The dreaded "source": Spikes and Pats ain't sayin' **** to each other

[mayoclinic]

I'm sure where he's going he'll be a slow foot soldier.

Fixed it for you.

 

[fnordcircle]

At a great expense to our run game, ability to intimidate, and enthusiasm for the game. Nobody fires up the D as much as he does.

Holding Spikes responsible for our pass D woes is way overrated.

I will not be happy to see him go.

I love the people who spent the season kvetching about our lack of physicality on defense celebrating Spikes' departure.

Loved his fire, one of the few guys on the team who played that way. Oh well, we'll always have his sex tape.

 

[dales804]

I love the people who spent the season kvetching about our lack of physicality on defense celebrating Spikes' departure.

Loved his fire, one of the few guys on the team who played that way. Oh well, we'll always have his sex tape.

Perhaps that's what Nick was watching when Patriots.com snapped that photo of him.

 

[supafly]

I'll have to admit that I'm not very surprised to hear this. The writing was certainly on the wall.

I'll miss his big hits and physicality.

 

[Kontradiction]

I love the people who spent the season kvetching about our lack of physicality on defense celebrating Spikes' departure.

Loved his fire, one of the few guys on the team who played that way. Oh well, we'll always have his sex tape.

No celebrating his departure here. I'll miss his presence everywhere except against the pass. He's not THE problem against the pass, but he had no business on the field on third downs. That said, that he was forced into that role at times reflects more on personnel decisions and indecision regarding what kind of defense Belichick wanted to run. Also, as I said, I wish him luck in his career wherever he goes unless he plays the Pats. Love Spikes. Loved him as a Gator and loved him as a Patriot.

 

[Froob]

Hope he does well wherever he goes unless he's playing us. Was a lot of fun to watch during his time here. Insanely clutch.

 

[Brady6]

I love the people who spent the season kvetching about our lack of physicality on defense celebrating Spikes' departure.

Loved his fire, one of the few guys on the team who played that way. Oh well, we'll always have his sex tape.

I think others overrate the physical intimidator Spikes was this past season. He was a physical presence in 2012 but he was not nearly the factor this past season of any other of his three seasons. In 2012, he was a difference maker on defense; he forced 5 fumbles, 1 sack, knocked down 7 passes, and had 5 run stuffs for a net loss of 24 yards. In his other 3 seasons, he had 0 forced fumbles, 0 sacks, and 6 pass knock down.

Did you really think Spikes was a big hitter consistently? I did not, I thought he could lay the lumber at times but it was not part of his game on a regular basis.

He was not physical enough to shovel snow.

 

[PatsChamp88]

Not surprised, this was pretty much expected but this certainly won't help the run defense although the defensive line is more of an issue here.

 

[Brady6]

At a great expense to our run game, ability to intimidate, and enthusiasm for the game. Nobody fires up the D as much as he does.

Holding Spikes responsible for our pass D woes is way overrated.

I will not be happy to see him go.

He is going because he is an idiot that became so unmanageable that the team placed him on IR just to rid themselves of him. No big hits in the world matter when you are a 6’2” 260 Lb. football player worth millions of dollars and you cannot either hire someone to plow your driveway, or get off your ass and go shovel it yourself.

I am not sad to see him go, not at all, if he was not an idiot and giving his all to this team and we were letting him walk due to finances I would be upset but given the situation we are better off. I was not blaming Spikes for our pass coverage but he is one of the worst LBs in the NFL in coverage and his not being here is almost certain to be an upgrade.

At the end of the day we are talking about a player who when on the field rushed more than any other LB on the team in passing situation and had 1 sack in his 4 seasons here, how intimidating was he, this past season he had 0 sacks and 2 hurries? We had the 30th ranked rush defense last season, TJ Ward who is a safety had more run stuffs and yards stuff than Spikes. If Spikes did what he did in 2012 every year it would be one thing, but that was not the case.

 

[Brady6]

At a great expense to our run game, ability to intimidate, and enthusiasm for the game. Nobody fires up the D as much as he does.

Holding Spikes responsible for our pass D woes is way overrated.

I will not be happy to see him go.

He is going because he is an idiot that became so unmanageable that the team placed him on IR just to rid themselves of him. No big hits in the world matter when you are a 6’2” 260 Lb. football player worth millions of dollars and you cannot either hire someone to plow your driveway, or get off your ass and go shovel it yourself.

I am not sad to see him go, not at all, if he was not an idiot and giving his all to this team and we were letting him walk due to finances I would be upset but given the situation we are better off. I was not blaming Spikes for our pass coverage but he is one of the worst LBs in the NFL in coverage and his not being here is almost certain to be an upgrade.

At the end of the day we are talking about a player who when on the field rushed more than any other LB on the team in passing situation and had 1 sack in his 4 seasons here, how intimidating was he, this past season he had 0 sacks and 2 hurries? We had the 30th ranked rush defense last season, TJ Ward who is a safety had more run stuffs and yards stuff than Spikes. If Spikes did what he did in 2012 every year it would be one thing, but that was not the case.

I though Spikes was extremely overrated, and I personally find nothing intimidating about a player who concusses an opponent and proceeds to flex like a punk while the player is being assisted by the medical staff. Patrick Willis is intimidating, he lays players out regularly and does not stop to flex.

 

[YearbookCurfew]

If the source isn't from Incarcerated Bob I don't trust it.

 

[PP2]

He is going because he is an idiot that became so unmanageable that the team placed him on IR just to rid themselves of him. No big hits in the world matter when you are a 6’2” 260 Lb. football player worth millions of dollars and you cannot either hire someone to plow your driveway, or get off your ass and go shovel it yourself.

I am not sad to see him go, not at all, if he was not an idiot and giving his all to this team and we were letting him walk due to finances I would be upset but given the situation we are better off. I was not blaming Spikes for our pass coverage but he is one of the worst LBs in the NFL in coverage and his not being here is almost certain to be an upgrade.

At the end of the day we are talking about a player who when on the field rushed more than any other LB on the team in passing situation and had 1 sack in his 4 seasons here, how intimidating was he, this past season he had 0 sacks and 2 hurries? We had the 30th ranked rush defense last season, TJ Ward who is a safety had more run stuffs and yards stuff than Spikes. If Spikes did what he did in 2012 every year it would be one thing, but that was not the case.

I though Spikes was extremely overrated, and I personally find nothing intimidating about a player who concusses an opponent and proceeds to flex like a punk while the player is being assisted by the medical staff. Patrick Willis is intimidating, he lays players out regularly and does not stop to flex.

You clearly have a personal dislike of Spikes.

He obviously isn't suited for pass coverage. That was known from day one and his being on the field in any third and long situation is not his fault.

Firing up a defense and inspiring them to play tough isn't something that shows up in the stats.

 

[supafly]

I think others overrate the physical intimidator Spikes was this past season. He was a physical presence in 2012 but he was not nearly the factor this past season of any other of his three seasons. In 2012, he was a difference maker on defense; he forced 5 fumbles, 1 sack, knocked down 7 passes, and had 5 run stuffs for a net loss of 24 yards. In his other 3 seasons, he had 0 forced fumbles, 0 sacks, and 6 pass knock down.

Did you really think Spikes was a big hitter consistently? I did not, I thought he could lay the lumber at times but it was not part of his game on a regular basis.

I think he does bring a lot of "POWWWWWW" to the defense (in his terms), but he also seems to be kind of immature, and there are whispers as to how his attitude may be as well.

In the end, I'd love to see him back for 2--2.5m per year or so, but there's a possibility that Belichick doesn't even want him to return, and/or someone definitely paying more for him. I didn't see him as a huge priority though.

Out of his 4 yrs here, he had a great run starting at the stretch playoff run leading to our SB appearance in 2011, that continued into 2012 as well. The other time was spent hearing about how he was a possible bust up until that point, and was followed by a strange circumstance in 2013 due to all of the injuries. I didn't see anything that screamed the word "consistent," however.

I think he is what he is--which is a pretty good run defender, who can bring physicality to the defense and pump them up. There are obviously some limitations in his game as well, so the big unknown would be how Belichick feels about him and any attitude/immaturity issues that he may have had. We'll probably never hear about any of those concerns though, so it's all up in the air.

 

[GIF Man]

I'm not surprised. With the emergence of Collins and Hightower last season, there's no room at the inn for a slow-footed albeit physical LBer at the inn. I see Mayo, Hightower, and Collins as our starters for the new season. We might need to draft LB depth. But I don't think a 1st round pick is necessary. Particularly if we sign a guy like D'Qwell Jackson from free agency.

With the emergence of Collins and Hightower? I didn't know everyone getting injured and playing out of necessity was considered emerging. I mean come on, Collins had one good game and Hightower's play created more questions about his abilities than anything else. The LB core was crap after Mayo went down, no one emerged or broke out from that.

 

[patsfan-1982]

him not coming back works out good for both sides IMO his only 26 he can sign a one year deal with some team were his the main MLB and have a 150 tackles and then get a nice contract, mayo will be back Hightower is pretty much the same player spikes is only a lil better at coverage and pass rush,


Jamie Collins had a nice rookie season and one good playoff game. am not sure if his going to go from injury fill in to pro bowler in one year but I think he can be a ok starting OLB the key is getting mayo back he is the heart of the defense, I would still like to see the pats draft a ILB at some point even more so if Dane Fletcher is not back

 

[mcmurtry86]

I'll miss his big plays (something Jerod Mayo is allergic to), but I won't miss watching him in coverage.

Since 2010 (Spikes' rookie year) - Mayo has 6 FF, 4 FR, 3 INT, 7.5 sacks

Spikes - 4 FF (all in 2012), 1 FR, 2 INT, 1 sack.

But yes....Mayo is the one who doesn't make big plays.

And for all of Spikes' overrated runs stuffs at the line or behind the line, there are a number of him guessing the wrong gap or letting the ball carrier get beyond him.

One of the most overrated players in terms of "impact plays" I can remember and doesn't belong in the same conversation as Mayo in terms of overall player or overall impact on the team.

 

[Holovak]

Spikes is a solid player and has the capability of being a game changer. It will be a huge mistake if the Pats let him move elsewhere. Sometimes Belichick can be a stubborn ass that hurts the team.

 

[supafly]

Spikes is a solid player and has the capability of being a game changer. It will be a huge mistake if the Pats let him move elsewhere. Sometimes Belichick can be a stubborn ass that hurts the team.

While that's one way of looking at it (and you could be right about this specific situation), the other side of the coin would be his limitations in talent, his inconsistent play in the 4 overall years, and the whispers about his attitude and maturity issues.

Just looking at his off-field issues since he came here:

--sex tape

--chat roulette on the constant, reportedly showed his penis

--tweet regarding "cocaine and Jack Daniels" left for Santa Claus

--other odd twitter messages that the media implied could be hints to his displeasure with Belichick and the team in general

--decision to skip offseason workouts

--instead of choosing to shovel his driveway like the rest of the players, he decided it'd be much better to post snapchat pics of his Porsche and the snow.....twice in a 20 min span....during the week of the divisional playoff game when other players made the necessary arrangements to make sure they were at work


I'm not claiming that any of these things are the reason for his possible departure or that they are severe enough to warrant him leaving, but I am noting that there have been hints about his immaturity and attitude concerns to take into account before we go blaming Belichick.

There is also the fact that there were a nice group here who were starting to call him a bust about halfway through the 2011 season, when he had looked lost in his first 1.5 seasons here. He turned that around down the stretch run of the 2011 season, and that led to a great 2012 season. The problem of inconsistent play seem to come up again in 2013 however, although some of that can probably be attributed to the injuries on the defense just as well.

In the end, I actually hope they keep him, but if they do it would be on their terms for a cheaper hope in price, and the cards are looking like he's probably going to be a player on another team at this point. Good luck to him.

 

[JPsPats]

Yeah he's so slow and a liability in coverage. It's not like he had a clutch pick against flacco in the AFCCG.

He's a better run stuffer then Hightower, and honestly Hightower was pretty bad in coverage too.

Mayo and Collins should be the only lbs on the field in passing situations.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Spikes had Lawyer Milloy written all over him ... MEH!