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It's a question that Bills fans want answered perhaps more desperately than any other. Will their two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who suffered a catastrophic rupture of his Achilles tendon last Sept. 25th be 100 percent ready to go come Sept. 10?
After watching a Buffalo defense that ranked second in the league in 2004, plummet to a ranking of 29th in 2005, fans attributed at least a good portion of that drop-off, right or wrong, to the absence of one of the unit's top playmakers, Spikes.
Now in the late stage of what Spikes has labeled 'The Comeback' the driven linebacker is on pace to be ready to participate in training camp.
"It's healed," said Spikes of the structural nature of his Achilles. "I don't have to worry about minor tears or it getting sore. It's healed. The thing now is being able to see how long the endurance can hold up in my leg."
In an effort to achieve that Spikes is jumping a lot of rope, and was doing a ton of hopping drills. At the final minicamp in mid-June he doing sets of 20 hops over and back over a bar about a foot high.
"I remember when I first started I was happy to just get two or three and I could barely do that," said Spikes. "It's been a steady progression. The longer I'm at it and putting strength back in the calf muscle which goes down into the Achilles itself then the faster I'll be able to play a complete four quarters of TKO football."
But the greatest challenge for Spikes is reigning in his innate passion to push himself to the limit in everything he does. He has come to learn that's not the best approach when rehabbing a ruptured Achilles.
"The thing I'm happy about is I make the most progress after a good work week when I take the next two days off," said Spikes. "My time off is very important. It goes hand-in-hand with my workload."
Spikes was moving quickly through his rehab and making fantastic progress this spring. He thought pushing it more would be better. Fortunately he spoke to another Achilles injury victim, Philadelphia receiver Todd Pinkston. And his advice proved very timely.
"He told me he was out running routes and he told me to be patient because he said he felt good and pushed it hard for three days and it set him back for three or four days," recalled Spikes. "And at that time I needed to hear that because I was in full form and getting ready to go kill it. But instead I set myself on a pace where I go hard two days and take a day off go another two days and take two days off. You have to approach it more mentally than emotionally."
So Spikes is steadily building strength back into his lower leg. In mid-June however, he knew he still wasn't back to being the same player he was prior to the injury.
"What's driving me crazy right now is going to my right I might be a half-second slower than going to my left," said Spikes. "I'm able to get there, but until I feel 100 percent mentally correct then that's when I'll know I'm ready."
Spikes has constantly reminded himself that time is on his side and it's helped him remain patient. But time is now growing short with respect to being ready for training camp. Still the talented defensive playmaker is confident he'll be physically cleared.
But that doesn't mean that the Bills coaching staff will throw him right back into a full workload in the practice setting.
"If we believe that on the first or second day of camp that he's 100 percent healthy the odds are we still won't put him out there every single practice," said head coach #### Jauron. "We feel that once a day particularly with his experience is all he will need anyway to be ready for the season."
Jauron says Spikes practice reps will be monitored, but that he anticipates that Spikes will be ready for the season opener.
But even though he may be physically healthy will he be the same Takeo Spikes? That is the ultimate question for which no one has an answer.
For Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson, who ruptured his Achilles in 2004 while playing for San Francisco, did get back on the field in time for the opener the following season, but admitted he wasn't the same.
"To me it felt like it was going to take forever," said Peterson of his return to full form. "I was like, 'Man, I'm not going to be the same. I'm not going to be able to jump the same, I can't push off this foot like I want to.' As I told (Takeo), the Achilles might be healed up, but all the little things between your ankle, foot and your big toe have to come back to play. But as the season went on, I started getting more and more explosiveness in my foot."
While it took Peterson a couple of months into the season to be the same player again, that was not the case for Chicago safety Mike Brown, who from the first game in 2005 was the same player he always was after suffering the same injury.
Each case is different, but Spikes isn't only confident that he'll be the same player he was, he believes he will be stronger, faster and a better player than the one that was carted off the field on September 25 last year. From the time he was injured he's had visions of his return to the field.
"I've seen myself at New England already in the locker room right before the game," said Spikes. "I'm just waiting on the game now. It's just a matter of time."
It's a question that Bills fans want answered perhaps more desperately than any other. Will their two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who suffered a catastrophic rupture of his Achilles tendon last Sept. 25th be 100 percent ready to go come Sept. 10?
After watching a Buffalo defense that ranked second in the league in 2004, plummet to a ranking of 29th in 2005, fans attributed at least a good portion of that drop-off, right or wrong, to the absence of one of the unit's top playmakers, Spikes.
Now in the late stage of what Spikes has labeled 'The Comeback' the driven linebacker is on pace to be ready to participate in training camp.
"It's healed," said Spikes of the structural nature of his Achilles. "I don't have to worry about minor tears or it getting sore. It's healed. The thing now is being able to see how long the endurance can hold up in my leg."
In an effort to achieve that Spikes is jumping a lot of rope, and was doing a ton of hopping drills. At the final minicamp in mid-June he doing sets of 20 hops over and back over a bar about a foot high.
"I remember when I first started I was happy to just get two or three and I could barely do that," said Spikes. "It's been a steady progression. The longer I'm at it and putting strength back in the calf muscle which goes down into the Achilles itself then the faster I'll be able to play a complete four quarters of TKO football."
But the greatest challenge for Spikes is reigning in his innate passion to push himself to the limit in everything he does. He has come to learn that's not the best approach when rehabbing a ruptured Achilles.
"The thing I'm happy about is I make the most progress after a good work week when I take the next two days off," said Spikes. "My time off is very important. It goes hand-in-hand with my workload."
Spikes was moving quickly through his rehab and making fantastic progress this spring. He thought pushing it more would be better. Fortunately he spoke to another Achilles injury victim, Philadelphia receiver Todd Pinkston. And his advice proved very timely.
"He told me he was out running routes and he told me to be patient because he said he felt good and pushed it hard for three days and it set him back for three or four days," recalled Spikes. "And at that time I needed to hear that because I was in full form and getting ready to go kill it. But instead I set myself on a pace where I go hard two days and take a day off go another two days and take two days off. You have to approach it more mentally than emotionally."
So Spikes is steadily building strength back into his lower leg. In mid-June however, he knew he still wasn't back to being the same player he was prior to the injury.
"What's driving me crazy right now is going to my right I might be a half-second slower than going to my left," said Spikes. "I'm able to get there, but until I feel 100 percent mentally correct then that's when I'll know I'm ready."
Spikes has constantly reminded himself that time is on his side and it's helped him remain patient. But time is now growing short with respect to being ready for training camp. Still the talented defensive playmaker is confident he'll be physically cleared.
But that doesn't mean that the Bills coaching staff will throw him right back into a full workload in the practice setting.
"If we believe that on the first or second day of camp that he's 100 percent healthy the odds are we still won't put him out there every single practice," said head coach #### Jauron. "We feel that once a day particularly with his experience is all he will need anyway to be ready for the season."
Jauron says Spikes practice reps will be monitored, but that he anticipates that Spikes will be ready for the season opener.
But even though he may be physically healthy will he be the same Takeo Spikes? That is the ultimate question for which no one has an answer.
For Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson, who ruptured his Achilles in 2004 while playing for San Francisco, did get back on the field in time for the opener the following season, but admitted he wasn't the same.
"To me it felt like it was going to take forever," said Peterson of his return to full form. "I was like, 'Man, I'm not going to be the same. I'm not going to be able to jump the same, I can't push off this foot like I want to.' As I told (Takeo), the Achilles might be healed up, but all the little things between your ankle, foot and your big toe have to come back to play. But as the season went on, I started getting more and more explosiveness in my foot."
While it took Peterson a couple of months into the season to be the same player again, that was not the case for Chicago safety Mike Brown, who from the first game in 2005 was the same player he always was after suffering the same injury.
Each case is different, but Spikes isn't only confident that he'll be the same player he was, he believes he will be stronger, faster and a better player than the one that was carted off the field on September 25 last year. From the time he was injured he's had visions of his return to the field.
"I've seen myself at New England already in the locker room right before the game," said Spikes. "I'm just waiting on the game now. It's just a matter of time."
