Checking in on Brandon Spikes

The Patriots travel to Buffalo this week to face old friend Brandon Spikes (photo courtesy Buffalo Bills)

Brandon Spikes was drafted by the Patriots in 2010 and at times was the best defender the Patriots had and at others he was a total disappointment. As a gritty, run stuffing, chance taking inside linbacker Spikes would often find himself dropping running backs in the backfield for a loss. He would also find himself beat in the rare times he was used in pass coverages. The consistency of Jerrod Mayo, the emergence of Donta Hightower and the versatitliy of Jamie Collins, allowed the Patriots to let Spikes move on via free agency after the 2013 season, and he didn't go quietly tweeting, "Free at last" after signing his deal with Buffalo in March.

During the preseason Boston Globe reporter Ben Volin visited Bills training camp where Spikes said he has let go of the animosity he held for the Patriots after his 2013 injured reserve stint and not being offered a contract by the Patriots. He is a competitor though, so he has had this date circled on the calendar since the schedule was announced. He wants to win this game, he wants to play a major role in defeating the Patriots, animous or no.

Now that the season has started we at Patriots Life have decided we should look at how effective Spikes has bene for the Bills so far. In doing so we shout out Pro Football Focus (subscription required) for an in depth statistical look. I've taken a first five week view, of the last 3 years of Spikes stats and done a comparision. The three columns are SNAPS (number of snaps played), RATING (Pro Football Focus Rating), RANK (Rank amongst other qualifying inside linebackers).

            2012                                             2013                                             2014
            SNAPS/RATING/RANK            SNAPS/RATING/RANK            SNAPS/RATING/RANK
W1      38         -2.5          44                    16         -1.8          DNQ               52         -3.3         44
W2      51          4.8           2                      31         0.6           31                   15          -2.2        DNQ
W3      47         -3.6          39                     37         2.8           6                     20         -0.2         19
W4      56          5.8           1                      6           0.8           DNQ               43          2.1         4
W5      57         -1.2          25                     59         5.8           1                     53          1.1          9

These numbers tell me one very real, very specific thing, Brandon Spikes is still frustratingly inconsistent, both in how much time he spends on the field and the quality of play he demonstrates when he is out there.

What does the mean for Sunday against the Patriots? Well I imagine it will mean the Patriots work to exploit his over agressive nature by using play action passes to open up chunks of the middle of the field for guys like Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski to catch balls and move the chains. Based on the percentage of snaps Spikes has been playing though, it looks that he is used a lot like the Pats used him, on first and second down, in running situations. Meaning play action is likely to be less effective when he is out of the game. Which also means look for Brady to audible to runs if he sees Spikes on the sideline.

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