Fans may remember a few years ago when Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Derrick Burgess, and Gary Guyton were all sent home after being late for a meeting thanks to bad weather.
It's a tough but consistent precedent that was set by Bill Belichick, and it appears years later his stance hasn't changed.
According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Brandon Spikes has become the most recent victim of this policy. Mortensen reports that Spikes was late to the team's Friday bye week practice, which was apparently the "final straw" that forced Belichick to sideline the linebacker for the rest of the season. Spikes had been battling a knee injury that will reportedly require surgery after the season, but it seems whatever transpired between the player and coach when the two spoke may have lead Belichick to make the decision to place him on injured reserve. It's hard not to believe it was more related to his injury than his tardiness, but as a result his season is over.
The weather was bad that Friday, with Spikes tweeting about the fact he couldn't get out of his driveway, followed by another photo of his stuck car where he Tweeted, "Help!!".
With Spikes set to become a free agent in March, it's tough not to think that if Mortensen's report is true that Spikes' future in New England may be coming to an end. As to why the team placed the linebacker on injured reserve as opposed to potentially cutting him, one reason could be it also prevents the former second round pick from jumping to another team during this postseason.
The Patriots will play their first playoff game tonight in Foxboro at Gillette Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional round.
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