Bucs To Meet With Spikes, Wear Protective Goggles
March 10, 2010 at 10:42am by Scott • 2 Comments »
According to PFT, the Buccaneers are scheduled to have a meeting with The Gouger, whose birth name is Brandon Spikes, ex-Florida linebacker.
Spikes has the size and instincts to make an ideal fit inside a 3-4 defense, but there are concerns about his top-end speed. On a 4-3 defense, he could play in the middle and some teams may look at him as a strong-side linebacker.
Rolando McClain (Alabama) is pretty much the consensus top inside linebacker, and then there are two or three others, including Spikes, that are in that #2 slot. Pat Angerer (Iowa) is also climbing draft boards and may be in the conversation as well. The Bucs obviously don’t have a hell of a lot of confidence in Barrett Ruud and may very well be in the market for a new franchise middle linebacker. Spikes will probably still be around at the top of the second round where the Bucs could take him with the #35 slot. And if we’re all being honest here, I’d prefer the Bucs just use that slot to draft the corpse of Tiny Tim and prop him up at the 50-yard line at home games as a 30-minute loop of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” plays over the loudspeakers in place of the national anthem instead of taking Spikes. Do we really need shit like this in Tampa?
And it’s not just the eye gouge — I don’t like the guy. He’s a good player and all, but he’s going to be trouble. I get the same vibe from him that I got from Aqib Talib a few years back. Good, athletic player, but he’ll probably get arrested at some point. Talib’s on the team now and I just have to live with it, but they really don’t need yet another thug. There are plenty of good athletes out there that are also high-character people. As far as I know, Spikes has never had any other troubles at Florida than the above incident, so this is totally a “feel” thing, but I really think this guy is going to eventually be a huge headache for whoever drafts him. Gator readers, post evidence proving otherwise if you have some.
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2 Comments to “Bucs To Meet With Spikes, Wear Protective Goggles”
Mark S (March 10, 2010 at 11:11am) :
What I have to say about the Bucs concerns with Ruud is enough already. He has played well enough, especially considering the shit defensive line he has to work with. The only guy on our line anyone knows outside of Tampa is Stylez White, and that is for the wrong reason. Ruud deserves his pay day and extension. I am a Gator fan, but I don’t think that Brandon Spikes is what we need at linebacker. Our defense is built on speed. So, he can’t play OLB. The middle linebacker is required to take deep drops to protect the middle of the field in Tampa 2 pass coverage. If speed is an issue, he can’t play there either. Is he big enough to play right offensive tackle? Wishing Trueblood well in his non-Buc pursuits.
campyone (March 11, 2010 at 12:57am) :
I’m sure Brandon Spikes is the first and only player in the history of college and professional football that’s ever done anything at the bottom of a pile-up in an effort to harm another player. All those guys down there are very nice and very polite to each other. Nobody punches anyone in the nuts, twists arms or legs, sticks hands in face masks, or does anything else like that. Though if that’s the case I don’t know what Darnell Dockett meant when be bragged about twisting Earnest Graham’s knee at the bottom of a pile in a UF-FSU game a few years ago.
Spikes has never had the first problem at UF that I’ve ever heard of other than this so-called “eye gouging” incident (which of course is a complete misnomer since he didn’t gouge anyone’s eyes). But you refer to him as the “gouger,” call him a “thug,” claim he’ll probably be arrested at some point (despite the fact that he’s never been arrested) and say you just have a “feel” that he’s going to be a huge headache. Then you invite Gator readers to prove otherwise with evidence. Prove what otherwise? You haven’t said anything that could be disproved.
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