Photo Provided by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Written by Michael Egan

Bill Belichick’s power is gone. Finished. Kaput.

It was great while it lasted though, wasn’t it? Four Super Bowl appearances, three rings and one unforgettable perfect regular season. We’ll always have the memories. *Sniffle

But seriously, it’s over. The defensive genius that has occupied New England’s sideline for more than a decade is now nothing more than a confused old man, fumbling for control of his team.

It’s kind of like the closing minutes of Varsity Blues when Jon Voight tries to choke-slam James Van Der Beek. (Can you really blame him? Wouldn’t you choke-slam Dawson if you had the chance? Of course you would.) He looks around the locker room wild-eyed and quickly tries to regain control of his team. But it’s clear to him and everyone in the room that it’s over. The last image we see is of him walking out of the locker room alone.

That’s kind of how I feel about Belichick. For so long everyone in Patriot Nation—including the players in the locker room—has ascribed to the blasphemous notion “In Bill We Trust.” And we had to buy into it because he found a way to make it work. He was an intimidator, a dictator ruling with an iron fist. He filled the roster with high-character guys who would fall in line and obey authority. But, the minute any player showed the slightest sign of dissension, they were gone.

Heck, even Patriots owner Robert Kraft has bought into it—to the point that he’s allowed Bill to take the entire organization hostage. On draft day, Bill controls all the chips. On game day, Bill pulls the strings on the sidelines and gets his puppets—err, coordinators—to do his will. In the locker room, Bill cuts guys who don’t fall in line. (Sorry, Leigh Bodden. You picked a bad time to cop an attitude.)

Unfortunately, Belichick’s philosophy isn’t working anymore. And he’s one Ochocinco choke-slam away from a slow and lonely walk down the tunnel with no one behind him.

Belichick’s last Super Bowl ring came all the way back in the 2004 season. He hasn’t led his team to a playoff win since January 20, 2008. And his team has been bounced out of the playoffs their last three appearances. Something’s clearly not working.

Since the days of Randy Moss, Belichick has ignored the defensive side of the ball and loaded up on offensive weapons for Tom Brady. And for a while, that was OK because the offense was putting so many points on the board. Who needs a pass rush when your offense is scoring 50 points a game?

But now we’re sitting here almost halfway through the 2011 NFL season with the worst defense in the entire league and an offense that’s sputtering at best. An offense, mind you, that has been consistently getting worse week after week. Just look at the point totals: 38, 35, 31. 31, 30, 20, 17. Notice a trend? At this rate, the Patriots will be getting blanked in January when it matters most.

When your offense can’t cover the sins your defense is committing, you’re in trouble. And this Patriots team is in some serious trouble.

And if you’re looking for someone to blame, look no further than the guy in the hooded sweatshirt.