Malcolm Butler!!!

patsfan13 said:

Wihhe number of imes we see he PAts in dime packages I could see 9 active db's onm game da we ma see a fair amount of Butler even without aninjuries in the D backfield.

Becaus of the variety of skill sets BB will have a lot of flexibiliy on game plan sepcific alignmens. Browner on a J Graham Thomas type TE as opposed to him playing on the outside. That was something we didn't have as much of last years so we saw for example Talib on S Smith which wasn't a good matchup for him. With Revis and Butler in the mix (think of Browner being a lot like Talib in terms of the types os WR's he matches up the best with).being added to the mix the coaches ability to create favorable matchups is much better.

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mgteich said:

I am fine with all that you posted.

After Game Four, do you expect us to carry 6 corners (5 plus Arrington)?

How many do you expect to be "normally" active?

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I think carrying more corners than needed Is a good idea in this era. I would keep 6 and I would have no problem with 5 active or even 6 if there is a special teams presence.

mgteich said:

So, you say that we will have no shift to safety since no corner has had major reps at that position.
So, at least one of corners will be inactive after Game Four.

Is Butler a top special team like Cole. You seem to think that Butler is and will be our 5th CB and a top special teamer (and therefore active). Would you have Ryan inactive? It is not even clear that we would need 5 corners active, depending on Game Plan.

Let's say that Dennard beats out Ryan for the backup/#4 position. Then either Arrington or Ryan is the nickel, with other being useless.

My BOTTOM LINE is that if Butler is our Cole, our 5th receiver, dime back and top special teamer, it means that someone else is inactive after Game Four and essentially of little value.

PLEASE CLARIFY if you think that there is really room for SIX corners on the 53 man roster (after four games).

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I believe that these "problems" sort themselves out, through injury situations. This is why some of these exercises are fun but pointless at this point in time.

To fully answer your question, I would throw it right back at you and ask "do you really see 5-6 WRs active on gameday (including Slater)?" It's the same exact principle. Malcolm Butler is a feel-good, "hustle" story at the moment, and will likely be rewarded with a spot on the roster for his hard work and good showing. I'm not sure why so many are making these bold assumptions after that? Let's start with him getting a ST spot first and possibly being active...maybe seeing some real snaps in garbage time, or in situations where injuries come into play. We can follow it up from there.

While I think it's a great story, I have no idea why anyone would be penciling him in ahead of established veteran players at the moment? That said, I would expect him to move up on the chain as injuries and some possible slacking occur, so I do expect him to be active at times; and that's IF Belichick doesn't see ST value from him already, which would make him active no matter what.

At the moment, it's a good problem to have. Unfortunately, injuries can derail plans, which is often the case in football. Even if Butler isn't active for most of the games, he'll get his feet wet at times this season and likely see live game reps. If BB values him on ST and/or injuries occur, that could quickly change and he will be first in line to step up off the bench.

I think we need to see a bit more from how things shake out first, to be honest.

supafly said:

I believe that these "problems" sort themselves out, through injury situations. This is why some of these exercises are fun but pointless at this point in time.

To fully answer your question, I would throw it right back at you and ask "do you really see 5-6 WRs active on gameday (including Slater)?" It's the same exact principle. Malcolm Butler is a feel-good, "hustle" story at the moment, and will likely be rewarded with a spot on the roster for his hard work and good showing. I'm not sure why so many are making these bold assumptions after that? Let's start with him getting a ST spot first and possibly being active...maybe seeing some real snaps in garbage time, or in situations where injuries come into play. We can follow it up from there.

While I think it's a great story, I have no idea why anyone would be penciling him in ahead of established veteran players at the moment? That said, I would expect him to move up on the chain as injuries and some possible slacking occur, so I do expect him to be active at times; and that's IF Belichick doesn't see ST value from him already, which would make him active no matter what.

At the moment, it's a good problem to have. Unfortunately, injuries can derail plans, which is often the case in football. Even if Butler isn't active for most of the games, he'll get his feet wet at times this season and likely see live game reps. If BB values him on ST and/or injuries occur, that could quickly change and he will be first in line to step up off the bench.

I think we need to see a bit more from how things shake out first, to be honest.

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The situation is indeed similar to the situation at WR. The difference is that at CB, it is Browner coming back, whereas at WR it is Tyms. In both cases, we will need to decided whether a 6th (likely inactive player) is needed. I agree that injuries could make the decision easier. While I agree with the 5th active CB being similar to the 5th active WR, we are really talking about the 6th in both cases.

As I have said, I could see keeping Butler as a developmental prospect, even if he were always inactive.

I actually see Butler as active if not part of the rotation at corner and I think his place on the 53 man roster puts Chung and Wilson in jeopardy if not at cutdown day then when Browner returns. Although we haven't seen much of it, having Ryan play safety is an upgrade and is really a logical call with the emergence of Butler.

I think Butler will start for us. Even though Benjamin (really impressed by KB, I wanted him badly in the draft) beat him a couple of times, he was in position. He's quick, uses his body well. BB is great because he doesn't care about name, draft pick, status. He will play the best guy

Doug Kyed‏@DougKyedNESN
Darrelle Revis drew a comparison between new TE Tim Wright and Malcolm Butler. How they both came in as UDFAs and made an impact in camp.

SalemPats said:

I think Butler will start for us. Even though Benjamin (really impressed by KB, I wanted him badly in the draft) beat him a couple of times, he was in position. He's quick, uses his body well. BB is great because he doesn't care about name, draft pick, status. He will play the best guy

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Who will he start over? He has been very good but he won't beat out revis Browner dennard just yet. Arrington will be in slot..maybe even next to McCourty

I want to see how he performs when the games matter but we may not see that this year.

Brady_to_Moss said:

Who will he start over? He has been very good but he won't beat out revis Browner dennard just yet. Arrington will be in slot..maybe even next to McCourty

I want to see how he performs when the games matter but we may not see that this year.

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Browner is out 4 games,i think he could give Dennard a run for his money. The guy kind of came out of nowhere, but he looks really good. He's very quick and instictive.

Brady_to_Moss said:

Arrington will be in slot

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I don't know about that. I think Dennard will beat him out there. He started in the slot over Arrington against the Panthers.

Brady_to_Moss said:

Who will he start over? He has been very good but he won't beat out revis Browner dennard just yet. Arrington will be in slot..maybe even next to McCourty

I want to see how he performs when the games matter but we may not see that this year.

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Dennard missed almost all of the offseason. Talent aside, that much missed time could have him a bit behind, regardless of whether or not he's the better player. I thought he looked good in game 3, but time will tell.

Very excited that Butler has shown up in camp. Hes been a great surprise.

I think Dennard will be fine. Hes been decent here.

I was assuming Logan Ryan would be the opposite starting CB of Revis with Browner out. I know hes in the mix at safety.

I think the backfield gets better as Arrington's snaps decrease. Adding Butler to the mix increases the probability of this happening.

@PhilAPerry: High praise for a rookie: LaFell compares Malcolm Butler to MIA CB Brent Grimes. Both good quick-twitch speed. Gives good look in practice.

@LeeSchechter: Malcolm Butler is now wearing No. 21 and Don Jones is wearing No. 29.

Lafell compared Butler to Grimes, Butler said his favorite NFL player is Grimes, and he was given Grimes's #.

Draft Diamonds Prospect interview: Malcolm Butler, CB, West Alabama

Now please become Grimes.

Haley said:

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Wow, I guess Gronk really is ready for Sunday.

supafly said:

I believe that these "problems" sort themselves out, through injury situations. This is why some of these exercises are fun but pointless at this point in time.

To fully answer your question, I would throw it right back at you and ask "do you really see 5-6 WRs active on gameday (including Slater)?" It's the same exact principle. Malcolm Butler is a feel-good, "hustle" story at the moment, and will likely be rewarded with a spot on the roster for his hard work and good showing. I'm not sure why so many are making these bold assumptions after that? Let's start with him getting a ST spot first and possibly being active...maybe seeing some real snaps in garbage time, or in situations where injuries come into play. We can follow it up from there.

While I think it's a great story, I have no idea why anyone would be penciling him in ahead of established veteran players at the moment? That said, I would expect him to move up on the chain as injuries and some possible slacking occur, so I do expect him to be active at times; and that's IF Belichick doesn't see ST value from him already, which would make him active no matter what.

At the moment, it's a good problem to have. Unfortunately, injuries can derail plans, which is often the case in football. Even if Butler isn't active for most of the games, he'll get his feet wet at times this season and likely see live game reps. If BB values him on ST and/or injuries occur, that could quickly change and he will be first in line to step up off the bench.

I think we need to see a bit more from how things shake out first, to be honest.

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We should obviously deactivate Slater on gameday. The other receivers are better than him.

RayClay said:

We should obviously deactivate Slater on gameday. The other receivers are better than him.

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I'm not sure what you're trying to insinuate?

Players like Butler are rewarded for their hard work by being given a spot on the 53 man roster, where they likely start off by contributing on special teams in a depth role.

Is that not often the case in the majority of instances? You completely lost me here. You took a response that I made to mgteich asking who I'd de-activate completely out of context, and even then I stated that Belichick will have him active in both a depth AND special teams role.

Your post makes no sense whatsoever.

supafly said:

I'm not sure what you're trying to insinuate?

Players like Butler are rewarded for their hard work by being given a spot on the 53 man roster, where they likely start off by contributing on special teams in a depth role.

Is that not often the case in the majority of instances?

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5-6 WRs active on gameday (including Slater).

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If Butler plays special teams, could he not be on the gameday roster there, assuming (like i do) that Slater is about as much a receiver 99.9% of the time as i am?

Butler could play defensive back if actie because of special teams. I doubt they'd get into a situation where Slater had much of a role as a receiver.

RayClay said:

If Butler plays special teams, could he not be on the gameday roster there, assuming (like i do) that Slater is about as much a receiver 99.9% of the time as i am?

Butler could play defensive back if actie because of special teams. I doubt they'd get into a situation where Slater had much of a role as a receiver.

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Did I not claim in my post that Butler would likely be active at times in both a depth AND special teams role?