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Free at last Spikes revels in leaving Cincinnati for BuffaloPosted: Wednesday July 30, 2003 5:25 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- When the letter rolled out of the fax machine that March day in Buffalo, Takeo Spikes wanted to see it, wanted to hold it, and even asked the Bills front office if he could make two or three copies of it for posterity. In essence he had received his walking papers from Cincinnati, but for it to be real, he had to touch the document that made him a Buffalo Bill with his own two hands. "It was like a dream coming true, like I was coming into the league all over again," said Spikes, who was the Bills' centerpiece addition in free agency this offseason. "It was almost like hearing the commissioner call your name again on that stage. That's the way I felt. Just to see it, man, I don't know. It was almost like, and I know I shouldn't say this because it sounds so harsh, but it was like I was a slave getting his slave papers." Spikes' overstatement begs for a healthy sense of perspective, but it also underlines the sense of elation he feels in these early days of Buffalo's training camp. For Spikes, the NFL's cruelest form of bondage was being a Bengal for the past five years, toiling for a Cincinnati team that went 19-61 in that span, never winning more than six games in any season. After burning to play in meaningful games at the meaningful portion of the season, Spikes, 26, is convinced his time is finally at hand. That's why when the Bengals decided not to match Buffalo's six-year, $32 million contract tender to their transitional free agent, and sent the Bills a letter confirming their decision, the sixth-year outside linebacker could barely believe his reversal of fortune. And we're not even talking about the fat $9 million signing bonus that the Bills slid his way. "I'm so very happy to be here," Spikes said Wednesday morning, just minutes after finishing another crisp workout at the Bills' camp site at St. John Fisher College in suburban Rochester. "My lifelong dream is to win, and I was accustomed to winning before I got to Cincinnati. From Bantam League, to middle school, high school and at Auburn, I was always on winning teams. I just want to win again." Talk to Spikes for five minutes or so and you expect him to get around to bashing the Bengals, the team he couldn't wait to leave. After all, Bengal-bashing has been a national craze for years now. Word is it's even going to be a non-medal sport at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. But instead, Spikes didn't choose to blow up all the bridges behind him. He just wanted to cross them and keep moving on, sneaking only the occasional instructive look back. "I don't want to forget that what I went through the last five years in Cincinnati is what made me what I am today," he said. "I wouldn't be the type of player I am today if I didn't go through that. I don't regret those five years. I appreciate them very much. But I knew that once my time was up, I had to go. I was one of the fortunate ones to get on up out of there." But the timing of Spikes' departure from Cincinnati was at the very least curious. Wasn't it tempting to give new Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis the benefit of the doubt, as so many of his former teammates were willing to do? If even running back Corey Dillon -- the perpetually disgruntled Bengal -- seems to have signed on to Lewis's program, why couldn't Spikes, the team's top defensive star? Wasn't there the slightest fear that he would be walking out just before Cincinnati finally turned the corner? Why do the grunt work and then wind up missing the party? I put just those savvy questions to the newest big-name Bill, and he was ready for every one of them. He smiled, heard me out, then dismissed them all with a quick shake of his head. "I thought about staying for probably two or three seconds after they hired Marvin Lewis," said Spikes, who led the Bengals in tackles four times in his five seasons. "But the biggest thing to me is that they're not just a coach away from winning. They're not like one or two players away. It's something that's going to take a process, and that process will take three or four years. And three or four years to me is my eighth and ninth years in the league. Who knows? I may not even be playing at that point. I didn't want to take that chance." The Bills can't be real thrilled to consider that possibility. They're counting on Spikes being a play-making force in their defense well into the future, and that future starts now for a club that will be playing for head coach Gregg Williams' job in 2003. Buffalo's offseason defensive makeover was impressive, and completely necessary. After a 5-3 first-half start last season, the Bills stumbled home at 8-8 and in last place in the tight AFC East, largely because their defense gave up 379 points -- the third-highest total in franchise history. Enter Spikes, fellow outside linebacker Jeff Posey, veteran defensive Sam Adams, key secondary reserve Izell Reese, and rookie defensive end Chris Kelsay, the team's second-round pick. With Adams and fellow defensive tackle Pat Williams expected to clog up teams' running lanes up front, Spikes and Bills middle linebacker London Fletcher -- last year's big offseason addition on defense -- should have a season-long competition for team-high tackle honors. The Bills' defense needed to get faster, better at stopping the run, and more capable of creating turnovers and making big plays. Buffalo looks better on all those fronts, and the big upgrade starts with Spikes. "When you make a move like getting Takeo in the offseason, it speaks volumes to the entire team," Williams said. "It's contagious in the weight room. It's contagious in your minicamps. Making that move got Sam Adams here, it got Izell Reese here, because it showed the other free agents that we were recruiting that we were serious about our commitment to win." Spikes proved to be a difference-maker in Cincinnati, even with the Bengals locked into their 12-year run of non-winning seasons. He accounted for 23 takeaways in his five seasons as a Bengal, and started 79 out of his 80 games in Cincinnati, missing time only when his father died in October 2001. Last season, Spikes was off the field for just seven defensive snaps. But he promises Bills fans that they ain't seen nothing yet. A born leader, Spikes exudes intensity and charisma, and he's already starting to affect how his Buffalo teammates approach their work. I'd be shocked if his signing didn't rate one of the season's biggest success stories. "His presence alone, and the energy he brings to the defense makes us a whole lot better than last year," Bills running back Travis Henry said. "I just love seeing him and the rest of our defense running to the ball and blitzing like crazy. He's a special one. Even though he signed a big contract, he's always striving to get better. His leadership really adds something to this team." Unlike a lot of big free-agent acquisitions, Spikes isn't shying away from the pressure or the spotlight. Figuring he has more to play for than ever with the contending Bills, he yearns to produce like never before. "I want people to say that I was the best offseason acquisition that been made in the last five years, other than the move the Bills made to get Drew [Bledsoe] last year," said Spikes, proving he's quick on the uptake. "I want people to say they got their money's worth out of this guy. "I know a lot of people expect a lot of great things out of me. But I expect a lot of great things out of myself. ... It's time to be a household name for the 50 percent of people who didn't know me before." That number sounds high. But presumably Spikes means everyone outside Cincinnati. Or maybe more fittingly, given the dream he realized this offseason, anywhere but Cincinnati. Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com. |
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