Understanding how the Patriots will cope with a serious loss…

The Patriots have now reached the “acceptance” part of the aftermath of Super Bowl XLVI. It happened, they must deal with it and move forward. To that end, colleague Karen Guregian wrote an interesting article today discussing how the Patriots will mentally handle the devastating circumstances in Indianapolis. Safety James Sanders, who dealt with the loss in 2007, said such difficulties “fuel you and encourage you” to make you want to get the taste out of you mouth. Dr. Craig Rodgers, director of Harvard’s AAPEX program in sports psychology, put the onus on resiliency for the team and for WR Wes Welker. “It’s a question of how a person in that situation makes meaning of it,’’ Rodgers said. “Obviously, you can’t go back and change the past. (You can’t get) so focused on things you can’t control that it creates a distraction and takes your attention away from the things you need to do to achieve the outcome you want (next year).’’ It’s an interesting pie...