Because the Patriots will probably balk at free agent defensive back Asante Samuel’s contract demands, it’s likely the standout won’t be in a New England uniform next season.

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE / David Bauman

This is the second of four stories about questions the Patriots will face as they begin to build for the 2008 season.

FOXBORO — The pursuit of perfection is over.

The Patriots assembled what was thought to be one of the greatest teams in NFL history this season, but after beating every team they faced this year, the Patriots couldn’t win the big one — Super Bowl XLII.

Now they have some decisions to make on the defensive side of the ball. Those decisions will be key to the success of the Patriots next year.

After all, it was the Patriots’ defense that allowed the Giants to eat up more than 10 minutes of the clock on New York’s 16-play opening drive that set the tone for the Super Bowl.

And it was the defense that allowed the Giants to go 83 yards in 2 minutes and 7 seconds with 2:42 remaining to win the game, allowing a team to end their season for the second consecutive year with a long drive in the final minutes of the game.

The biggest decisions that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will have to make in revamping the Patriots defense will be at the linebacker position and in the secondary.

Here’s why.

With defensive end Richard Seymour, a five-time Pro Bowler, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who made the Pro Bowl this season, and Ty Warren up front, along with talented backup defensive end Jarvis Green all signed to play next season, the Patriots are solid on the defensive line and will have, once again, one of the most dominant defensive lines in the NFL next season.

The Patriots linebackers, however, are aging, and several members of the secondary probably won’t be back next year.

The Patriots’ youngest starting linebackers this season were Roosevelt Colvin, 31, who missed the last five games of the regular season and all of the playoffs after being placed on injured reserve with a foot injury, and Adalius Thomas, 31, who signed a lucrative five-year, $35 million contract, $20 million of which is guaranteed, on March 2, 2007.

Because of the age of their linebackers, the Patriots might want to get younger this offseason either by signing free agents, using their seventh pick of the upcoming NFL Draft to select a linebacker, or trading with another team to boost their linebacker unit.

In addition to Colvin and Thomas, aging linebackers Tedy Bruschi (34), Junior Seau (39), and Larry Izzo (34) are all free agents. Bruschi overcame a stroke in 2005 and he might not want to keep playing.

Will the possibility of playing for another Super Bowl ring be enough to bring Bruschi back?

Ditto for Seau, who said that his sole purpose this season was to win a Super Bowl championship. Izzo doesn’t play much on defense, but he is the special teams’ captain and his voice in the locker room is well respected, as is Bruschi’s and Seau’s, who were also captains this year.

Bruschi and Seau both said that they will take time before they announce if they are going to play again next year or retire.

“I’m 34 years old. I’m in my 12th year,” Bruschi said before the Super Bowl. “After every season I sort of reassess things. I look at people who put it off to this off season already, like coaches Tony Dungy and Mike Holmgren. What they do is they sit back. They sort of reassess and make decisions with their families. That’s what I’ll do.”

“I haven’t thought about the future. I am having too much fun,” Patriots’ linebacker Junior Seau said Sunday night after the Patriots’ 17-14 loss to the Giants.

Seau added that the loss “will not affect my decision.”

In the secondary, Asante Samuel, arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, Randall Gay, and Eugene Wilson are all free agents so the Patriots will probably need to boost their secondary as well this offseason.

Samuel and the Patriots had an ugly contract dispute prior to the season, the end result of which was the Patriots franchising him for the year.

They cannot do that again this year because that was in his contract (if the Patriots won 12 games or if he played the majority of the snaps), and the Patriots probably won’t agree to a massive deal like Samuel wants (such as an $80 million contract like San Francisco cornerback Nate Clemens signed), so Samuel, who said that he would like to remain a Patriot, probably won’t be back.

Gay is a restricted free agent and Wilson, who dropped down on the Patriots depth chart late in the season, will likely look for a new start elsewhere.

With the disappointing loss of the Super Bowl behind them, Belichick and Pioli will look to sign and re-sign linebackers and defensive back to bolster their defense next year.

roblee@projo.com