Where is the love for Brandon Spikes?

[UK_Pat37]

He's the most valuable piece to this defence right now. He's making plays all over. Without, you lose a lot of this defence's play making ability.

Vince and Mayo are great at what they do but this guy is standing out above the pack. All three are invaluable.

 

[borg]

On one of the goal line stand plays(thought it was the 4th down run), Spikes lines up about 7 yards deep in the end zone, identifies the gap the RB is aiming for, then launches into the space with reckless abandon.
I lived in NYC during the prime of Lawrence Taylor, went to every other home game during their SB runs. LT could take over a game for stretches then like we are seeing now with Spikes. You can almost imagine the coaches saying..."go get the ball"..... and he does. Even better for the Pats, we consistently see Wilfork just dominate and take over stretches.
The toughness this defense has shown is in far contrast to the robotic cautious play this D was showing just a few years ago. One could easily imagine this D moving into the elite group of NFL defenses in the near future. They may never pitch shut outs due to the high octane offense forcing teams to go vertical so often..... but the future is very bright.

 

[mayoclinic]

I lived in NYC during the prime of Lawrence Taylor, went to every other home game during their SB runs. LT could take over a game for stretches then like we are seeing now with Spikes. You can almost imagine the coaches saying..."go get the ball"..... and he does.

Interesting that you say that:

Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes admitted Wednesday he's a big fan of Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who played for Bill Belichick for 10 years. Knowing that, Spikes tries to get a little insight on Taylor's game from his head coach. "Every now and then I try to slide something in," Spikes said. "But [Belichick] always just says, 'Make sure you're worrying about what you've got going on.' I try to stay focused on my game, but he knows I love L.T. He played the game the right way, so I just try to mold my game something like that." Spikes plans to take some time down the road to watch some film on Taylor. While the two are different types of players, Spikes envies one particular aspect of Taylor's game. "His effort on the field," Spikes said. "He's going to go no matter [what], that man across from him knows he's going to bring it on every play, so you've got to be ready."

Brandon Spikes Tries to Model Game After Lawrence Taylor | New England Patriots | NESN.com

Though BB compared Spikes more to Pepper Johnson:

Belichick compared Spikes’ size — he’s 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds — to that of Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher and Patriots defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, who starred for Belichick in New York and Cleveland.

“[Spikes] is tall like Pepper was,” Belichick said. “You don’t see a lot of inside linebackers with that kind of height, that 6-foot-4ish height. Most guys are a little more compact than that. He’s a pretty powerful guy for being that tall like Pepper was, but a lot of those explosive hitters are 6 feet, 6-foot-1, that type of guy. Urlacher is another. I’m just saying there aren’t a lot of them, and I think that’s a problem for the quarterback in terms of the passing game because of their length, their height, their range. They get their hands on a lot of balls, but again, kind of like Pepper, Brandon has power. He’ll go up and strikes with a good thump, whether it’s tackling or taking on blockers, that kind of thing. ... He’s long, he’s powerful, he’s an explosive guy,” Belichick said. “He’s very instinctive, which is the biggest part of that position. The more you are in the middle of the field, the more guys there are around you, the more things you have to see, the more things that can happen. The better it is for those players to be able to sort it all out and figure out what’s going on. Sometimes that comes easier to some players than others. I think it comes relatively easy to him. He has a good sense for that.”

Bill Belichick Offers Strong Praise for Brandon Spikes, Comparing Linebacker to Pepper Johnson | New England Patriots | NESN.com

I can live with either.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

BTW Spikes SUCKED against the Texans. I only was able to see the first half but I concentrated on Spikes and he looked terrible. He mis-diagnosed most plays or was too late.

I have to assume that he was injured and I see that he was held out of some practices last week. Anyone know the nature of his injury?

 

[Ivan]

Things have certainly changed here in regards to Spikes, last season there were threads that got a good deal of support that claimed they should have taken Carlos Dunlap over Spikes. I doubt that sentiment would fly today.

 

[Sciz]

BTW Spikes SUCKED against the Texans. I only was able to see the first half but I concentrated on Spikes and he looked terrible. He mis-diagnosed most plays or was too late.

I have to assume that he was injured and I see that he was held out of some practices last week. Anyone know the nature of his injury?

Yes, he's hurt. When other players have been running at practice, Spikes has been seen on the bike. He's a prime candidate for two weeks off after the Pats win tonight.

 

[Michigan Dave]

Things have certainly changed here in regards to Spikes, last season there were threads that got a good deal of support that claimed they should have taken Carlos Dunlap over Spikes. I doubt that sentiment would fly today.

Ankle injury, I believe. I noticed him limping quite a bit in between plays and it appeared as though he changed shoes during the game and also got re-taped.