FOXBORO -- Brandon Spikes can be impetuous. He admits it freely, like last Wednesday when he told reporters he might need teammates to help keep his emotions capped during the AFC Championship game.
If they tried, they failed. Not like it's the job of the other 52 to babysit him. It simply seemed no man could stop a freewheeling Spikes on Sunday night. All were too excited about the Conference title to consider the consequences -- Spikes included.
"I never experienced this and it's great," he said in the postgame. "I can't find no words to describe it. I don't want to be nowhere else right now."
His volatility can be a bad thing.
In the second quarter, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was working on a game-tying drive. Baltimore had already converted four first downs, climbing from its own 20 to the New England 8. Frustration boiled over and Spikes got tangled in a scrum. He threw a punch at Marshal Yanda.
It was a stupid, selfish play; Spikes didn't get ejected, but he could have.
"The refs let you play a little bit and you kind of have to play the mind games," he reasoned after the game. "They say the game's like 90 percent mental, so I was just trying to get in his head a little bit. A little role playing. I'm into that."
The Ravens made him pay.
On the next play Spikes got caught looking at Flacco and released tight end Dennis Pitta on a cross. Flacco found Pitta for the 6-yard touchdown pass. The score was even at 10.
"Really, right now I'm speechless," he continued. "I just want to enjoy the moment. My teammates fought the whole game for 60 minutes. We fell down but we got back up and that is what makes it so good."
Thing is, Spikes' energy is also one of his best offerings.
He had a huge interception in the fourth quarter. It was his first of the year, the first of his two-year career, and came at a crucial time. Flacco was driving into Patriots territory with the hope of overtaking New England's 23-20 lead. His pass to Ed Dickson over the middle was careless; Spikes capitalized.
"I just took my normal reads," he said. "I was responsible for the tight end going vertical and I turned into the play and the ball was right there. I just wanted to make a play and I was able to. I was fortunate to hold on to it, it was a tough catch."
Responsibility is the issue.
When Spikes plays football straight, he's a presence. You can look in the box score to see how he bothered the Ravens: nine total tackles (a team best), the interception, and a pass defensed. There just always something else in the footnotes, some off-field problem, some question of attitude.
The stakes will be much higher in Indianapolis. The mind games? Spikes might want to leave those at home.