(My Sportsbook) - It is unlikely that Bill Belichick would believe in a notion such as karmic irony, but if you're the sort inclined to subscribe to such an idea, you found it in spades during the New England Patriots' 2008 season.

The man believed to be the mastermind behind "Spygate," who had his entire resume' and all of his sideline abilities questioned during that ugly episode for both the team and the NFL, may have done the best coaching job of his career in 2008.

The Patriots were left for dead by many league observers when superstar quarterback Tom Brady was knocked out for the year with a knee injury suffered in Week 1, and subsequent season-enders suffered by the likes of Laurence Maroney and Rodney Harrison did nothing to silence the death knell that had been signaled for Belichick's crew.

But Belichick put his team's fate in the hands of quarterback Matt Cassel, who hadn't started a football game since high school, made a name for the previously anonymous likes of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, made his umpteenth call to future Hall of Famer Junior Seau, and watched as his makeshift roster scratched and clawed its way to 11-5, tied with the surprising Dolphins for the best mark in the AFC East.

If Super Bowl titles were awarded based on the ability to do more with less, Belichick would have been standing on a podium Feb. 1st in Tampa, hoisting his fourth Lombardi Trophy to the heavens.

Instead, the vagaries of NFL tiebreaking rules and overall strength of the AFC conspired to make the Patriots the first team to miss the playoffs with a record of 11-5 or better since the Denver Broncos were turned away from a 10- team postseason bracket in 1985.

Only five teams in the league had a better record than the Patriots in 2008, but you would have had a tough time finding anyone around NFL nation - outside of the greater New England area, that is - who was going to shed a lot of tears for Belichick and his team.

The Patriots may not have been a postseason team last season, but their status as one of the league's chief villains remained firmly intact, and that profile won't be going away with Brady back in the lineup to lead an unquestioned Super Bowl contender in 2009.

All of which has to be just fine with Belichick, who doesn't care if he or his team is beloved...even if they were owed a considerable measure of respect for their efforts during a difficult '08.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2009 edition of the New England Patriots, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2008 RECORD: 11-5 (t1st, AFC East)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2007, lost to N.Y. Giants, 17-14, in Super Bowl

COACH (RECORD): Bill Belichick (102-42 in nine seasons with Patriots, 138-86 overall)

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: None

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Dean Pees

OFFENSIVE STAR: Tom Brady, QB (76 passing yards)

DEFENSIVE STAR: Richard Seymour, DE (52 tackles, 8 sacks)

OFFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 6th rushing, 12th passing, 8th scoring

DEFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 15th rushing, 11th passing, 8th scoring

KEY ADDITIONS: QB Andrew Walter (from Raiders), RB Fred Taylor (from Jaguars), WR Joey Galloway (from Buccaneers), WR Brandon Tate (3rd Round, North Carolina), WR Greg Lewis (from Eagles), TE Chris Baker (from Jets), TE Alex Smith (from Buccaneers), OL Sebastian Vollmer (2nd Round, Houston), NT Ron Brace (2nd Round, Boston College), OLB Derrick Burgess (from Raiders), OLB Tully Banta-Cain (from 49ers), LB Vinny Ciurciu (from Vikings), CB Leigh Bodden (from Lions), CB Shawn Springs (from Redskins), CB Darius Butler (2nd Round, Connecticut), S Brandon McGowan (from Bears), S Patrick Chung (2nd Round, Oregon), LS Nathan Hodel (from Cardinals), LS Jake Ingram (6th Round, Hawaii)

KEY DEPARTURES: QB Matt Cassel (to Chiefs), RB LaMont Jordan (to Broncos), FB Heath Evans (to Saints), WR Jabar Gaffney (to Broncos), WR Kelley Washington (to Ravens), T Barry Stokes (not tendered), OL Russ Hochstein (to Broncos), DT Le Kevin Smith (to Broncos), LB Larry Izzo (to Jets), LB Mike Vrabel (to Chiefs), LB Rosevelt Colvin (not tendered), LB Junior Seau (not tendered), CB Ellis Hobbs (to Eagles), CB Deltha O'Neal (not tendered), CB Lewis Sanders (not tendered), SS Rodney Harrison (retired), LS Lonie Paxton (to Broncos)

QB: Though Cassel did an admirable job and made himself a nice chunk of free agent money in the process, there should be little debate that the Patriots missed Brady in a big way in 2008. The three-time Super Bowl winner might have some rust when he steps back on the field for real, and probably won't flirt with another 50-touchdown season, but all indications are that he'll be close to the same player he was prior to the injury. The new backup will probably be second-year-pro Kevin O'Connell, who almost won the job from Cassel prior to last season and will need to be ready if Brady has a setback. New England typically keeps three quarterbacks, which bodes well for Andrew Walter (204 passing yards, 3 INT), who made nine starts for some truly awful Raider teams between 2006 and 2008.

RB: How Belichick distributes touches among the running backs is one of the truly intriguing subplots of the late summer. Four players who have started games in the New England backfield - Laurence Maroney (93 rushing yards), Sammy Morris (727 rushing yards, 17 receptions, 7 TD), Kevin Faulk (507 rushing yards, 58 receptions, 6 TD), and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (275 rushing yards, 5 TD) - are on the preseason roster, and the team also brought in all- time leading Jaguars rusher Fred Taylor (556 rushing yards, 1 TD with Jacksonville) to compete for carries. Taylor is 33, but the Pats have had good luck with veteran backs and he figures to stick. Conventional wisdom says the player least likely to stick is Green-Ellis, who was elevated from the practice squad and played decently a year ago, but simply doesn't have the pedigree of the men with whom he's competing.

WR/TE: The person who has to be happiest about Brady's return is Randy Moss (69 receptions, 11 TD), who managed to go over 1,000 yards again a year ago but didn't seem to have the same chemistry with Cassel that he did with Brady. Wes Welker (111 receptions, 3 TD) caught everything thrown his way and made his first career Pro Bowl last year, but the returned presence of Brady, along with the addition of a new weapon in Joey Galloway (13 receptions with Tampa Bay), will probably cut into his numbers just slightly. Galloway is 37 and was burdened by injuries last season, but is just two years removed from a 1,000-yard season and can still fly. Former Eagle Greg Lewis (19 receptions, 1 TD with Philadelphia) is battling for No. 4 receiver duties, but will have to beat out holdovers Sam Aiken (8 receptions) and Matthew Slater for time on the field. The depth chart at tight end has been altered as well, with ex-Jet Chris Baker (21 receptions with the Jets) and former Buccaneer Alex Smith (21 receptions, 3 TD with Tampa Bay) getting an opportunity along with mainstays Benjamin Watson (22 receptions, 2 TD) and David Thomas (9 receptions).

OL: There will be a great deal of pressure on the trench group to keep the heat off of Brady, especially after it raised some eyebrows by allowing 47 sacks of the immobile Cassel a year ago. The starting unit is expected to remain the same, from left to right - tackle Matt Light, guard Logan Mankins, center Dan Koppen, guard Stephen Neal, and tackle Nick Kaczur. The backup crew could be slightly different, with the development of second-round tackle Sebastian Vollmer (Houston), fourth-round guard Rich Ohrnberger (Penn State) and fifth-round tackle George Bussey (Louisville) probably helping to determine the fate of a couple of vets. Either way, Mark LeVoir will probably hang around as the swing tackle and Billy Yates the top backup at guard.

DL: The Patriots' three-man line may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but remains one of the most productive defensive fronts in the league. The primary five-man rotation of nose tackle Vince Wilfork (66 tackles, 2 sacks), ends Ty Warren (41 tackles, 2 sacks) and Richard Seymour (52 tackles, 8 sacks), and top backups Mike Wright (28 tackles, 2.5 sacks) at tackle and Jarvis Green (29 tackles, 2 sacks) at end will be back in force, and second-rounder Ron Brace (Boston College) looks like the heir apparent to Wilfork at nose tackle.

LB: A priority on defense for the Patriots is getting more pass rushing production from the outside linebackers, as New England got only 10 of its 31 sacks from that position a year ago. The trade of Mike Vrabel to Kansas City allows the team to get younger, and 24-year-old Shawn Crable and 27-year-old Pierre Woods (35 tackles, 1 sack) should be in the mix opposite veteran holdover Adalius Thomas (34 tackles, 5 sacks). The Pats also dealt for ex- Raider Derrick Burgess (24 tackles, 3.5 sacks), but the fact that he has played his entire career as a 4-3 end could make the transition to outside linebacker somewhat difficult. Things look a bit more stable on the inside, where Jerod Mayo (128 tackles) and Tedy Bruschi (75 tackles) will be the starters, and Gary Guyton (34 tackles) and ex-Viking Vinny Ciurciu (11 tackles with Minnesota) figure to do most of their damage on special teams.

DB: There isn't an area of this team that has had less stability during the Belichick era than the secondary, and nothing has changed in that regard in 2009. Free agent pickups Shawn Springs (36 tackles, 1 INT with Washington) and Leigh Bodden (73 tackles, 1 INT with Detroit) look like the starting corners, with holdovers Terrence Wheatley (2 tackles) and Jonathan Wilhite (28 tackles, 1 INT) as their backups. Springs is 34 and has finished just one 16-game season since 2000, but remains one of the best in the league when healthy. With Harrison gone after six seasons in New England, extra pressure will be on safeties Brandon Meriweather (83 tackles, 4 INT, 2 sacks) and James Sanders (64 tackles, 1 INT) to take care of that area. That said, the team has high hopes for second-round strong safety Pat Chung (Oregon), who should be able to get on the field at some point. Ex-Bear Brandon McGowan (4 tackles with Chicago) and holdover Ray Ventrone (7 tackles) could be battling for one roster spot.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Patriots kicking game will remain intact, with Chris Hanson (43.7 avg.) still one of the best in the league at directional punting and kicker Stephen Gostkowski (36-40 FG) coming off a Pro Bowl appearance. Welker (9.9 punt return avg.) is back to field punt returns, but regular kickoff return man Ellis Hobbs was traded to the Eagles in the offseason, leaving a void there. One of the team's several backup running backs and backup wideout Matthew Slater (14.1 kickoff return avg.) are among the top candidates there. Sixth-round draft choice Jake Ingram (Hawaii) and ex-Cardinal Nathan Hodel are contending for long snapper duties.

PROGNOSIS: Not one to make subtle tweaks here and there in the interests of incremental improvement, Belichick has upgraded an already-talented roster to a point that suggests he has every expectation of getting back to a Super Bowl this February. Obviously, the Pats are unlikely to get there unless Brady stays healthy, but a look at the two-deep makes it clear that New England could probably withstand an injury at any other position and keep on rolling. Much like they were during their near-perfect season of 2007, the Patriots are a team with scary talent and great coaching, and anyone suggesting this team is not a realistic Super Bowl contender hasn't been paying much attention to what has been going on in Foxborough during the current decade.