Doubting Thomas still a Patriot.

Those who were expecting a quick resolution to the Adalius Thomas saga today will be disappointed, but the disgruntled (and outspoken about it) linebacker was on the practice field for the Patriots as they continued preparation for Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium against the 5-7 Carolina Panthers (1 p.m.; Ch. 25, 64).

Thomas was one of four players who were sent home from the stadium Wednesday after they arrived late to the 8 a.m. meeting -- presumably because of the snowfall that clogged the morning commute.

All four have been at practice since, and only one, Randy Moss (not surprisingly), has not spoken to the media about it. Linebacker Gary Guyton refused to answer any questions about his tardiness today, while fellow linebacker Derrick Burgess said he was disappointed in himself for putting himself in a position where he would be disciplined.

The guess here is that Bill Belichick will wait until after the season to drop the hammer upon Thomas. There are salary cap ramifications to a release now that would make it prohibitive, and there's always the possibility that Thomas (who has been acting pretty much like a me-first mercenary all season) may motivate himself to play hard over the last month of the season and make himself more attractive to other teams for the day when Belichick sends him packing.

The fallout of this, however, is that now there's clear evidence that the "locker room culture" of the past is dead and buried. There are no longer any players in the locker room with the cache to tell malcontents to shut their mouths and play, as there had been in the past. Thomas was supposed to be one of the next generation of leaders, and he failed miserably.

The Patriots will probably still limp their way into the playoffs and be ousted no later than the second round (they'll get a home game if they win the AFC East), but the "dynasty" is dead -- and that was evident much earlier in the season when one veteran after another either retired or was shipped elsewhere.