Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've played

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

scout said:

Not everyone will get this, but (assuming the story is true) this is one of the reasons that the Patriots have been great since 2001. It's the big picture, when a player gets out of line he is punished. Welker sat due to the Rex foot joke.

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Oh, and how did that work out for them? Oh yeah, Brady threw a pick on the first drive. This Spikes thing I don't really care about because he was near useless anyways. But benching one of your best players because he made foot jokes (while the Jets ran their mouths and acted like complete *******s the entire week) was ridiculous. And it hurt the team.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

reflexblue said:

I read he played 12 games on a knee with ligament damage, the knee finally giving out in the Buffalo game.

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And, where did the medical information come from? How much does Belichick like players and their agents to discuss injuries with the media? I'm pretty sure that the Pats players are instructed to keep that stuff in house.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

If he was late because of the snow incident, this is espn trying to stir the pot IMO. I didn't see the buff game but a lot saw him injured after a play.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Bill what the **** man.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Basically another wasted draft pick on a POS.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

You gotta wonder whether this is true or not, seeing that the Pats are crazy about keeping things secret. One thing I know for sure is that Spikes clearly has some serious knee injury because his knee buckled in the last game - it looked like a torn ligament issue. That said, if the report is true, I also wonder who at the Pats would leak this information and if BB might be mad as hell at someone leaking info to the media. That may be the bigger issue to BB - who's the leak?

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

I Love the toughness and intimidation that Spikes brings but it is the discipline Belichick instills in teams that make them so good and so consistent and I have no problem with Belichick sitting Spikes down if he hasn't been showing up on time for meetings. It's AD all over again and Belichick was successful in ridding his team of that crappy mentality and doesn't need for it to find its way back into the lockerroom now. His presence on the field will be missed but the unprofessional attitude won't. Adios Brandon, you have played your last game in New England.


Good for Belichick, ballsy move but one that sets the tone and reinforces the seriousness of his expectations for his players. The Hightower era at ILB has started, hopefully he is ready for it. I think it suits his skillset better and long term i think he will be a really good ILB for them.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

This has the same vibe as the John Tomasse BS from 07 just before the superbowl. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks this was reported today of all days to dissipate the energy of the fans and the team as well. The moment one of Indy 's backs rip off a decent run all the fickle fans who were spoon fed this rubbish will whine, complain, maybe even boo Belichick. All in all, I just hope the team ignores the noise.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Patradomous said:

Basically another wasted draft pick on a POS.

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yeah,

Damn BB for drafting players who play out their entire rookie contracts, and are major starters for the team of the course of 4 years.

What a GIANT WASTE OF A DRAFT PICK.

/Sarcasm

************ im so sick of every player who doesn't stay with the patriots for 15 years getting labeled as a wasted pick

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

jmt57 said:

Considering the upcoming opponents - Colts, then hopefully either the Chargers or Broncos - I would think that Spikes' role in those game plans would be relatively small.

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But then consider the possibility of facing Seattle in New York during a snow storm. Spikes is an idiot.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Patradomous said:

Basically another wasted draft pick on a POS.

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They got 4 years and a great deal of good play out of Spikes, that is in no way a "wasted pick."

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Lowercaseg said:

You gotta wonder whether this is true or not, seeing that the Pats are crazy about keeping things secret. One thing I know for sure is that Spikes clearly has some serious knee injury because his knee buckled in the last game - it looked like a torn ligament issue. That said, if the report is true, I also wonder who at the Pats would leak this information and if BB might be mad as hell at someone leaking info to the media. That may be the bigger issue to BB - who's the leak?

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Can we truly assume that it came from somebody within the Patriots' organization? For example maybe his agent was attempting to spin (a) that the injury is not serious (could have played), and (b) it was a petty offense when he gave the information to Mortensen.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Franchise12 said:

This has the same vibe as the John Tomasse BS from 07 just before the superbowl. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks this was reported today of all days to dissipate the energy of the fans and the team as well. The moment one of Indy 's backs rip off a decent run all the fickle fans who were spoon fed this rubbish will whine, complain, maybe even boo Belichick. All in all, I just hope the team ignores the noise.

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You may be on to something:

. @jeffphowe: One source on Spikes' reported tardiness being tied to IR placement: "Absolutely untrue and unfounded."

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Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

yeah,

Damn BB for drafting players who play out their entire rookie contracts, and are major starters for the team of the course of 4 years.

What a GIANT WASTE OF A DRAFT PICK.

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They got 4 years and a great deal of good play out of Spikes, that is in no way a "wasted pick.

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Your right. I overstated it. Just a little pissed thats all.

On the other hand. You didn't get a full 4 years out of him either because steroids and other issues.

To say you got 4 years out of him is overstating a little also.

Good to great player when he shows up. But don't bank on him. In that regard he is somewhat of a waste.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

jmt57 said:

Can we truly assume that it came from somebody within the Patriots' organization? For example maybe his agent was attempting to spin (a) that the injury is not serious (could have played), and (b) it was a petty offense when he gave the information to Mortensen.

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Great point JMT57. I agree that if this is true, it may have come from Spike's agent.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Tunescribe said:

But then consider the possibility of facing Seattle in New York during a snow storm. Spikes is an idiot.

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Fletcher needs to sleep over wilfork's house and Bianca will take care of that

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

I think as fans we need to start thinking critically and not take everything at face value Especially from Espn "insiders". at this point this "Report" is about as valid as Tom Jackson's "They hate their coach" declaration.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

Once again, ESPN barks and we march in lock step. Why are we giving so much credence to a story that doesn't make sense at all. We all know that Spikes has been hurting for most of the season. We all know that his snaps have been decreasing almost every game. We all saw that he hurt the same knee again at the end of the Buffalo game. Then after a week of rehab, the injury hasn't improved and they IR him. THAT makes sense.

Ask yourself a few questions. In an organization that is so tight lipped, where did this story come from? Why didn't anything come out after he was IR'ed from any player, and almost all of them were interviewed. Nothing that was said even gave a hint of this rumor Why did the story go to ESPN and not to Curran or Peter King, or one of the other people with a lot of sources within the organization. Why Mort, who has never had a Pats scoop before. To this point, the Pats are not one of the teams Mort is close to. This anomaly just adds to the question of veracity of this story. Its VERY suspicious that out of the blue Mort becomes a Pats insider.

No folks, there is only ONE possible place this rumor came from. Only one camp had a motive. That's the Spikes camp (I'm guessing an agent) who would have had reason to leak a story like that. Clearly Spikes was out the door next season, and the market for very slow, run stopping, one dimensional LB's isn't going to be big, especially one coming off an serious knee injury, In a league that is scouring the bushes for speed LB's like Kiko Alanso L David, etc, the very physical but plodding Brandon Spikes is much better off being viewed as someone who is victim of BB's bad temper and arrogance,, rather than a guy who is slow and injured.

The sad thing is that even here, most posters are treating the speculation as fact, almost without questioning it. It was on ESPN, so it must be true.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

The Herald says it's not true:

The Blitz with Jeff Howe & Karen Guregian | Boston Herald

This much is known: Brandon Spikes was placed on injured reserve Monday because his knee had become too much of a burden over the second half of the season, and all parties involved knew it was time to shut it down. The decision was mutual, and there was no disagreement from Spikes, as much as he hated to see his season come to an end in the playoffs. There are currently no plans for Spikes to undergo surgery, though he is traveling to the Kerland Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles for a second opinion to verify that. Rest will heal the injury.

(One fair and common follow-up question: Does the trip to IR have to be mutual? No, it doesn't, but if a player believes he was placed on IR for reasons other than his injury, he can file a grievance with the league. Spikes has no plans for that.)

Spikes was reportedly late for last Friday's meeting. Spikes did tweet a photo of his SUV stuck in his driveway that day at 7:14 a.m. during the snowstorm that blitzed the area.

So, ESPN reported this morning Spikes was placed on injured reserve in part because he was late for that meeting, and it was the "final straw" for Bill Belichick. A source referred to that report as "absolutely untrue and unfounded." Spikes had issues with tardiness earlier in his career, and Belichick usually had to stay on Spikes to draw the best out of the talented player, so the relationship was certainly interesting. Spikes appreciated the "come to Jesus" talks with Belichick because he recognized the two shared one goal: Greatness.

Re: Brandon Spikes news: late for team meeting, was going to be released; could've pl

patfanken said:

Once again, ESPN barks and we march in lock step.

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I don't know how people can even watch ESPN. With their parade of buffoons, I can't even even make it through Monday Night Countdown.