The Patriots, coming off a huge prime time victory, now head to Buffalo to square off against an all too familiar Buffalo Bills team.
AFC East division rivalry aside, the Bills made some changes in the offseason that have strong roots going back to New England. They signed linebacker Brandon Spikes via free agency, the former-Patriot linebacker who regularly set the tone for the defense with bone-crunching hits. They also added defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, a prominent position coach for the Patriots who patrolled their sidelines from 2000 to 2013.
Johnson and Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick go even further back. Johnson played for Belichick, when Belichick was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants during their Super Bowl victories in ’86 and ’90. Johnson later reunited with Belichick during Belichick’s first head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns.
For all the good times between Belichick and Johnson, the same might not be said in connection between Belichick and Spikes. Drafted in 2010, Spikes quickly earned his place and started eight games. However, his rookie season was marred by off-field issues.
First, there was a video recorded from the website Chatroulette that displayed Spikes engaging in a sexual act with a woman in a hotel room. The video was reviewed by the NFL and his agent released a statement to the Boston Herald that the video was an “embarrassing situation” for his client and that the video “certainly doesn’t reflect the kind of person he is.”
Later, as the team headed into week 14, Spikes was suspended the remainder of the season due to a violation of the league’s banned substances policy. The substance was later tied to an ingredient in his ADHD medication.
Spikes responded via statement saying, “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.” He also apologized to fans, teammates, and the Patriots organization in his statement.
Needless to say it was a rocky start for a relationship with his head coach who notoriously runs a tight anti-media ship.
While off-field issues were dealt with, Spikes grew into a playmaker although his style of play didn’t always sit well with other players.
In 2012, Spikes was fined after a Week 4 game against the Bills for an illegal block on tight end Scott Chandler. Chandler left the game with a head injury and the Patriots linebacker was docked $25,000.
The Week 10 rematch between the teams saw Spikes get hit with a roughing the passer penalty after a head-to-head hit that launched Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s helmet off. In the same game, Spikes knocked running back (and now teammate) Fred Jackson out in the fourth quarter. There was no flag on that play.
Post-game Fitzpatrick had strong words for Spikes.
“I think he’s a punk at times and took a cheap shot at Scott in the first game, and he was doing a lot of jabbering and talking and hitting out there. Not one of my favorite players. Not high on my list.”
Starting center (and now teammate) Eric Wood also took note of Spikes, calling him a “headhunter”.
The rocky relationship between Spikes and Belichick hit its peak at the end of last season. When Spikes was placed on injured reserve days before their first playoff game. The Patriots cited a knee injury but that was quickly refuted by Spikes.
Spikes’ agent, Gary Uberstein, announced via statement the Monday following the Patriots victory over the Colts that the linebacker, “never had a single conversation with the Patriots in which they threatened to release (Spikes) if he didn’t accept the Injured Reserve designation.”
The statement also said that the team’s decision was “not a mutual decision”.
Spikes “absolutely” considers his injured reserve designation as a suspension by Belichick for not reporting for meetings at Gillette Stadium due to a snowstorm. That morning he tweeted a picture of his SUV stuck in snow with the caption “Help!!”.
“I did miss that one day, but that wasn’t it,” Spikes told the Boston Herald recently. “It was a handful of things that went on that on that was behind closed doors.
The events called to mind a similar situation in 2009 in which Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton, and Adalius Thomas were sent home after arriving late to a meeting amidst a snow day.
Following the season, Spikes quickly signed with the Buffalo Bills. After joining the Bills, Spikes released a flurry of tweets slamming his former team.
“It’s icing on my cake to hand the #Patriots two big L’s this year #justwatch”, Spikes tweeted.
“4 years a slave,” another tweet read. A very controversial statement with Spikes comparing his time in Foxboro to the Oscar winning film “12 Years a Slave”.
When asked about facing off against his former pupil on Wednesday, Belichick answered, “I don’t think he’s changed much. Hair might be a little longer. He’s about the same.”
Spikes seemed surprised by the response.
“He said that? What a pleasant surprise,” Spikes said to reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t think he held a grudge. It is what it is. Players change teams every year – every week. That’s just what it is.”
The division rivals face off Sunday at 1 PM EST at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. With the Bills swarming defense and the recent struggles of the Patriots offense it will be another bout between the two. Not to mention the division standings the outcome holds. The teams are tied for first place at 3-2.
“Got friends still over there, so you know, I’m excited,” Spikes said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a while now.”
And could one of those friends be Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady?
“Yeah, that was a great nickname,” Brady said in response to Spikes calling him ‘The Pharaoh’. “He was great here, and he’s having a great season. I know he was named captain and he’s (the) signal caller, so I’m really happy for him.”
The Patriots, under Brady, are 22-2 against the Bills.
