Brandon Spikes has been a noticeable absentee during the New England Patriots' organized team activities.
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So where exactly is the veteran linebacker? Well, Spikes has been in Florida training on his own at Bommarito Performance Systems. Spikes, who's heading into a contract year, wants to prove that he can be a three-down linebacker for the Patriots and believes this is the best way to ensure he's in optimal shape.
"It's basically strength and conditioning work," Pete Bommarito, president of Bommarito Performance Systems, recently told me. "Just speed work, conditioning, that kind of stuff that we know he responds to. Just trying to basically build and work on overall athleticism. With him, it's not really anything that's truly position-specific or sport-specific. The majority of it is just speed, overall joint alignment, making sure he's as healthy as possible, as lean as possible and as strong as possible."
Spikes plans to attend June's mandatory minicamp, and, after that, Bommarito said the linebacker will return to Florida to continue to train.
"That's our busiest time of the year," Bommarito said. "Come in, on individualized plan, get them ready for camp. Right now, not trying to peak him too early."
Bommarito added: "I'd say at this stage in the offseason, he's where he needs to be. It's not necessarily rehabilitation, it's recovery from the season, making sure his joints are aligned properly, it's an ongoing process that will end right before training camp. Think of us being halfway through the offseason, he's right where he wants to be."
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