The message from Bill Belichick is clear. No matter how big a blizzard might hit Foxborough, get up early, hire a snowplow, rent a helicopter — do whatever it takes, but don’t be late for practice.
Brandon Spikes failed the test, according to ESPN. A major piece of what’s left of the Patriots’ injury-plagued defense all season, the linebacker was put on injured reserve on Monday, and the belief was that his chronic knee problems were the reason. However, ESPN reported Saturday that Spikes being late for the previous Friday’s practice was partly a factor.
That was the day a major storm hit the Northeast, though, and Spikes tweeted what seemed like an acceptable reason for his tardiness early that morning.
Spikes, though, may have no excuse — because in December 2009, four years and one month earlier, four Patriots were sent home by Belichick after showing up late for a meeting on another snowy day. The players called ahead to tell team officials that they were having commuting problems, as Spikes apparently had this time.
One of the 2009 players, veteran linebacker Adalius Thomas, publicly revolted against Belichick’s move. In an interview session that became a Patriots instant classic, Thomas told reporters (according to the Boston Globe): "There's one thing about Mother Nature — you can't control that. You can't run people over getting to work. There's nothing to apologize about. I wasn't trying to be late. I don't know what to say. You leave home, there are people there, cars sitting in the road, you're sitting there, what are you gonna do?
“It's not the Jetsons. I can't jump up and fly. What am I supposed to do?"
Asked if he thought the harsh reaction by Belichick was a motivational ploy, Thomas was just as blunt.
"Motivation is for kindergartners," Thomas told the media. "I'm not a kindergartner. Sending somebody home, that's like, 'You're expelled until you come back and make good grades.' Get that (bleep) out of here. It's ridiculous … I don't know, teaching tool? I don't know. I can't figure out what Bill thinks or knows."
Thomas had butted heads with Belichick previously that season –— he was inactive for a game against Tennessee and, when asked why, repeatedly answered, “Ask Bill.”
It turned out to be his last NFL season; he was released by the Patriots the following spring — around the same time Spikes was drafted.
According to the ESPN report, Spikes had been fined numerous times this season despite, in his mind, having explanations for the fineable acts. The report called the lateness for practice “the final straw” for Belichick, and putting him on IR was a mutual decision between him and Spikes, as opposed to the option of releasing him.