Superman had it right. Sometimes you just need a Fortress of Solitude.

There is a fairly large group of people that hasn't heard a word from me since I turned my phone off before the game last Sunday. While a fair number of them are probably rejoicing in this welcome break from any and all contact with me, I'm sure there are a few others who are wondering whether or not I'm still alive. Well to all those who haven't heard from me - I'm fine. I won't be speaking to any of you anytime soon, but you can rest assured that I'm going to be OK.

I've experienced all five stages of grief over the past few weeks. Denial was definitely the hardest step to get over, as I just kept replaying scenarios in my head where Wes Welker makes that catch or Rob Gronkowski comes down with that Hail Mary. I actually allowed myself to get excited for a split second before realizing it was all in my head and I just ended up mad. Luckily for me, Stage 2 in the grieving process is anger. I wasn't so much angry at the Patriots as I was angry at myself; mad for caring so much, mad for investing myself emotionally in this team, and mad for not doing enough touchdown dances or wearing enough pairs of lucky drawers or any other anti-jinx activity that may have made things turn out differently. Stages 3 and 4, Bargaining and Depression, are stages that I realized some time ago that we as sports fans can never truly move past, so the best we can hope for is come to grips with them. I know that I'm NEVER going to stop saying "if only Welker had caught that pass" or "if only Asante had come up with that pick," and so there is no point trying to move on from that. While I will get less and less depressed over it with time, it will never be gone completely, so all I can really do is acknowledge my mania and move on.

Which brings me to the final stage: acceptance. I've accepted the 2011 season. It didn't go the way I wanted it to, but it didn't go the way 30 other teams wanted it to either. As of today, the Patriots have still gone a whopping 7 whole years without a title (which the Boston media seems to have forgotten isn't really a very long time), and that's just the way it is. The doubters will continue to doubt, the haters will continue to hate, lips will continue to flap in the New York/New Jersey area, and the Patriot Way will march on, undeterred.

And you know what? I can live with that.

Sure, there were some moments over the past few weeks I'm not overly proud of. There may have been a lot of sitting at home in the dark. I may have taken more than a few long, hot showers while fully clothed and rocking back and forth with my knees drawn up to my chest. I might have dug my old teddy bear out of the attic and slept with it for a few nights. But that's neither here nor there. The bottom line is that while I'm never going to be over this loss, I'm not about to dwell on it. I'm proud as hell of the 2011 Patriots and am once again blown away by Bill Belichick's ability to get the absolute best out of everyone and Tom Brady's ability to make those around him look like superstars. I'm ready and excited to ride with Tommy B on this last stretch of his career, a career that is NOT tainted in any way by this loss, no matter what anyone else says. I know that New England is going to be right back after it in September, and between now and then we have the combine, free agency, the draft, mini-camps, trading, and pre-season to keep us sane. Once again, the Pats are well-positioned for all facets of the NFL league year, and I for one am very excited to see what this offense will be able to do with a full offseason to gel and Josh McDaniels back at the helm.

One thing you aren't going to see much from me going forward is a whole lot of draft coverage. Unlike Mel Kiper, I'm willing to admit that I have no idea what I'm talking about in regards to the NFL Draft. I don't follow college football as closely as I should, there are people on Pats Pulpit way more knowledgeable about the matter than me, and at the end of the day we all know that Bill Belichick is going to be trading up and down the board like a madman on draft day and will likely select players I have never even heard of anyway. The only thing I can say for sure is that the odds are good the Patriots will come away from this draft with a fair number of "value" picks and a bunch of selections for the following year. I'd love to sit here and speculate on whether this will FINALLY be the year the Patriots move up in the draft, are aggressive in free agency, and surround Tommy B with some serious talent as he gears up for one last push for a ring - but doing that will only get my hopes up and will may cause that first trade down for a cornerback I've never heard of to send me right back to Stage 1.

What I am excited about, however, is this 2012 Free Agent class. There are several big names on the market this year, many of whom would be a great fit for the Patriots, and I can see coach Belichick going after players on both sides of the ball to supplement his draft strategy. I'm currently compiling a wish list of sorts of free agents that I would love to see the Patriots pursue, which I will be sharing with you all over the coming weeks. We are almost exactly a month away from the start of free agency, so there is a lot to cover. And I'm excited to start covering it.

I know it was bad, but it could definitely be worse. It's time for us all to move on.

The Pats are going to be fine. And so are we.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Kevin Faulk

Age: 35

Position: Running back

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 7 games played; 3 starts; 17 carries, 57 yards; 7 receptions, 24 yards

Overview: After 13 incredible years with the Patriots, it looks like Kevin Faulk's career could be coming to an end. Faulk has been supplanted by Danny Woodhead as the team's primary 3rd down back. After coming off the PUP list earlier this year, Faulk initially played a big role in the Steelers game, before his playtime fell off completely. While part of the reason could have been due to a sore knee as Faulk recovered from a torn ACL, it was pretty apparent by the end of the year that the Patriots would be moving on from him. While I could see the Patriots offering Faulk an unguaranteed contract to compete for a spot in training camp, he appears a longshot to be on the 53 man roster this September. Nonetheless, Faulk has had a great career in New England, and is one of the smartest, hardworking players to ever play for the Patriots. I could definitely envision a scenario where he returns to the Patriots as a member of the coaching staff in 2012, since that's what his role has essentially been the past two years.

Prediction: Retires (and maybe returns an an assistant coach)

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Dan Koppen

Age: 32

Position: Center

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 16 game played; 1 start

Overview: It's pretty difficult to project what the Patriots will do with longtime center Dan Koppen. After having played and started all but one game since 2010, Koppen suffered a broken leg in the Patriots' season opener against the Dolphins and was lost for the season. Koppen has been the Patriots starting center since 2003, and it would be tough to see him go. But at this point, the Patriots can't be sentimental and need to make the correct football decision. All of this being said, while it is hard to know for sure, I'd like to think Koppen still has enough in the tank to be an effective starting center for another couple of years. Koppen's situation with the Patriots will probably come down to two things. First, what will his asking price be? Second, what will happen with the Patriots' other option at the position who is also a free agent, Dan Connolly? My guess would be that Koppen re-signs with the Patriots for another two years at $6 million - very similar to the deal that the Patriots struck with Stephen Neal in the 2010 offseason.

Prediction: Re-signs on 2 year, $6 million deal

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Shaun Ellis

Age: 34

Position: Defensive End

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 14 games played; 10 games started; 14 tackles; 1 sack

Overview: Shaun Ellis is certainly a name that should generate some interesting discussion. There's no doubt that Ellis had a disappointing 2011 campaign with the Patriots, after signing a one year, $4 million deal in August. Ellis' stats weren't impressive, but he seemed to develop more of a role for himself late in the year as the Patriots switched to the 3-4, and also came up big in the playoffs - picking up a sack against the Broncos and making several stops against the run in Super Bowl XLVI. It would be hard to see Ellis back at a high cost, but if he were willing to take a significant pay cut, I could see Ellis coming back real cheap to compete for a job in training camp. He could form a nice rotation at right end with Brandon Deaderick. But again, the price has to be right, and I'm not sure if Ellis will even want to return if the Patriots don't offer a good deal.

Prediction: Is offered a $1 million contract, but chooses to sign elsewhere / retire

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Matthew Slater

Age: 26

Position: Wide receiver / safety / special teams

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 16 games played; 3 games started; 24 tackles; 1 reception, 46 yards

Overview: Matthew Slater, the jack-of-all-trades player for the Patriots, who made the Pro Bowl in 2011 for his work on special teams, will more than likely be resigned by the Patriots, as I believe the team values him more than any other team will. Of course, if some team hands him a big offer, the Patriots probably won't match, but I don't see that happening. Slater is a great leader, great special teams guy, and is the type of versatile player all coaches would like to have in their locker room. He'll probably never put up big stats, but the 2008 5th round pick out of UCLA has become rather indispensable for the Pats.

Prediction: Re-signs on 4 year, $6.5 million deal

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

James Ihedigbo

Age: 28

Position: Safety

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 16 games played, 12 games started, 69 total tackles, 1 pass defensed

Overview: When the Patriots first signed Ihedigbo in August, the thought was that he had the chance to compete for a roster spot in a special teams role. Because of injuries and other personnel moves, Ihedigbo got forced into the starting lineup early on and ended up being a pleasant surprise. Ihedigbo ended up finishing fourth on the team in solo tackles, and also picked up 20 tackles and a sack in the playoffs. While Ihedigbo put together a solid for the Patriots in 2011, the team will know not to overpay for him, as he has his limits. Ihedigbo is very good against the run and is also a good blitzing safety. However, he can be a liability in coverage, which means that he's only a two down player. The Patriots will likely want to bring him back, and I see him wanting to return as well, probably along the lines of a two year deal.

Prediction: Re-signs on 2 year, $2.9 million deal

The last time I wrote one of these was after a loss to the Giants in Week 9. It wasn't fun to write then and it's even less fun to write now.

I'm no miracle worker. If I was, I would have a lot more money and I would be typing this article from a beach somewhere as I sipped some girly tropical drink and adjusted my gut so I tanned evenly and didn't have pale white lines across my stomach that made me look like some weird, out-of-shape version of Freddy Kreuger. I'm under no impression that I have the answers or know much about anything. I also don't think that I'll be able to make anyone feel any better this morning, no matter what I say here. I even debated not even bothering with this article, as I was worried that it might come across as empty and meaningless. But I've had a lot of time to think over the past two days, as I lay awake in bed staring at the ceiling all night, and the truth is that there is still plenty of reasons for optimism around New England - although it may not seem like it at the moment.

What I have to offer is not going to take the pain away. But hopefully I can at least help some of you realize that once we get through this initial hurricane of sadness, there is actually some light on the horizon. A fair number of you expressed optimism in the comments section of yesterday's Fan Notes, and there were some very good points to be made. I've taken some of them, added a few of my own, and come up with six things that might help to get you through what promises to be a long, long offseason.

I figure since it was a slightly bigger loss than the last time, we could use one extra.

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I don't really know what I'm supposed to say here.

The Giants' pass rush was nonexistant. There were points to be had on almost every drive. New York put the ball on the ground three times. The defense played as well as you could have possibly asked for. The running game was good enough to keep the defense honest. There were players open. The Patriots had chance after chance to put the game away. But they couldn't get it done. And once again, the Giants came through in the clutch and scored the game winner late after a ridiculous circus catch. That's pretty much all there is to it.

I don't have it in me to say much more than that. Fan Notes after the jump.

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