Brandon Spikes: We found'm

[patriot lifer]

Brandon Spikes training to be three-down linebacker for Patriots - NFL.com

He's looking for the payday.

 

[JackBauer]

Nothing if not a good thing. Hope it shows on the field.

 

[patriot lifer]

People are commenting on the irony of trying to stay on the field more by skipping OTA's with the team.

 

[signbabybrady]

This could be a good sign that all things are fine where we may have prematurely assumed his missing camp was a sign of him being mad (at either not having a new deal or PT or whatever).

Might have just been a player who preffered to stay near home and train. It is voluntary offseason work. While it is not a way to impress your boss if he shows up in shape ready to go there should be no ill will.

 

[TriplecHamp]

I think this is more about becoming a better football player than trying to get money. Is it really that much of a stretch to think that he wants to improve his game more than anything?

 

[Hudson Pats Fan]

I'm a big Spikes fan myself. If he's looking to improve himself and try to get quicker/faster on the field I'm all for it. Even if it's for one year and then he gets a big pay day elsewhere the Patriots will at least get one more good/great year out of him knocking the crap out of RB's and TE's.

 

[Ivan]

Probably his last year in NE but I hope he has a huge year. Ultimately I think Hightower moves inside and Collins takes up the outside spot he currently occupies. However when they go 3-4 I love the idea of Spikes and Hightower inside and Mayo and Collins outside, with Wilfork, Jones, and Kelly up front. Overall I really like the way the defense is shaping up and the flexibility they have built into it. They can go 3-4 and 4-3 as well as a variety of packages without any appreciable drop-off in talent.

 

[Ivan]

I think this is more about becoming a better football player than trying to get money. Is it really that much of a stretch to think that he wants to improve his game more than anything?

If that were the case he probably wouldn't have waited for his contract year to make the changes. maybe the lightbulb went off at just the right time but I would guess it's about getting more money by becoming a better all around player, which makes perfect sense anyways.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

People are commenting on the irony of trying to stay on the field more by skipping OTA's with the team.

I think some people underestimate what it takes to transform your body (which is surely what Spikes set out to do after the end of the season). If he is going to get faster on the field, its not just a matter of losing weight. Ankle flexion, reaction time, lower body flexibility.... its a difficult and consuming process, and he's paying out the wazoo to work with some of the best trainers in the world to try and do it.

 

[Kontradiction]

Probably his last year in NE but I hope he has a huge year. Ultimately I think Hightower moves inside and Collins takes up the outside spot he currently occupies. However when they go 3-4 I love the idea of Spikes and Hightower inside and Mayo and Collins outside, with Wilfork, Jones, and Kelly up front. Overall I really like the way the defense is shaping up and the flexibility they have built into it. They can go 3-4 and 4-3 as well as a variety of packages without any appreciable drop-off in talent.

Any situation where Jones is playing DE in the 34 and two gapping is a situation that invites the opposing offense to run all over that side of the ball. In the 34, Jones should be primarily a OLB. With the personnel we have on hand, Kelly and Armstead should be manning the DE spots with Wilfork at NT.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

If that were the case he probably wouldn't have waited for his contract year to make the changes. maybe the lightbulb went off at just the right time but I would guess it's about getting more money by becoming a better all around player, which makes perfect sense anyways.

Obviously there's financial motivation. But I bet its a pride thing for him too. Even though he's always been slow, he'd never really been out there on passing downs, or that much a liability when he was, because teams weren't actively trying to seek him out and exploit him. Last year teams caught on AND we ended up with no alternatives. He plays football with a lot of pride and I'm sure a year of being the focus of offensive game plans did a number on his ego.

 

[bishbash]

It was reported in the Herald, as well: Absent Brandon Spikes works out in Florida | Boston Herald

But I still don't get why he can't take a week off from this training to work with his teammates at OTA's?

 

[tonyto3690]

It was reported in the Herald, as well: Absent Brandon Spikes works out in Florida | Boston Herald

But I still don't get why he can't take a week off from this training to work with his teammates at OTA's?

He knows the playbook, he knows he's not going to get cut, he knows all the returning members. It's optional and it's not like he's out playing golf or surfing. I don't see any problem with that. He has all of training camp and preseason to get to know the new guys.