HOWE: Is Brandon Spikes Unhappy In New England?

Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has had a tough start to his time here in New England, and Jeff Howe of NESN has an interesting take on the 2nd year linebacker this morning.

NESN's Jeff Howe wonders if all is well with the former Florida Gator here in New England. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

According to Howe, there appears to be signs that Spikes isn't happy about being in New England, and he wonders if all is really well with #55.

1. Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes tweeted Tuesday that he missed the earthquake by 30 minutes, and I really wonder if that means he wasn't with the team in Foxboro at that time since, you know, the epicenter was in Virginia.
2. Spikes' Twitter account has taken some controversial twists and turns over the last couple of weeks. His location reads "Hell on Earth" and he has written some things that have been construed as anti-Patriots. He hasn't outright said anything directly against the organization, but it's easy to read between the lines.

For those off to read Spikes' Tweets, he's @bspikes55, not @spikes51gator, as the latter is a fake account. If you're following that one - be sure to unfollow it.

The former second round pick had a tough rookie season. He was caught in a sex-tape scandal in September of last year, and was later suspended for the final four games after failing the NFL's banned substance test, which reportedly stemmed from an ingredient in his ADHD medication.

At the time Spikes issued this statement:

"I've been contacted by the NFL and informed that I will be suspended four games for the detection of an illegal substance in a drug test. The substance was a medication that I should have gotten clarification on before taking. It was not a performance enhancer or an illegal drug. The integrity of the game is very important to me. I understand the league's ruling and apologize to my teammates, the fans and the Patriots organization for this mistake."

He played in 12 games last season with eight starts, finishing with 61 tackles, one interception, and three passes defensed.

So far this preseason he's yet to play a snap as he reportedly has been battling an ankle injury. According to Howe, Spikes only participated in 11 of 21 practices during the public training camp sessions, and he wasn't spotted by reporters yesterday at the start of practice.

A few hours ago Spikes posted "Smhhhhhhhhhhh Grrrrrr #GetThePicture", which the "Smh" (for those of us not hip to the acronyms) according to one definition means "Acronym for 'shake my head' or 'shaking my head.' Usually used when someone finds something so stupid, no words can do it justice"

Tough to say looking at his timeline what he was referring to. But hopefully his feelings toward the organization aren't as bad as they're being made out to be, and he can pick up where he left off last season in 2011.

UPDATE: 12:30pm - Spikes tweeted a few minutes ago, "Boy I tell u . It ain't what u think Smhhhh". Followed by "#ToBeHonest ur opinion will never matter to me at all !!! Lol they like assholes, evr body got 1 #Powwwwwww".