Shhhh! No one is supposed to bring up the fact that the defense returned every major impact player (depending on how you grade Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick, I gave them an “upgradeable” status earlier this offseason) and added two solid vets in Kelly and Wilson.
As I wrote in my B/R piece today, the Pats have had two main problems: defending the middle of the field against the pass, and having the offense go cold in the playoffs. That’s really it. People can talk about the pass rush, the lack of a deep threat, etc., but it’s really just that simple. So, I think they have definitely taken steps to address the problem on defense with Kelly (better interior disruption from the base defense) and Wilson (should provide impact in middle of field), along with the development of the others.
As for the linebackers I think this is Dont’a Hightower’s year to break out. Mayo had the best season of his career last year, he’ll need to really elevate his pass defense if he wants to improve on that.