Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

I know it was just a meaningless preseason game and Mayo has been PROVEN he can play in this league but I really liked what I saw out of Spikes in the time he was out there,he seemed like he is going to be more involved in pressuring the QB while Mayo has been known to be more of a tackling machine away from the LOS,Spikes appears to be a smart player and he didn't look too slow out there from what I saw.

Who do you think will have a better career when all is said and done,Mayo or Spikes?

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

Spikes is more physical and the better against the run. Mayo is better at chasing players. They both have different styles and skill sets so it's hard to say. However, Spikes will end up being the better value as I still think Mayo was taken too high (and no I don't care that other team wanted him in the 1st round in 2008).

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

I think both being different types of ILBs; both will help each other become better :)

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

They'll have equally successful careers, but Spikes looks more likely to put up bigger sack & fumble numbers, which will catch peoples eye, whereas Mayo will go about regular 100 tackle seasons with a sack here & there for good measure.

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

This is comparing apples to oranges. Both play different positions and approach the game very differently. One plays on pure instinct, the other plays very intellectually. Both will compliment each other very well.

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

I think Mayo could develop into more of a pass rushing ILB as time goes on...But I simply don't see it yet - He seems more of a Ted Johnson type player who for the next 10 years will be very good at stopping the run and disrupting WR/TE routes up the middle while averaging about 1.5 sacks a year.

I think Spikes will be a 7 or 8 per year sack guy and be more involved in getting to the QB than running down RBs

Both players could change one way or the other but its too early to tell.

Both players are different in many aspects but that is not the question...the question is who will be the BETTER OVERALL ILB when all is said and done.

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

Kind of a weird opinion on Mayo being taken too high. If I'm not mistaken I thought he was the defensive rookie of the year.

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

You are predicting that Spikes will be the best pass rushing ILB in NFL history before he has played a game.
Lets let him get a sack before predicting he will set records.

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

I don't know but the fact we are discussing this is a good sign for the Pats defense!

Re: Who will have a better career at ILB - Mayo or Spikes?
 

Mayo had an outstanding rookie year,his next season had injury issues and may have influenced his play after he came back...did he come back too soon from that injury?,was his rookie year a flash in the pan or will be come back to his rookie performance and be even better? - there is a lot of questions as to what Mayo we will see in 2010 - Mayo must become a leader on defense for the rookies to listen and learn from and improve further as we would expect from a 3 year veteran.

I think fans want Mayo to be more of a factor in closing the pocket down that just taking after loose RBs or TEs into the second line of defense but he may be tailor made to just be that 100 tackles guy and not the complete type of LB that fans want...those complete types such as a Ray Lewis are very rare to find - Mayo is a very good player IMO that needs to pick it up a notch to satisfy fans that want everything in a LB,and we all know Pats fans will not except anything less.