Brandon Spikes signed / released (merge)

[ColtsLegacy]

Looks like somebody else gets to pull off the "signing of the century ?"

Damn, something's clearly wrong with the guy. He's a good player.

Edit: just saw the other thread that says he is being investigated in a hit and run.

[jvan1973]

Yep, they just released him, http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/13035812/brandon-spikes-released-new-england-patriots

Pats don't mess around with stupid. A shame as he could have been a big plus vs the run this year ...

Yeah, they don't mess around with stupid. How long was Alphonso Dennard on the team? Gimme a break

[21isSuperman]

Yeah, he had a bad rap sheet for sure but not unlike many draft picks before him. Of course he also had first round talent. I have never understood the thinking of brow beating the Pats for drafting him. So many of the guys that come into the NFL have poor backgrounds and rap sheets and teams sign them all the time. Now IF the Pats had kept him (had he not been convicted of murder) the way the Ravens and Cowboys have with their problem players then I could do see the outrage. But all a team can is the necessary research and hope the environment they provide helps players reach their potential. I mean your description also would indicate how NFL teams would also be fooled by him.

I agree.  It's not the Patriots' fault that he was a murderer.  A lot of people try to use it to criticize the Pats and I don't get it.  I'm pretty confident in thinking the Patriots did nothing to encourage or help him murder anyone.  The Pats took a guy with some red flags and a checkered history, but they aren't the only team to do so

[dw49]

Things change rapidly...back in the day when Hernandez was drafted, the league was pretty dramatically different when it came to how teams viewed "character" issues. The concern teams had about "character"  began and ended with how their issues might impact the player's on-field performance, not about any morality stance. Players like Hernandez were always a "risk/reward" scenario when it came to the draft...a math exercise. Everyone knew the guy was a first round talent. The concern was that he'd screw up and land in jail or be a disruption to the team or whatever. So nobody wanted to risk a bust first round pick...or 2nd round pick...or even 3rd round pick. But by the time the 4th round came along, the risk was minimized. Who cares if a 4th round pick doesn't pan out? It happens every year. I'm convinced that he would not have made it through the 5th round had the Pats not grabbed him. I'll bet there were several teams that would have taken him at that point (though obviously nobody will admit that).

 

 

Even then there were teams that just removed bad character players from their boards. Now would they put a guy like Hernadez "back on the board " if he were available in the 5th or 6th ? I don't know. Anyway what you have above (IMO) is somewhat true I think but you are skirting on that thin edge by implying that all teams pretty much had the same view as to signing bad actors. All risk - reward... I don't think it's true .

 

I do feel that it would be 100% that Hernandez would be gone by the end of round 5. Probably was going in the next few picks to a team that didn't take him off their board. I'm not trying to say that NE was the only team that would have drafted him in that approximate spot. 

[dw49]

Now playing on a football message board near you-

 

 

see how many Supertamp fans there are...   LOL

LOL

[dw49]

If I had to guess I say Cowboys.

 

They could use him I think

[ColtsBlueFL]

LOL

 

It's a Crime, I tell ya!  Crime of the Century!

 

[Qwiz]

*. He just got back to a team that was going to be in the mix as always and he goes and gets himself into trouble again. If he was actally involved, anyway. Oh well.

[dw49]

It's a Crime, I tell ya!  Crime of the Century!

 

 

Nice

[dw49]

Ehh, it's easy to talk about how you didn't have a guy on your board after he's arrested for murder.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000215983/article/bengals-colts-skipped-aaron-hernandez-in-2010-draft

 

 

Interesting that even Cinn had him off their board. I tend to believe the teams when they say a player was taken off their board. What would prevent a former Colt employees who had access to our board from saying "Polian never took such and such player off our board."

[Bad Morty]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000215983/article/bengals-colts-skipped-aaron-hernandez-in-2010-draft

 

 

Interesting that even Cinn had him off their board. I tend to believe the teams when they say a player was taken off their board. What would prevent a former Colt employees who had access to our board from saying "Polian never took such and such player off our board."

I have no doubt that several teams ruled him out completely. I'm simply saying that the motivation for teams doing that was less about any "morality" and 100% about the fact that they thought the player wouldn't help and/or would harm their team. So I'm sure some teams said "Hey - this guy is bad news...we are 100% sure he's not going to work out, so we aren't taking him no matter what"...other teams said "eh...guy is trouble, we're all set for tight ends...pass"...and a bunch of teams probably had the same view as the Pats had..."too risky to use a high pick on, but if he falls to a certain point in the draft, then we're in".

[JPPT1974]

Say what you will about the Pats, but at least they did one thing right. 

[Warhorse]

Yeah, I posted this on another thread. Glad the Pats let him go. They don't do stupid. A real shame as he could have helped this year vs the run. Oh well ..

They don't do stupid but the risk bad people. Your comment may have been best left unsaid. Oh well...

[Warhorse]

Yeah, they don't mess around with stupid. How long was Alphonso Dennard on the team? Gimme a break

Exactly.

[Superman]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000215983/article/bengals-colts-skipped-aaron-hernandez-in-2010-draft

 

 

Interesting that even Cinn had him off their board. I tend to believe the teams when they say a player was taken off their board. What would prevent a former Colt employees who had access to our board from saying "Polian never took such and such player off our board."

 

I'm not saying that anyone in particular is lying about it. I'm just saying it's easy to be sanctimonious in hindsight, especially when it's now someone else's problem. People can say that a player was off their board, but what if he had lasted until the 5th? 6th? The Pats took a calculated risk on a questionable person with great football skills/talent. Many teams have done the same.

[dw49]

I'm not saying that anyone in particular is lying about it. I'm just saying it's easy to be sanctimonious in hindsight, especially when it's now someone else's problem. People can say that a player was off their board, but what if he had lasted until the 5th? 6th? The Pats took a calculated risk on a questionable person with great football skills/talent. Many teams have done the same.

 

 

I just find the whole thing interesting. If you look at my comments on this , I never chastise NE for selecting him in round 4. Every player with that kind of talent is going to get a shot in the NFL. It's just a question of which team and at what price.

 

I'm thinking Cinn . who badly needed a TE , must have really had bad vibes on him.. no ? They have always seemed to roll the dice with "character guys." I guess I didn't view Polian's and other's comments as "sanctimonious" but you could be right regarding Polian . He no doubt can be a bit of a jerk.

[Superman]

I just find the whole thing interesting. If you look at my comments on this , I never chastise NE for selecting him in round 4. Every player with that kind of talent is going to get a shot in the NFL. It's just a question of which team and at what price.

I'm thinking Cinn . who badly needed a TE , must have really had bad vibes on him.. no ? They have always seemed to roll the dice with "character guys." I guess I didn't view Polian's and other's comments as "sanctimonious" but you could be right regarding Polian . He no doubt can be a bit of a jerk.

The Bengals took Gresham that year, 21 picks ahead of Gronkowski. So I don't know what that says of their evaluation of Hernandez, but it's certainly not their finest draft decision ever.

My comments weren't directed at any team in particular. Just kind of an eyeroll to people who get on TV after the fact and talk about how they saw it coming from a mile away. Everyone has some character misses on their resume at some point.

[Shane Bond]

Just wanted to make sure of something...........?

 

Is this still a website for Colts fans?

 

Are we allowed to post things too,  or it now only about the Patriots?

 

Seems like these ants are just never going to leave our picnic.....

 

How dare you?.

[dw49]

The Bengals took Gresham that year, 21 picks ahead of Gronkowski. So I don't know what that says of their evaluation of Hernandez, but it's certainly not their finest draft decision ever.

My comments weren't directed at any team in particular. Just kind of an eyeroll to people who get on TV after the fact and talk about how they saw it coming from a mile away. Everyone has some character misses on their resume at some point.

 

 

Thats true.. forgot the Bengals selected him that early

[ColtsBlueFL]

The Bengals took Gresham that year, 21 picks ahead of Gronkowski. So I don't know what that says of their evaluation of Hernandez, but it's certainly not their finest draft decision ever.

My comments weren't directed at any team in particular. Just kind of an eyeroll to people who get on TV after the fact and talk about how they saw it coming from a mile away. Everyone has some character misses on their resume at some point.

 

If you believe Mr. Brown, the Bengals pulled Gronk from their board too, because-

 

"Back issues are nothing new to Gronkowski, who missed the 2009 season at the University of Arizona due to a disc issue that required surgery. That particularly back surgery prompted speculation — which was refuted by Gronkowski and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus — that Gronkowski had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which may have contributed to him falling out of the first round of the 2010 NFL draft."

 

Gronk has had more back surgery since, and other issues, but is elite talent when on the field.

[Superman]

If you believe Mr. Brown, the Bengals pulled Gronk from their board too, because-

"Back issues are nothing new to Gronkowski, who missed the 2009 season at the University of Arizona due to a disc issue that required surgery. That particularly back surgery prompted speculation — which was refuted by Gronkowski and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus — that Gronkowski had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which may have contributed to him falling out of the first round of the 2010 NFL draft."

Gronk has had more back surgery since, and other issues, but is elite talent when on the field.

Seems like bad drafting, in hindsight. Like they decided in advance that they wanted a TE. A good example of the folly of needs-based drafting, especially in the first round. Being fair, I think Gresham was highly rated that year, so I might be wrong on that altogether...

[ColtsBlueFL]

Seems like bad drafting, in hindsight. Like they decided in advance that they wanted a TE. A good example of the folly of needs-based drafting, especially in the first round. Being fair, I think Gresham was highly rated that year, so I might be wrong on that altogether...

 

Well, even if they went needs only, Gresham was rated a serious round 1 TE.  He was ranked mid 1 to early 2 by several scouting sites then. Scouts Inc had his grade as 92, position rank as 1, and overall at 25.  But that means little or nothing to me as Werner was highly ranked and I was so against that pick.  I was with the cocoon of forum members for Xavier Rhodes instead.  And this time I'm actually for the Dorsett upset the applecart pick. Draft is a funny thing...

[pgt_rob]

Looks like Brandon Spikes is trying to sell his afc championship ring on ebay - http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/16/brandon-spikes-puts-patriots-afc-championship-ring-on-ebay/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

 

lol