Usually when a perennial Super Bowl contender loses two in a row, the players on said team rally together and forge ahead – especially when there are only four games left in the season.

The Patriots are in the midst of a two game losing streak, find themselves only one game up on the Dolphins and Jets in the division and can’t win on the road. Instead of showing signs of sticking together, the team seems to be falling apart.

Earlier this week, Tom Brady called out his team for not being tough enough. Today, ESPN.com is reporting that four Patriots – Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess, Adalius Thomas and Gary Guyton – were all sent home from Gillette Stadium for being late for an 8 a.m. meeting. None of the players will be able to participate in meetings or practices on Wednesday.

Granted, the report also states that the players were delayed by weather and nobody can confirm how late the four actually were. But does that really matter? There are 53 players on New England’s roster and 49 of them were able to get to the meeting on time. I don’t live in the area, but I’m pretty sure New England broadcasts potential weather delays, so Moss and company don’t have a legitimate excuse for being late. They should have planned accordingly.

In their last four games, the Pats host the Panthers, are at the Bills, are home against the Jaguars and are at the Texans. Those are four winnable games for a New England team that ranks second in the NFL in total offense and is scoring close to 30 points a game. But the Patriots are just 1-5 on the road this season and 5-4 in conference. They also have the makings of an average defense and they’ve gone from a team that excels in crunch time to one that flounders in it.

Given that Burgess and Thomas haven’t shown up on Sundays this season anyway, it’s surprising that anyone knew they were missing in the first place. But the bottom line is that Bill Belichick had to send four of his players home today because they couldn’t show up on time for a meeting. What happens next is key. Will the Patriots rally together and forge ahead or will they repeat the same mistakes that have haunted them this season and stumble into the playoffs (or miss them altogether)?

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