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FOXBORO - The first thing to be noticed upon entering the Patriots' locker room Monday morning were shoes - used cleats everywhere, all sizes and styles, all of them no longer of any use to anyone and ready to be discarded.

That fit the mood of the locker room of the AFC East champions, who were similarly discarded from the playoffs a day earlier by the Baltimore Ravens.

"I don't think anybody in here is pleased how it ended," said center Dan Koppen. "But you've just got to go on from there, take the time that we have and move on. I don't think anyone came into this week and came into this game knowing how it was going to go. Obviously, when it starts out like that, it's tough to come back from. It was a tough loss."

The Patriots fell behind 24-0 in the first quarter of Sunday's game and never recovered, losing 33-14 and being ousted from the playoffs in the opening round for the first time since the 1998 season. It was their first home playoff loss since 1978 as well.

And as they packed their belongings and headed out into the world unburdened with football for the first time since July, they were leaving with the knowledge that many of them won't be back. "Unfortunately, that's the nature of the business," Koppen said. "Things change from year to year ... coaches, players ... and the guys in this locker room understand that and know that.

"Bill (Belichick) and the guys upstairs ... luckily, that's their job," he continued. "They've got to decide what to do next year, and we've just got to take the time off now, come back and hopefully be better."

Among the many players who became free agents with the final tick of the clock Sunday were two of Koppen's teammates on the offensive line, guards Stephen Neal and Logan Mankins. The oft-injured Neal hinted in post-game comments Sunday that he may be pondering retirement, while Mankins will be a restricted free agent.

"Steve's been here a long time," Koppen said, "and whatever he decides, he's going to do what's best for him and his family. It's one of those things where it's the NFL - new guys come in, new coaches, and that's the business side of it. You'd like to have everybody back, you'd like to have everybody in this locker room, but unfortunately, that's not always the case."

Another free agent is kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who ended an otherwise stellar season on a sour note when he missed a 44-yard field goal attempt late in Sunday's game.

"You look around and you wonder who's going to be here and who's not," he said, "but that's out of your hands and out of your control."

Gostkowski has scored more than 100 points in each of his four NFL seasons and he booms his kickoffs, and he will be a restricted free agent, so there's little reason to believe the Patriots would not want to bring him back.

"It's out of my hands," the kicker said. "What I've done here the last four years has already been done. There's nothing more I can do, no more kicks I can make or miss. Hopefully my four years here will speak for themselves.

"It's definitely a place that I want to be back at," he said.

Gostkowski said he shared the feeling expressed by others that the season ended prematurely, and that he now has a disjointed feeling from the sudden disruption in his routine. "You're so controlled," he said. "You have an itinerary telling you where to be at what time be here at 8 o'clock, meetings start at 8, practice at 12. Now I've got no itinerary, so what do you do? Just being dedicated for a whole season, putting a lot of work and effort into it, and it's just disappointing because it looks like we didn't come out and play.

"It's tough to swallow," he said. "You can't quite figure out why it happens, but it does."

For some, the end of their first season in the pros was a graduation of sorts.

"Now I've got some time to reflect on this season," said rookie defensive back Darius Butler, "and I can be a pro. I learned how to study the game and apply it to what I do on the field."

As for linebacker Adalius Thomas, he seemed to be pretty sure that this would be his last day in the Patriots' locker room. After being benched for a game from lack of performance, and another for being late to meetings and talking openly about his punishment, Thomas seemed to accept that he had basically shot his way out of town long before any formalities of a trade or outright release.

"It was an unusual year, but that's part of it and you've got to take the good with the bad," he said. "You move on, and that's it."