Malcolm Butler!!!

Marqui · Aug 17, 2014

A nice shout out for Butler in the Globe today:

Malcolm Butler, CB: The non-sneakiest of the group, Butler has been the darling of training camp and is well established on the radar screen. He continued his impressive, playmaking work against the Eagles, forcing a fumble then recovering it seconds later and adding in an end zone pass breakup as well. Butler has played more snaps than any other member of the defense in the Pats two preseason games thus far and considering both Brandon Browner's impending suspension as well as the team's use of traditional corners Kyle Arrington and Logan Ryan at safety at times, the undrafted rookie out of West Alabama feels like not only a lock to make the team but to see some significant regular season game action as well.

Four Potential Patriots Roster Locks We Didn't See Coming - Extra Points - Boston.com

patsinthesnow · Aug 17, 2014

Marqui said:
A nice shout out for Butler in the Globe today:

Four Potential Patriots Roster Locks We Didn't See Coming - Extra Points - Boston.com

the undrafted rookie out of West Alabama feels like not only a lock to make the team but to see some significant regular season game action as well.

Impossible!

ATippett56 · Aug 17, 2014

unoriginal said:
Tramon Williams was cut out of camp by the Texans in 2006 and didn't start for the Packers until 2008.
Randall Gay was the fourth CB on the Pats out of camp behind Ty Law, Tyrone Poole, and Asante Samuel.

Melvin White started 10 games for Carolina last year, again due to injuries, but he's their #2 CB now.
Chris Harris became the Broncos' #2 CB around midseason 2011 after Champ Bailey got injured, and he started 14 games the next year.
Sam Shields won the nickel spot with the Packers in 2010 and started the first game of the season.
Jabari Greer was the Bills' nickel CB out of camp in 2004.
Same thing for Leigh Bodden in 2003 for the Browns.

So no, couldn't find any UDFA CB that won the #2 job out of training camp.

Since when is Malcolm Butler a better cornerback than Brandon Browner let alone Alfonzo Dennard?

shmessy · Aug 17, 2014

Froob said:
Has looked really good as has Tyms but won't get too excited. Remember "Studfeld" and Bam Childress? Has Butler been playing on ST? I haven't paid that close attention to who was out there. I'd say he's a definite lock if he can play ST and doesn't regress much.

Yeah, he made a perfect open field stick tackle on a kickoff against the Redskins.

jah · Aug 17, 2014

ATippett56 said:
Since when is Malcolm Butler a better cornerback than Brandon Browner let alone Alfonzo Dennard?

Browner is suspended for the first 4 games and Dennard hasn't played in either preseason game yet. If BB sees Ryan/Arrington as only slot guys, then it makes sense for Butler to be the starter on the outside by default. I don't think that's ideal or that Butler would or even COULD excel as the week 1 #2 CB, but it could happen. It probably won't, though, because Dennard will probably play and I don't think Butler can take his starting spot.

ATippett56 · Aug 17, 2014

Elijah said:
Browner is suspended for the first 4 games and Dennard hasn't played in either preseason game yet. If BB sees Ryan/Arrington as only slot guys, then it makes sense for Butler to be the starter on the outside by default. I don't think that's ideal or that Butler would or even COULD excel as the week 1 #2 CB, but it could happen. It probably won't, though, because Dennard will probably play and I don't think Butler can take his starting spot.

Malcolm Butler would not have outright "won" the #2 cornerback spot when Brandon Browner is suspended for the first four games of the season and Alfonzo Dennard is currently recovering from off season shoulder surgery.

Patriots' Alfonzo Dennard recovering from shoulder surgery - The Boston Globe - June 18, 2014

VJCPatriot · Aug 18, 2014

If he's our best option with Browner out (suspension) and Dennard still coming back from injury, I don't have a problem with it. But don't forget he also has to beat out Logan Ryan/Arrington for snaps.

It would be a very pleasant surprise for Butler to make the 53 and contribute as an undrafted rookie.

jah · Aug 18, 2014

ATippett56 said:
Malcolm Butler would not have outright "won" the #2 cornerback spot when Brandon Browner is suspended for the first four games of the season and Alfonzo Dennard is currently recovering from off season shoulder surgery.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...der-surgery/SJ2ZCmBPfZGpQyQQio6l9L/story.html

Well, I never said that was the case so I guess you win.

ATippett56 · Aug 18, 2014

Elijah said:
Well, I never said that was the case so I guess you win.

I was responding to the following quote:

So no, couldn't find any UDFA CB that won the #2 job out of training camp.

When it's nothing more than a blatant exaggeration.

Joker · Aug 18, 2014

Friday night should go a long way toward clearing up all this "controversy"....serious question, are all you people arguing vehemently for and against this kid...do you have money or stock invested in winning some kind of bet? Why is it that everything has to turn into this "I'm right!!! You're wrong!!" gagfest? Why don't you all relax a little bit, WATCH the rest of the preseason and wait and see what the final roster is for game one? If Butler makes the team are you going to quit being a Pats fan? If he doesn't are you going to claim "I'm better than you and everybody!" and then camp out at Patriots personnel until they offer you a job?

unoriginal · Aug 19, 2014

ATippett56 said:
Since when is Malcolm Butler a better cornerback than Brandon Browner let alone Alfonzo Dennard?

ATippett56 said:
I was responding to the following quote:
When it's nothing more than a blatant exaggeration.

I have no idea why these comments are being seemingly directed at me. pdangle asked an interesting question, I answered it as accurately as I thought possible.

MrNathanDrake · Aug 19, 2014

Not only is Butler making the team... he's gonna see a lot of playing time. Injuries always happen at CB, and Ryan/Arrington might get moved to Safety sometime during the year.

pdangle · Aug 19, 2014

BritPat said:
I was on the 'Studfeld' bandwagon last year, but based largely on his showings in practise and the media reports. He didn't really shine in the pre-season games (less than 10 catches in total I think?) though from what I remember. Butler has looked exceptional for a rookie UDFA. I think that's the difference.

Yeah it's kind of foggy now for me. For sure Suds had glowing camp reports, but I also remember him looking very good during his pre-season game time as well. Anyone here remember or wanna chime in on that? I'd look it it up but no time and not really important to my main point thus... It's probably easier for a receiver to shine in pre-season games due to the vanilla defense and NE timing plays designed to cut that swag up to ribbons. Also a small sample size too. Look! He had 5 receptions on 7 targets, he's f'n UNBELIEEeeeevABLE! We only see it when he gets open, gets thrown his way, and makes a catch. CB's on the other hand, 90% of the time if they do the job, won't see a pass go their way. So if they aren't getting picked apart, yet recovering nicely to swat it down for incompletions when they occasionally do, we can assume a bigger sample size and perhaps a more true indication of talent? Just a theory. But Butler might indeed be nearly as good as he looks compared to a similar TE or WR that might look somewhat as good but in a way smaller sample size and fail in the end.. Kinda like Suds did when he crashed off that cliff no one had yet discovered on some wrong turn off RT 1 while he was driving to his first game in Foxboro.

fnordcircle · Aug 19, 2014

Malcolm Butler is the new Devin Wyman.

MrNathanDrake · Aug 19, 2014

Butler is playing entire games. Playing with the 1st team. He's no Sudfeld, thank god.

mgteich · Aug 19, 2014

Joker said:
Friday night should go a long way toward clearing up all this "controversy"....serious question, are all you people arguing vehemently for and against this kid...do you have money or stock invested in winning some kind of bet? Why is it that everything has to turn into this "I'm right!!! You're wrong!!" gagfest? Why don't you all relax a little bit, WATCH the rest of the preseason and wait and see what the final roster is for game one? If Butler makes the team are you going to quit being a Pats fan? If he doesn't are you going to claim "I'm better than you and everybody!" and then camp out at Patriots personnel until they offer you a job?

Is there anyone arguing against Butler being on the roster? How many other UDFA's are consensus picks by posters her to make the roster?

Marinlik · Aug 19, 2014

mgteich said:
Sean Morey comes to mind.

In any case, Tyms would never active. 4 out of this top 5 would be active: Edelmen, Amendola, Thompkins, LeFell, and Dobson.

Boyce is considered as a possibility for a roster spot because he is our kick returner. Otherwise, he also would be inactive in every game, even if we had one of the WR's out with an injury.

The bottom line is that we could add Tyms after 4 weeks, if there are injuries. Barring two injuries, I would think that we would be waived. He could be signed to our Practice Squad or to another team or to another team's Practice Squad.

I severely doubt that we would only have 4 active receivers.

Dexter · Aug 20, 2014

Intangibles have helped Patriots' Malcolm Butler write his rags-to-riches story | ProvidenceJournal.com

Bobs My Uncle · Aug 20, 2014

Dexter said:
Intangibles have helped Patriots' Malcolm Butler write his rags-to-riches story | ProvidenceJournal.com

Thanks but this is a pay to view subscription link.

Dexter · Aug 20, 2014

Bobs My Uncle said:
Thanks but this is a pay to view subscription link.

Strange because it works for me and I just took it from twitter.
-----------------------

But in one fell swoop his football career almost came to crashing halt. After five games during his 2009 freshman season, Butler was kicked out of school. (Though he wouldn’t confirm the reason, the only arrest on his record shows a charge for possession of drug paraphernalia.)

It was that next year, in 2010, that he calls “life-changing.” He got a part-time job at Popeyes and worked there for most the year before taking summer classes at Alcorn State University to get back on track. For the first time in his life, he missed football.

“That just made me realize how bad I wanted it and how bad I really needed it,” Butler said. “You don’t know how good it is until it’s gone.”

Butler was invited back to Hinds, where he played for one more season, in 2011. From there he went to Division II West Alabama. In what has started to become a trend, Butler persevered. For two years he was one of the best cornerbacks in the Gulf Coast Conference. His performance was enough to get him signed by the Patriots, on May 19, as an undrafted free agent.

After taking an unusual and tumultuous road to Foxboro, Butler entered training camp facing an uphill battle to even earn a roster spot. But if there’s one thing this 24-year-old knows, it’s that he’ll never quit.

“You just can’t blow opportunities like this,” Butler said. “You’ve just got to take advantage of the great things when they come. It’s been a long road to get here. Some ups, some downs, but I never gave up. I kept pushing and kept believing. I always believed that I could play in this league. It’s just confidence, faith and hard work.”

Mod edit: we can't copy and paste entire articles like this, as that is a violation of copyright laws (see thread in the sticky at the top of the forum).

In regards to not being able to see the article, clear the cookies on the computer or device you are using, and you should be able to see it just fine.

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