Did Malcolm Butler win that Super Bowl?

This writer hits the nail square on the head. Perfect assessment of the end of that game. Absolutely Butler's pick was, not only game changing, but one for the ages.
But I submit to you that Bill Belichick won that game. He out coached carroll all the way. Butler made that int because Bill told him the pass would be there in that formation.
Then you factor in carroll's stupidity and lack of control, just as this writer points out, that led to that pass, and the difference in the game is CRYSTAL clear.
Bill makes players better.

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/super-bowls-final-minutes-may-unravel-carrolls-seahawks

I think the best way to think of it is like a relay race.

the offense gave the team a good lead, then they handed it off to the defense that gave up a huge chunk of that lead, but then Malcom sort of closed it out.

It was definitely a 100% team win.

Malcom Butler sealed the win.

The Patriots won it.

Danger Zone said:

Malcom Butler sealed the win.

The Patriots won it.

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yeah, no offense to the op but these kind of converstaions are pointless

you win as a team and you lose as a team
I always hate to see a single play elevated because of where it happens to fall sequentially, and there are usually a team of guys doing their jobs to make any single play happen

I love that this kid's rightfully enshrined as a folk hero, and coming out of preseason I was raving to a buddy of mine about how our 6th corner could start on a lot of teams, but I hope this single spotlight play doesn't encourage him to go the ballhawking route instead of just working at being a solid corner every play.

The team won it.

Without Brady and the O leading 2 very clutch 4th Q Touchdown drives and the defense providing the stops for the offense to do that Butler isn't in position to seal it. Browner also prevented Butler from being picked by Kearse by stone walling him, on the previous play Hightower and Ayers made the game saving tackle on Lynch. Let's not forget that BB and Patricia basically baited the play call by sending out the formation they did as well.

No individual wins or loses a game without intentionally throwing it. It can NEVER be broken down into something so simple.

strngplyr said:

The team won it.

Without Brady and the O leading 2 very clutch 4th Q Touchdown drives and the defense providing the stops for the offense to do that Butler isn't in position to seal it. Browner also prevented Butler from being picked by Kearse by stone walling him, on the previous play Hightower and Ayers made the game saving tackle on Lynch. Let's not forget that BB and Patricia basically baited the play call by sending out the formation they did as well.

No individual wins or loses a game without intentionally throwing it. It can NEVER be broken down into something so simple.

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And then the assistant coaches recognized they needed a 3rd CB, and sent in Butler for Ayers.

eom said:

but I hope this single spotlight play doesn't encourage him to go the ballhawking route instead of just working at being a solid corner every play.

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He's so young I don't think this play will stop him from being successful. It's not like he has a huge contract already. At least not that I know of. He's already said he doesn't want to be known just for that play. I think we all will be looking at him next year to see how he plays throughout the season. Hopefully he turns into a great longterm player. And if Revis stays it will only help him learn

That game was kind of like quidditch. Teams can go back and forth all day but one person grabs that little ball with the wings and the game is over.

You could look at it at as Butler won us the game - I'd rather look at it that the team had a 60 minute effort in the big game and it paid off. I do think its unfortunate the media is framing it as Seattle losing instead of the offense and defense both being incredibly clutch in the 4th quarter and outscoring Seattle 14-0.

Isn't this question (Did Butler Win the Super Bowl) a "fallacy of false dilemma"? IMO, this kind of black/white thinking also obfuscates the question"is XYZ is the best QB of all time?" It's a hero-worship approach, too often embraced by sports writers, which attributes success/failure to a single individual, rather than a collection of causes/effects from multiple factors.

As for the question of the best QB of all time: it's *unanswerable* if you're even considering picking someone other than Brady.

Had a big part in it...but it was on Brady and those 2 fantastic drives

Definitely. He can be justifiably proud that he won us the SuperBowl. Credit goes to everyone of course but he gets extra because of the do or die situation they were in at the time.

ctpatsfan77 said:

And then the assistant coaches recognized they needed a 3rd CB, and sent in Butler for Ayers.

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That moment on Sound FX et al when they send him in ... spine tingling.

Everyone had a hand in winning. Brady's 2 TDs in the 4th quarter. Great coaching by BB for not calling the time out. A great block by Browner to prevent the attempted pick. Butler going in and taking the ball away after the great Browner block.

As others have said, this was won as a team.

yeah..but...suppose Malcolm Butler was never born? Do the Pats win that game? Is Brady even starting QB after the KC game without Butler on the team pushing him?

See? Suppose all this stuff and the Pats LOSE...in fact, I say they LOST, we're all just fooling ourselves. Butler sucks ,Brady sucks, Collins sucks, Gronk did nothing, the O line sucks, the D line sucks, Kears ate our secondary alive in the late 4th quarter and Wilson missed an easy TD by a few inches so the Patriots actually suck. Let's all go to other team boards and sign on as fans now because this Pats suckage is too much to handle. Why do they have to always suck? I'm sick of it.

I've always thought a game can be re-ordered in many ways to point out the key plays to a victory or a loss. However ... the absolute intense pressure surrounding the last plays of any game make them special. Being the possible last play to win the game coupled with Butler's shrugging off of the miracle catch ... well some people win at the casino with worse odds than those 2 events happening ...

Butler's play in that last series was amjor factor in winning the game ... but the team won it.

Technically I won it, I was wearing my lucky shirt. You're welcome.

Uncle Rico said:

That moment on Sound FX et al when they send him in ... spine tingling.

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Sure is...In fact I think going forward Tom Brady will no longer call Alpha Go! at the snap. That call will now be changed to Malcom Go!

You know, sorta a tribute thing.

I put that in the Patriots suggestion box.

No, when it mattered most in the 4th qtr our whole team out played their whole team, they woke up for a couple minutes the got knocked the "bleep" out.

You'd of thought they had a thirty point lead the way they were playing in the 4th before the final 2 minutes and then they bungled all that time lol.

There is no argument, Brady won that SB he played at times some of his best football ever, not a great line or recievers he had better but he made it work and spread out 4 TDs to 4 guys on the best defense past 3 years, I cannot say enough, his picks were terrible but the best thing you can do with 2 pics? Throw double in TDs, at least that is what I do in Madden.

Anyways that 4th was amazing and down 24-14 we don't have this convo without Brady.

The point I wanted to make though is that we have ****ty luck we were about to have another Giants moment that Brady couldn't stop, AGAIN, did he win the game yes but why isn't he paying Butler's taxes on that truck, that was exactly what I thought of when the stories came out last monday, the government is going to tax that poor man and Brady should pay it, because he made a HELL of a play and he SEALED it, that is huge.

If anyrhing just loo at it as him doing what Asante failed to do, how huge is that? If I had half of Brady's money or even a uarter I would send a check for his tax on that truck, young man deserves it free of charge. Brady deserves a statue, but Butler deserves a nice truck for real.

ctpatsfan77 said:

And then the assistant coaches recognized they needed a 3rd CB, and sent in Butler for Ayers.

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Yeah, I wasn't trying to name every situation, but to say Butler won it is arrogant, I'll love the kid forever for the play he made, but even on that play he needed the other 10 guys to do their jobs to ensure that every other option was also locked up and he had a clear path to the ball.

Then he made one of the greatest plays in New England Super Bowl history to help seal the deal.

He was hugely important, it's possible that nobody else on the roster makes that play he did in the same situation, but he still needed the help from the other 10 guys on the field as well as everyone who made that situation possible from the minute they stepped onto the field.

This is why football is the ultimate team sport and things like the MVP awards are garbage. No other sport, in my opinion, requires so many individuals to work in unison so perfectly to make things happen. There can't be an MVP without the guys he works with.