The last few games of the regular season, the Pats had trouble stopping the run. Once Spikes and safety Patrick Chung returned to the lineup, the holes got plugged.

During the postseason, Spikes (27) and Mayo (32) led the team in tackles. Spikes had 11 in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants.

“He has big-play capability. He’s a physical player. He’s strong. He’s around the ball a lot,” McGinest said. “If he can just pick up and understand everything, which would allow him to play faster and not think, sometimes I see him thinking a lot out there, or trying to figure it out. If he could just react and play fast, he’s going to be good.”

Spikes, of course, wears No. 55, the same number three-time Super Bowl winner McGinest wore during his dozen seasons with the Patriots. All kidding aside, McGinest said we should know the true direction of Spikes in the coming year.

“He should be full steam ahead coming into next year. That will tell it all. This next season,” McGinest said. “He should make a lot of big plays for them. He should be one of the leaders as far as making plays on that defense along with Mayo.”