Spikes injured?

[SHOWTIME15]

i have no idea if you ppl even watched spikes play this year. he had 65 tackles in his rookie year and was suspended for 4 games. to me that's outstanding. our defense wasn't the same when spikes got suspended. if he's healthy he'll make an impact.

 

[Dragda]

Not saying these guys dont have the right to play and enjoy their off time but I swear pick up BBall seems like an injury waiting to happen. I know I have heard several times injured in pick up Bball. This and Chad Penningtons recent injury come to mind. Though it might not be fair to use Chad as an example.


I might be wrong about this but I think Dante Cullpeper may have injured or re-injured his knee playing hoops too.

Their bodies their risk and their money. I know it is annoying from a fans perspective but not my place to say he shouldnt just doesnt seem wise.

Basketball is a good way to stay in game shape. Interval training, boot camp, P90X, and all that stuff will keep you in shape but it's not the same without the competitive edge to it. The better conditioned and athlete is, the less likely to be injured.

I'm not saying he did the right thing, but a case can be made to add competitive sports to offseason conditioning regimens.

 

[Frick]

Disagree with most posters here. If I were Spikes I would be glued to Mayo as often possible to suck every bit of knowledge out of his brain, so I could be a better player.

 

[jsull87]

can people get off the guys case. I think sometimes we are a bit sensative here. You could have people like james harrison or Ward headlines but he just hurt himeslf playing another game. I think we wll need to take a step back on this board sometimes specially when your throwing words like bust around for a rookie ILB who started basically every game and made some great plays in important games.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Ryan Clady Tears Patellar Tendon Playing Basketball, 2010 Season in Jeopardy - Mile High Report

**** happens. Hopefully he's okay. Anyone who has a problem with Spikes playing basketball, feel free to draw up a workout regimen that will allow them to stay in shape and compete against others that has no injury risk.

 

[resdubwhite]

Since Marquis death I think Pats fans become worried about a player on thier favorite team doing anything more than sunbathing in the offseason.

I'm good with that.


Wait. What factor sunscream are they using? "15" you say.

Ridiculous. these guys need to get indoors lickity split.

 

[randomk1]

I'd be pissed off if he got injured in a fight or some other stupid ****. Can't fault a guy when he gets hurt working out...even if it is basketball.

 

[TheSolderKing]

If Rosenhaus said Spikes is Healthy Expect the opposite

 

[ausbacker]

I'm good with that.


Wait. What factor sunscream are they using? "15" you say.

Ridiculous. these guys need to get indoors lickity split.

30+ at least. Let's be serious here...

 

[BlueThunder]

I think that 30 is the highest spf that actually works...anything above that is not any better than 30....but I digress

 

[RDS11]

our defense wasn't the same when spikes got suspended.

Just not true :

With Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 391
Avg points per games : 22.4
Avg 1st down per game : 23.2

Without Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 293
Avg points per games : 11
Avg 1st down per game : 17.5

Obviously, the numbers might have been better at the end of the year because the young defense was starting to gel...but it also shows that Spikes had no impact whatsoever on these results.

 

[Sicilian]

Just not true :

With Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 391
Avg points per games : 22.4
Avg 1st down per game : 23.2

Without Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 293
Avg points per games : 11
Avg 1st down per game : 17.5

Obviously, the numbers might have been better at the end of the year because the young defense was starting to gel...but it also shows that Spikes had no impact whatsoever on these results.

Yeah, I think those numbers have more to do with the defense gelling. To say Spikes had no impact is a bit silly. It's always better to have another talented player to add to the mix.

 

[Rob0729]

Just not true :

With Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 391
Avg points per games : 22.4
Avg 1st down per game : 23.2

Without Spikes :
Avg yards per game : 293
Avg points per games : 11
Avg 1st down per game : 17.5

Obviously, the numbers might have been better at the end of the year because the young defense was starting to gel...but it also shows that Spikes had no impact whatsoever on these results.

Those stats are misleading because the Pats' defense was so awful the beginning of the year that it skews the numbers. A better comparison would be the final four games Spikes played in the regular season vs. the four games he missed.

Look at some of the early games:

Week #1 vs. Cincy:
428 yards allowed
26 first downs allowed
24 points allowed

Week #3 vs. Buffalo
374 yards allowed
30 points allowed

Week #4 vs. Miami
400 yards allowed
23 first downs

Week #7 (sixth game)
363 yards allowed
23 first downs

One other thing, Spikes made more of an impact in the running game than the passing game. You giving overall stats does not reflect his impact since the Pats struggled in the passing game and gave up a lionshare of the first downs, yards, and points in the passing game.

Lastly, their last four games of the season were against Chicago in a blizzard, Green Bay without Aaron Rodgers, Buffalo, and Miami. Not exactly powerhouse offenses. I will argue that Spikes being out is a big reason why the Pats almost lost to the Rodgers-less Packers since they were able to run all over the Pats' defense (143 yards).

 

[RDS11]

Yeah, I think those numbers have more to do with the defense gelling. To say Spikes had no impact is a bit silly. It's always better to have another talented player to add to the mix.

I know...my point was that the defense was able to straighten the ship without the help of Spikes.

Having options at ILD is better, of course, but Spikes was not the difference maker some thought he was.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yeah, I think those numbers have more to do with the defense gelling. To say Spikes had no impact is a bit silly. It's always better to have another talented player to add to the mix.

Plus let's not forget that three of the last four games were against low-octane offenses (Chicago in the snow, LOLphins, Bills).

 

[Rob0729]

I know...my point was that the defense was able to straighten the ship without the help of Spikes.

Having options at ILD is better, of course, but Spikes was not the difference maker some thought he was.

Who do you think had more of an impact of being out in the Green Bay game? Aaron Rodgers or Brandon Spikes. You are looking at things in a vaccuum and a very general level. There are factors of why the defense didn't hit a setback when Spikes was out that has nothing to do with the Patriots or Spikes at all.

Of course losing Spikes had a negative impact on the defense. Did it make it fall apart? No. But comparing three stat categories from the 12 games that Spikes played vs. the 4 games he didn't with no real analysis or context of the situations of all the games tells us nothing on whether he makes an impact or not.

Spikes may not have been the difference maker that some people think, but he was clearly more valuable to the defense than you make him out to be.

 

[Rob0729]

Plus let's not forget that three of the last four games were against low-octane offenses (Chicago in the snow, LOLphins, Bills).

And the Packers without Aaron Rodgers. Matt Flynn threw for more yards and TDs than Brady did that game.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Regardless if Spikes is injured or not, whats the thoughts on Fletcher beating him out of his job?

Sorry if it seems like im gushing over him, he's one of my binkys.

To go from playing DE at Montana State, to having to switch to ILB in Belichick's defense, and still getting good playing time as an undrafted rookie, his progress is amazing.

He also has the ability to make the big play: Flynn sack, recovered fumble against chargers, stopping Ray Rice, etc.

Honestly I like him better than Spikes going forward.

 

[Rob0729]

Regardless if Spikes is injured or not, whats the thoughts on Fletcher beating him out of his job?

Sorry if it seems like im gushing over him, he's one of my binkys.

To go from playing DE at Montana State, to having to switch to ILB in Belichick's defense, and still getting good playing time as an undrafted rookie, his progress is amazing.

He also has the ability to make the big play: Flynn sack, recovered fumble against chargers, stopping Ray Rice, etc.

Honestly I like him better than Spikes going forward.

I think Fletcher will be in on the rotation, but I think you may be overrating this guy. His two sacks were on Matt Flynn and Ryan Fitzpatrick. He exceeded expectations, but he has yet to prove to me that he is a consistent starting quality ILB.

I think Spikes has more upside. Everything we heard about Spikes is how he has a lot of the intangibles. I think he needs to improve his coverage skills, but he seems to have a nose for the ball which cannot be taught. He has the potential to be special. I don't see that in Fletcher.

 

[RDS11]

Who do you think had more of an impact of being out in the Green Bay game? Aaron Rodgers or Brandon Spikes. You are looking at things in a vaccuum and a very general level. There are factors of why the defense didn't hit a setback when Spikes was out that has nothing to do with the Patriots or Spikes at all.

Of course losing Spikes had a negative impact on the defense. Did it make it fall apart? No. But comparing three stat categories from the 12 games that Spikes played vs. the 4 games he didn't with no real analysis or context of the situations of all the games tells us nothing on whether he makes an impact or not.

Spikes may not have been the difference maker that some people think, but he was clearly more valuable to the defense than you make him out to be.

I'm not saying losing Spikes was a positive, I'm saying it has almost no impact statistically.
Obviously, if Belichick put him on the field, it was because he thought Spikes was the best option. And I'm pretty sure Belichick knows more about football than I do, so losing Spikes had to be a negative.

But that being said, I'm not looking at things in a vacuum. There's only 16 games in a football season, so 4 games is a good sample. In fact, you are the one who doesn't try to put things in perspective as you are looking only at the Packers game as proof that the suspension to Spikes was a setback to the defense. The fact is that the defense played their 3 best games WITHOUT Spikes. Yes, other factors need to be taken into consideration, but this is a fact, no way around it. Could Spikes have contributed positively in these 3 games ? Maybe...but based on the data from last season, he was not an impact player, so his loss had a minimal effect on the defense.