I think this has to be an “attitude” draft for the Patriots. It was kind of clear to me that the Superbowl teams played a more physical football – and it should be no surprise that NE lost against both (including twice vs. Baltimore). The Patriots need to regain the edge as for being more physical against tough opponents. Brandon Spikes and Logan Mankins are nice, but more nastiness is needed. And my best guess at this point is that they will focus on DL and OL in the draft.

I don’t really subscribe to just trying to find guys with attitude. I think they’ve always, and will always, look for tough smart players, and I see a lot of physicality out of a lot of their guys even if they’re not the loose canon crazy types.

Spikes, Hightower and Mayo are all really aggressive. Patrick Chung will probably walk, but not because of his attitude or toughness, he just couldn’t hold up.

But I get what you’re saying, and I think a huge part that people miss is that this is a young defense that will continue to improve even without major personnel additions. They do have needs, especially at DT and DB, but I think the big pieces are in place. I also think that Tavon Wilson has a lot of potential, and showed some real physicality in select spots in 2012.