heart, the players or the coaching to stop the brilliant performance by the New Orleans offense.

The inability to give Brady his usual time to find open receivers and hit them in stride and the swarming defense that held those receivers to a very low YAC was also a contributor.

I also might have seen the first cracks in the mutual love affair between Moss and his current team, which may not bode well for the chemistry the rest of this season. (Where have we seen this act before?)

These things happen all the time in the NFL to just about every other coach and team. But this is the first time I saw it so distinctly in not only Belichick's face and demeanor, but in Brady, Moss, Welker, et. al.

Maybe, just maybe, we are seeing Billy B and the Patriots sliding back to the rest of the pack.