Brandon Spikes subpackage role?

treat88 · Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 5951

So, is Spikes a true 3 down backer or do you foresee him leaving the field in obvious passing situations?

Any long range concerns about his knee troubles?

Thanks for the insights!
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Sciz · Joined: 19 Jan 2009 Posts: 12835 Location: Iowa

My expectation is that we'll see mostly Hightower and Mayo in subpackages together.
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mcmurtry86 · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 16200

Deadpulse · Joined: 16 Oct 2008 Posts: 5914 Location: Boston MA

I think Spikes is a starting caliber LB right now with some room for improvement, but could very well plateau here. However, we are talking about a BB defense that will and has always been situational. Spikes will be used in a way to maximize his talents, he will have his job.

That being said, so will Hightower, Mayo, Nink, Fletcher, and Carpenter. So do I expect him to be on the field every down? No, but I honestly wouldnt expect that of any player on defense short of some DB's and Mayo.

If I were to guess starters, I would say Hightower, Mayo, Spikes and in a 3-4 base, Nink, would be them.

But if last year was any indication, they seem to trust Spikes in there for a large chunk of snaps as the season wore on:

Week 2
19 of 72

Week 3
48 of 66

Week 4
46 of 70

Week 5
52 of 54

Week 6
67 of 74

Week 7
74 of 80

Week 8
39 of 72 - Suffered MCL during game

Week 17
LB Brandon Spikes – 18 of 71 - First game back from injury, meaningless game, came in in the 4th qtr to shake off rust, came in for sub packages.

Playoffs - Div
59 of 71

Playoffs - AFC Champ
52 of 73

SB
66 of 76

So if you take out the game he was forced to leave and the game he didnt play much in to end the season due to his return from injury and the meaningless nature of the game, he played 483 snaps out of 636 which is
75.9% of his snaps and a whopping 86.8% in the biggest stage of all. I would say that BB trusts him to be out there in many situations and wants him out there. We all know how well Dane played in Spikes absence, but BB went with Spikes in the playoffs despite his layoff. Fletcher played 14, 10, and 1 snaps in the Div, Champ, and SB. I think Spikes has earned his spot and IMO is underrated for his ability to be on the field in more than just blitzing and run stuffing situations. Mike Riess wrote in one of his blogs about it as well: