Congratulations to Darius Butler and Whoever the Hell Coached Him Up

[PATSNUTme]

even as*holes smell pretty sometimes

I'll take your word for that.

 

[Patspsycho]

I disagree with the idea that he is a "reclamation project" or that he "lost confidence." This was a player that just had a hard time getting away from the mindset that one gets by on pure athleticism in the NFL. He's starting to get the picture that you just can't ignore fundamentals or proper technique.

 

[upstater1]

i follow him on twitter, hes thankful for all the support and knows he been playing better but continues to need the support, it seems all the rookies and young players are going out in Rochester, NY tonight

Hopefully they go to the best BBQ joint in the entire northeast and not to any club. The scene in Rochester is not ideal, to say the least.

 

[RayClay]

I think he might have lost confidence too. Starting a few games opposite a veteran corner is one thin. All of a sudden being the vet leader at cornerback with a rookie that happened to have confidence up the ying yang could have caused him to doubt himself.

Takes a lot of different personalities to make a team. If he has good character, he'll continue to improve and we could have the most kickass top four corners in the league next year. Wilhites damn good for a 5 too, that's where others have scrubs.

People worry about who starts and how much playing time for the backups, but it's not a two wideout league anymore. If you have 4-5 good corners you might be better off than 2 all pros IMO.

It's a copy cat league and they'll be copying us. Can we be contained with two top corners and also rans? Ask the Jets.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Hopefully they go to the best BBQ joint in the entire northeast and not to any club. The scene in Rochester is not ideal, to say the least.

I love Rochester at night. Unfortunately, I have to work, so I can't troll the city and hope I run into them. Which would be AWESOME.

As for Butler, I still think he tries to simply outrun his WR. He needs to learn to be more patient and start reading offenses and reacting to what he diagnoses, and then letting the athleticism take over. I still have high hopes for him.

 

[patfanken]

I'm liking Butler's progress too. I think the first Jet game just pointed out that at THIS point of his career, Butler is going to have a problem with big strong physical WRs, like he did with Edwards. IIRC he was THERE on a lot of those catches that day, just that he wasn't in position to make a play on the ball That showed a lack of both technique and experience.

I am REALLY looking forward to next season's CB group. With Boddin, McCourty, Arrington, Butler, and Willhite the Pats will have 5 CBs with experience and the skill set to play inside and outside the hashes. It has taken several years, but we have NEVER been that talented and deep at the CB position before in the BB era.

The best record in the NFL....AND the best is yet to come. WOW.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Butler has always had good speed and quickness; he just needed improvement with his ball skills. Luckily the latter can be taught.

Confidence and even ****iness is important for a CB and I suspect that he is starting to get that back too.

 

[shmessy]

OK, folks, looking back, the term "reclamation project" probably was not the best choice of words.

The point, however, is that the coaching staff obviously took him off the field and out of the regular starter position early in the season and decided to teach him basic, remedial fundamentals - - he truly was taken back to school. The progress he has shown the past three weeks has been stark - - his angles, his front hand, his focus on the WR's hips instead of his eyes, etc.

The coaching staff did a great job there. And to Darius' credit, he allowed himself to be coached - - it's not easy to drop bad habits and relearn. I admire him for achieving this.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

Like any other sport....Football is not just physical but mental. Darius is physically gifted but you need to be able to apply it. Confidence/swagger is a big factor when playing CB and I think there was alot of pressure on him. I am glad to see that he has turned it around and the coaches brought him back slowly and played him in situations where he could succeed.

 

[Kdo5]

I'm liking Butler's progress too. I think the first Jet game just pointed out that at THIS point of his career, Butler is going to have a problem with big strong physical WRs, like he did with Edwards. IIRC he was THERE on a lot of those catches that day, just that he wasn't in position to make a play on the ball That showed a lack of both technique and experience.

I am REALLY looking forward to next season's CB group. With Boddin, McCourty, Arrington, Butler, and Willhite the Pats will have 5 CBs with experience and the skill set to play inside and outside the hashes. It has taken several years, but we have NEVER been that talented and deep at the CB position before in the BB era.

The best record in the NFL....AND the best is yet to come. WOW.

McCourty, Bodden, Arrington, Butler, Wilhite is almost too good to be true. At least two of them will have significant injuries. Thats the Pats record with secondary injuries for ya.

 

[RobertWeathers]

McCourty, Bodden, Arrington, Butler, Wilhite is almost too good to be true. At least two of them will have significant injuries. Thats the Pats record with secondary injuries for ya.

Earthwind Moreland will be 34 next June.
Hank Poteat will also be 34 next Aug.

We got it covered!!!

 

[Ring 6]

I disagree with the idea that he is a "reclamation project" or that he "lost confidence." This was a player that just had a hard time getting away from the mindset that one gets by on pure athleticism in the NFL. He's starting to get the picture that you just can't ignore fundamentals or proper technique.

Frankly, I think for whatever reason he wasn't playing as well as Arrington or Wilhite or the extra safety in the sub. Now he seems to be.
There is A LOT more to this than his play though.
I studied his game vs the Jets because everyone was ripping him, and we have had many corners play many games much worse than that one and not lose their jobs.
Personally, I think that there was an immaturity issue. I think he was benched not for his overall play vs the Jets but because of a couple of mental mistakes.
When we dropped down the depth chart it was up to him to show he should move back up. I guarantee BB wasn't treating him any different than any other player who needed to show something to earn more playing time.
I really don't buy the common perception that BB psychoanalyzes 53 players week to week. He fields the team he thinks gives him the best chance to win, and when a player appears to be deserving of sharing time with or moving ahead of another, he gets the chance.

 

[cincipatsfan]

even as*holes smell pretty sometimes

There's a guy named Rex you might want to hook up with....

 

[pork3]

even as*holes smell pretty sometimes

There's a guy named Rex you might want to hook up with....

Wait, are you insinuating Rex's assh*le smells pretty at times?
This is the first I've heard of this.

-Jamman

 

[Pats83]

Frankly I think the main probem with Butler is that he never turns his head around and plays the ball, this is the same problem with Arrington (although Arrington has improved on that.)

Which I simply don't understand...don't they see how McCourty turns his head around once he senses the ball is released. I'm sure McCourty has pointed this out to the Butler.

 

[RayClay]

Earthwind Moreland will be 34 next June.
Hank Poteat will also be 34 next Aug.

We got it covered!!!

Plug in Artrell Hawkins at safety/cb and play the cat defense.

 

[jays52]

I think that another aspect of Butler's development is the level of playmaking going on around him. So much of football is momentum and it's the same when a group or team is building momentum. Your peers start making plays, elevate their game, work their butts off in practice, and it's only natural for your play to follow. Anyone who is competitive wants to be the best in their group. He's probably worked harder, plays with better swag, and trusts his abilities to make a play. I give a lot of the credit there to McCourty.

Towards the corners moving forward, they'll have two pro-bowl caliber outside guys and two pretty damn good inside guys. Butler's agility is strong enough to make him a great slot fit, and if he develops further we're talking about three elite corners. I believe that if he maximizes his skills Butler can be the best slot guy in the game and eventually take over as a damn good replacement for Bodden.

It's mind boggling to think about what this defense can have if these players continue to develop.

 

[upstater1]

I think we're judging these guys based on what you see on the TV, and I've been to a few games this year and it's always an eye-opener. DBs are going to get burned. You see McCourty and Butler just yanking on their guys all over the field the way the Jets do. Arrington doesn't do it, but he gets burned more. I also saw Butler sticking to his guy most of the time. But a few times he was shaken out of his socks and Stevie Johnson had beaten him off the line. Fitzpatrick simply didn't see it. Then that final INT in the end zone, Butler was beaten inside and his guy was wide open. That one is harder to judge since there are safeties there and Butler's responsibility is the outside, but the safeties didn't get there, the receiver was open, and a good QB would have thrown it high toward the back of the end zone so it wouldn't be batted.

Oh, and Brady somehow missed Gronk coming open on that early play where Gronk was far downfield for the TD. That's why he shortarmed it. From behind, it was easy to see Gronk break away but Brady had a defender in his face. I was directly behind and could see it develop. The Gronk play reminded me of the 1st Jets game when Kyle Wilson was beaten and Brady shortarmed it.

 

[Ring 6]

I think that another aspect of Butler's development is the level of playmaking going on around him. So much of football is momentum and it's the same when a group or team is building momentum. Your peers start making plays, elevate their game, work their butts off in practice, and it's only natural for your play to follow. Anyone who is competitive wants to be the best in their group. He's probably worked harder, plays with better swag, and trusts his abilities to make a play. I give a lot of the credit there to McCourty.

Towards the corners moving forward, they'll have two pro-bowl caliber outside guys and two pretty damn good inside guys. Butler's agility is strong enough to make him a great slot fit, and if he develops further we're talking about three elite corners. I believe that if he maximizes his skills Butler can be the best slot guy in the game and eventually take over as a damn good replacement for Bodden.

It's mind boggling to think about what this defense can have if these players continue to develop.

And we have them locked up for a long time.

 

[Patspsycho]

And we have them locked up for a long time.

I find that to be almost.... evil.