Darius Butler - Props

[TheBaronPatriot]

Looked really good.

Matched up against an experienced and still very dangerous D.Mason.
Made plays on the ball, showed make up speed.
These are the hallmarks of a great cover corner.
I can recall 2 plays in which his coverage on Mason was second to none and he batted the ball away last second.

Shows you what BB and co think of him matching him up against Mason and him coming through and making plays.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I thought that one time when he covered his receiver in the end zone was going to be called for PI but I guess it was not that close.

 

[Xplicit]

his coverage was flawless, turned when the WR turned both times and went to the highest point.

 

[The Dynasty]

Butler is just another member of the Pats secondary that is very quick and is getting better week by week. I like this D a lot. Young, fast, smart.

 

[mayoclinic]

I thought that one time when he covered his receiver in the end zone was going to be called for PI but I guess it was not that close.

Both the coverage in the end zone and the hit on Mason on the following play were perfect. Butler was all over the receiver without making early contact. He forced Mason to adjust and partially blocked his view so that the ball did not land cleanly, and he popped Mason right as the ball arrived. I was in Baltimore watching the game when that play happened and the whole crowd screemed "pass interference". Then they replayed it and the whole crowd was quiet. Not a single word of objection. It was obvious from the replay that Butler timed his hit perfectly right as the ball arrived. Clean play.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

He played well, but he was beat by Clayton on 4th and 3 and the ball would've been caught 9/10 times. The Pats finally got some luck on their side.

 

[mayoclinic]

Sorry, I meant to say in the last post that Butler forced Clayton to adjust in the end zone. The following play was against Mason.

 

[marty]

D Butler was great! Loved the way he played yesterday!! Keep it coming young man.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I thought that one time when he covered his receiver in the end zone was going to be called for PI but I guess it was not that close.

I think we as Pats fans expected the PI because Hobbs used to get called defending that every single time, without exception (and to Hobbs' credit, it was a crap call more often than not). Butler played it perfectly though.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Sorry, I meant to say in the last post that Butler forced Clayton to adjust in the end zone. The following play was against Mason.

That was a fabulous play in the ez. On the live play it looked like it was all out of bounds anyway, but replay showed it would have been a TD if Clayton had come with it. Incredible contortion and determination to break up that pass.

Butler is very results-oriented. He's not just out there to be in the right place or use the right technique. He's out there to prevent pass receptions.

 

[MVPKiller]

Being from CT I have a lot of love for Butler, I hope he grows into being our #1 corner someday, he has the skill to do it.

 

[mitsudriver]

Butler played great in the game. I was impressed by the hitting that the secondary was doing. McGowan rocked clayton on that last play. I can't help but wonder if that was part of the reason he took his eye off the ball. Meriweather has arrived. Also, I wonder how much of the improved secondary play was due to the sudden discovery of a pass rush this week.

 

[DarrylS]

Really like this kid, and glad to see he is part of the very good and fast secondary... what a difference, very good football players, young and fast.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He played well, but he was beat by Clayton on 4th and 3 and the ball would've been caught 9/10 times. The Pats finally got some luck on their side.

I do agree that the ball should have been caught but I believe that hits on WRs throughout the game have an impact. This Pats secondary HITS hard and continually layed the lumber on the Ravens' receivers all game long. Did all those hits and chips have a cumulative effect which resulted in Clayton's screw-up? Not sure.

 

[condon84]

That was a fabulous play in the ez. On the live play it looked like it was all out of bounds anyway, but replay showed it would have been a TD if Clayton had come with it. Incredible contortion and determination to break up that pass.

Butler is very results-oriented. He's not just out there to be in the right place or use the right technique. He's out there to prevent pass receptions.

Love this comment. I remember before when Ellis would give up easy third down conversionss and reporters after the game would ask him what happened and his answer would always be something like: "well, I'm just playing my technique." Yeah Ellis, your technique was to give up a first down LOL.

 

[farn]

I like Darius... I've noticed our backfield has WAY more pizzazz ! They are quick, they are in the face of the opponent, they want it.

Butler is one of the guys, but he seems to be matched up on key players late in games. I dunno. Hopefully the progress keeps it up.

 

[Spiral]

The fact that you have Wheatley, who is also quick and fast, fighting for a game-day roster spot, gives me reason to believe that this will be a strength for some time to come.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I like Darius... I've noticed our backfield has WAY more pizzazz ! They are quick, they are in the face of the opponent, they want it.

Butler is one of the guys, but he seems to be matched up on key players late in games. I dunno. Hopefully the progress keeps it up.

Every team should have a player with one of these first names in the defensive backfield....

Deion
Darius
Rod
Ty
Rodney

He fits the "Bill" nicely!

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

I do agree that the ball should have been caught but I believe that hits on WRs throughout the game have an impact. This Pats secondary HITS hard and continually layed the lumber on the Ravens' receivers all game long. Did all those hits and chips have a cumulative effect which resulted in Clayton's screw-up? Not sure.

I agree with you.
I thought this all game.
The hit on Mason in the EZ was pretty bad.
Sure he caught it and made a heck of a play but it cost him a lot.
The pats secondary laid people out.

I thought Merriweather's hit on McGahee was vicious as well.
Credit Willis for being tough and strong enough to hold on to the ball.
But getting hit over and over will lead to alligator arms subconsciously for most people because you want to avoid pain where you can.
Only the special ones can consistently catch in traffic and getting blown up (Hines Ward = special).

I recall one play where the ball was thrown to Ray Rice who could hear the rumble for Vince running after him. Vince was in a mid air dive right over the ball the second after the ball arrived and Rice wanted nothing to do with it.

So I think Clayton's drop had something to do with the hits he was taking. How much I'm not sure, but the hitting certainly is a factor.

 

[hughthehand]

I have to agree 100% that Clayton heard the proverbial footsteps. IMO there was no question about it. He was going into turtle mode before he actually caught it, not trying to run before he caught it as the announcers called it during the broadcast. Big hits by the secondary get into the receivers heads.

Kelly Washington also had a Footsteps moment earlier in the 4th quarter. These plays by the WR's are a direct result of DB's consistently arriving with the ball. Give Merriweather the most credit because he was doing it all day with authority.

Not to derail the thread though, I also wanted to hand out major Props to Butler. Big Thank you to the OP since I do not have the post total yet to start a new thread! Butler showed he has the innate knack to make a play on the ball. An incredibly important skill for any DB.

As for the final play of Baltimore's drive, I personally think Butler played it perfectly. He kept Clayton outside of the endzone, he kept him inside so even if he did catch it, Baltimore would have had to use their final timeout leaving them at 1st and goal from the 5 with about 30 seconds left, that means not having to worry about the run. And even if Clayton did not let it boink of his chest, Butler and the Safety that was there, I think McGowan, were going to crush him. He was in a position to make a play on the receiver, which he did not get a chance to do because the receiver dropped it. Just because he dropped it, does not mean the 2 Pats DBs that were there were not going to jar it loose.

You cant say Clayton choked we got lucky, because both players laid up after it was a drop. Clayton would have had snot bubbles and been lucky to hold on to it IMO if he had put his hands on the ball.