Bill Belichick sees a lot in character and leadership on the field. (Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com)

FOXBORO — More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Patriots used what would be their only second-round pick on Illinois safety Tavon Wilson.

Moments after the team selected Jake Bequette but just before it went public, the Patriots tweeted that the “mystery” pick was a co-captain on defense in 2011.

Dont’a Hightower was considered so valuable by Bill Belichick that he and Nick Caserio traded up from 31 to 25 and took the linebacker who was on the field in almost every single down-and-distance situation for the best defense in college football and a defense that shut out LSU, 21-0 in the BCS championship game in early January.

What do Hightower, Bequette and Wilson – three of the top four Patriots picks this year – all have in common?

They were captains on their defense.

“I guess it’s a piece of the jigsaw puzzle,” Belichick said. “So if you have a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, then captain is maybe one or two pieces in there somewhere. There are a million other things that go into it. Of course, leadership and character and the guy’s relationship with his teammates and his team and the respect that comes with – somehow or another that’s all interrelated. I don’t know exactly how. I don’t think it’s a negative thing. That’s certainly not the criteria for selecting a player either.”

Belichick likes leaders. He also values young players who get leadership at a young ago. Jerod Mayo is clear and obvious evidence in making that case. He was voted captain on the Patriots defense in 2010, just his third season in the NFL. Wilson is someone who appreciates that.

“Most definitely,” Wilson said. “The Patriots are a great organization; there are a lot of great leaders over there. They’re looking to bring good people into their organization. They do their background information [checks] on everyone. Yes, I think that was a factor. I always put my team above myself. Coach [Ron] Zook always told me that was going to help me out in the long run.

In Wilson’s case, character was especially exceptional.

He lost his mother and father at a young age and was raised by his grandmother before matriculating onto Illinois.

“It was rough,” Wilson said. “My hat goes off to my grandmother because she’s a very strong woman to take me and my sister in – just raise us the best way she can to try to give us everything she possibly could. I’m glad that I’m able to give her some of those same things she gave me.”

Will that experience and some of the rough times you had as a child will help at the NFL level in terms of mental toughness?

“Most definitely. Everybody has to overcome adversity,” Wilson said. “I overcame a lot of things in my life. That’s the reason I’m here today and the reason why I’m the person I am today. I never get too high or too low, I just keep working all the time. I just take everything one day at a time. Hats go off to my grandmother for that. She’s a very strong woman.”

And Belichick is looking for a few strong men as leaders on his defense.

Dont'a Hightower is just the latest SEC player to put on the Patriots colors. (Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com)

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick knows a good thing when he sees it.

Judging by the his draft picks of recent years, it’s pretty safe to say that he believes Southeastern Conference football is a very, very good thing in terms of providing a productive pipeline of NFL talent.

In the first two days, the Patriots had four picks. Half of those came from the SEC. Alabama’s Dont’a Hightower is one of the most heralded and talented linebackers and he was taken with the 25th pick overall in the first round. Friday, the Patriots traded down to the third round with their second second-round pick and took Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette with the 90th pick overall.

Before Thursday, he and the Patriots had drafted player after player from the SEC. There was running back Stevan Ridley from LSU in 2011. There was linebacker Jerod Mayo from Tennessee in 2008. In 2010, Florida was well represented as Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes and Aaron Hernandez were all taken from the Gators. in 2009, there was a break from the norm as only Kentucky’s DT Myron Pryor was selected by the Patriots from the conference and that was in the sixth round.

It doesn’t always work out. In 2006, Belichick took two Gators – receiver Chad Jackson in the second round and defensive lineman Jeremy Mincey. In 2008, Belichick took a chance on defensive back Jonathan Wilhite from Auburn.

Why so many SEC players. Well, one big reason are the coaches who have built monstrously successful big-time programs. Like friends Nick Saban at Alabama and Urban Meyer (formerly at Florida). There Les Miles at LSU.

So, does the competition mean that much to Belichick?

“Level of competition is important,” Belichick said. “You can definitely see a guy like Jake [Bequette] over the last few years go against the Mississippi tackle, [Derek] Sherrod last year at Mississippi State, the Florida tackle last year, [James] Carpenter last year from Alabama, the big tackle, [Rokevious] Watkins from South Carolina. Over the last couple years, you can see him rushing against NFL players, either that are coming out in this year’s draft or that were in last year’s draft.

“Not to mention, [DeMarcus] Love who he worked against in practice on a regular basis for three years down there at Arkansas. I think that’s definitely part of the evaluation. It’s certainly helpful to see players work against other competitive players, whether it’s in their conference or an all-star game, Senior Bowl, East-West Game, things like that, you get that, certainly a higher level generally.” Read the rest of this entry »

Chandler Jones shows off his personality in an exchange with reporters Friday in Foxboro. (Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com)

FOXBORO — So often, rookie draft picks are shy, cautious and quiet, showing the occasional grin.

Can’t blame them since they don’t want to say the wrong thing and get off the wrong foot with Bill Belichick.

Defensive end Chandler Jones had no such worries Friday night when he met with reporters in the Gillette Stadium press box.

Asked if he knew anyone on the Patriots or if he had crossed paths with anyone, Jones played it cool.

“I know who they are, I’m a fan,’ Jones said. “That’s one thing I’ll have to get out of fan mode when I see Tom Brady walk by, being like ‘Oh, that was Tom Brady.’ I’m kidding. But I don’t know anyone. I haven’t met anyone. I’m looking forward to meeting all the guys. Like I said, it’s a great opportunity.

Jones showed off his friendly disposition from the moment he walked on the Gillette Stadium field for the first time Friday evening with owner Robert Kraft. That beaming grin continued in his press conference 30 minutes later. But that’s just one side of his personality. After all, he comes from rich athletic bloodlines. His brother Jon Jones is the heavyweight UFC champ. His other brother Arthur Jones plays defensive tackle for the Ravens.

“Both of my brothers were happy,” Chandler Jones said Friday in Foxboro. “My brother, Jon, the light heavyweight champion, he threw water on me. I don’t know if you guys saw it on ESPN, but there was water all over my grey hoodie. He was smiling from ear-to-ear. Everybody was happy. As far as the distance, my mother was actually crying the few nights leading up to the draft because she didn’t know where I was going to go. I could be in Texas, I could be in California. But it’s a three-hour drive. How close it is from my hometown, I could have driven here and this press conference would be over. But my whole family is happy. They’re very supportive. I just thank God for them.”

As matter of fact, it was his brother Jon who bailed him out with a purple shirt when he got stuck in New York City on a flight transfer on his way to New England.

With two big brothers, does his persona change when you’re on the field? Does he become a beast?

“I wouldn’t put a label on myself,” said Jones, who had 10 sacks in four seasons at Syracuse. “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, I flip the switch on and off.’ The way I play, I’m relaxed. That’s how I play better; I don’t know if you guys watch film. I’m not going to sit here and call myself a beast or I’m untamed or all that. I don’t get into that at all. I’m the same person all the time. I know when it’s time to play and when it’s time to sit here and talk to the media.”

And when it’s time to play?

“In college, I was double and triple teamed a lot – it’s funny that you brought that up,” Jones said. “I have no expectations as far as what’s going to happen to me at this level. I was told about it – my brother plays for the Ravens – but I really don’t know until I get out there. As far as me being a rookie, my job right now is to know my role. Take whatever I can from whoever, anyone from Dont’a Hightower to all the veterans on that defense and front seven. For me being a rookie, I’m just going to be a sponge and just learn what I can. As far as my jacket, like I said, I didn’t know I was coming here and my brother didn’t have a full suit that fit me. He had suits but his suits stopped like right here [at my elbow]. So I was like, you know what, ‘I’m going to go without the jacket. You just give me a shirt and I’ll just roll it up. Give me some jewelry and I’ll be fine.’”

Bill Belichick was happy with moving up twice in the first round Thursday. (AP)

FOXBORO — The Patriots under Bill Belichick had traded up in the first round just twice since he came to Foxboro in 2000.

On Thursday night, they matched that total in a span of 15 minutes.

At 10 p.m., the Patriots struck a deal with the Bengals to trade them their 27th overall pick and their third-rounder to move up to 21st so they could take Chandler Jones, the 6-foot-5 defensive end from Syracuse that had rocketed up the draft boards in the last three days.

Once the Bears nabbed defensive end Shea McClellin out of Boise State at No. 19, the Patriots knew they had to make their move. So, with Tennessee on the clock, they consummated the deal with Cincinnati as the Titans were selecting wide receiver Kendall Wright.

It marked the first time since 2003 the Patriots moved up, when they made a move for Ty Warren.

But alas, Belichick and personnel chief Nick Caserio weren’t finished.

They wanted an every down linebacker who could play inside and outside. They had a name in mind – Dont’a Hightower from Alabama.

To get him, they knew they’d have to move from No. 31. So, they entertained offers and the one from the Broncos sounded very reasonable. Denver simply wanted New England’s fourth-round pick this year and the Patriots could move up six spots to No. 25. Deal.

Ten minutes, two first-rounders and the Patriots had their guys.

“They had nothing to do with each other,” Belichick said, sporting a suit and tie in the Gillette Stadium press box. “We made our first pick and, we don’t know if a team’s going to trade or not. They might. As usual, there were teams we called that didn’t want to trade and teams that called us and we didn’t want to trade and there have been times when we’ve been called and did want to trade.

“You can’t count on that. We were focused on our first pick. After we made it, then we looked at what was on the board and what other teams are doing, made some calls, fielded some calls, whatever it was. I don’t know. There’s a lot of communication in the draft room. Nick handled most of that. So, that’s how it worked out.”

Belichick seemed very pleased with the unusual deals he struck.

“I thought we had a good day,” he said. “As usual, the draft always takes some interesting twists and turns. You just never know how it’s going to go, but as the players came off the board we were able to execute a couple trades there and still hang onto our two second round picks, which I thought if we moved up I wasn’t sure that we would be able to do that, but it worked out that way. Nick really did a good job of handling those.

“I felt like we got good value for them. [We] took Dont’a and Chandler. Probably could have been in either order, but we felt like we would have a better chance to end up with both players if it went that way, not that we were sure we would get the second one but we thought we might have a shot at it. Looking forward to working with both guys.”

Boston College consensus All-American inside linebacker Luke Kuechly was taken by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 9 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.

Kuechly impressed scouts in his three years at Chestnut Hill. This past season, when he won the Lombardi, the Lott IMPACT trophy and the Bronko Nagurski trophy. He led the nation with 191 tackles (102 solo) during the season, averaging nearly 16 tackles per game.

Early on in his career, Kuechly showed versatility that NFL scouts love, moving from his natural inside linebacker position to the outside when Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Kuechly compiled his stats in the 12-game regular season, as the team finished with a 4-8 record and was ineligible for post-season play. He still almost broke the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) single-season tackle record of 193, and did break the single season tackles mark with 15.9 per game.

Kuechly broke the BC and ACC career tackle records with 532 tackles, eclipsing the previous record of 524 held by Stephen Boyd and only 13 tackles short of the NCAA FBS record held by Tim McGarigle. He also broke the BC and ACC single-season tackle records, records that he had set the year before. On Dec. 4, Dick Butkus personally presented the 2011 Butkus Award to Kuechly at the Boston College team banquet a week before the expected formal announcement of the recipient.

Tiquan Underwood were on hand for the Super Bowl before getting cut the night before the game. Now, he's back. (AP)

FOXBORO — The Patriots have signed seven players to future contracts, including Tiquan Underwood and Ross Ventrone.

Underwood was released last Saturday, on the eve of Super Bowl XLVI, to make room for the signing of defensive end Alex Silvestro off the practice squad.

Ventrone was the human yo-yo this season for the Patriots, with over 20 transactions from the waiver wire to the practice squad to the active squad.

Underwood played in five games for New England in 2011 and caught three passes for 30 yards. Underwood, 6-1, 183 pounds, originally entered the NFL as a seventh round draft choice (253rd overall) by Jacksonville in 2009 out of Rutgers. After beginning his rookie season on the practice squad, he joined the 53-man roster and appeared in three games, mainly on special teams. In 2010, he played in 10 games and caught eight passes for 111 yards and returned 24 kicks for 561 yards, including a career-long of 53 yards in the season-opener vs. Denver (Sept. 12). He was released by Jacksonville on Aug. 25, 2011 and was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 29. Underwood was released by the Patriots on Sept. 3 before being signed back on Nov. 24.

Ventrone, 5-8, 190 pounds, was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Villanova on April 29, 2010. He was waived by the Patriots on Sept. 4 and then signed to the practice squad on Oct. 19 where he spent the rest of his rookie season. Ventrone spent time on the 53-man roster and the practice squad this past season. He played in eight games and finished with 1 tackle and 2 special teams tackles.

Also signed to future deals were linebackers Markell Carter and Mike Rivera, defensive end Aaron Lavarias, wide receiver Britt Davis and offensive lineman Dan Kopa.
Read the rest of this entry »

Gisele makes her way to elevator postgame while hearing jeers about her husband, Tom Brady. (Photo: TheInsider.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — The frustrations of another Super Bowl loss spilled over for Gisele Bundchen as she left the luxury suites of Lucas Oil Stadium after her husband Tom Brady and the Patriots fell to Eli Manning and the Giants, 21-17, in Super Bowl XLVI Sunday night.

While making her way toward the elevator, Giants fans were harassing the supermodel, yelling, “Eli rules, Eli owns your husband.”

She responded to her entourage.

“You [need] to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball. My husband cannot [expletive] throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time,” she said in a video obtained by TheInsider.com. “I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times.”

That was an obvious reference to Wes Welker, who dropped what would have been a first down on the Patriots’ next-to-last drive and would have likely sealed the win.

Aaron Hernandez also had a drop of a pass over the middle on the last drive of the game.

The video of Gisele’s outburst can be found here.