A Thought About Malcolm Butler

I'm not a genius with X's and O's by why don't coaches try to get their slot guy to pull Arrington outside? Do like a switch with an outside wide out going inside and the slot going outside where Arrington is terrible. Maybe I'm making it far too simple.

PatsWickedPissah said:

But but but we were told here several times that Josh Boyer was a lousy coach!

Click to expand...

If you watched the sounds of the game you'd see Boyer screaming after Butler caught that interception "turn your ****ing head around Butler what are you doing playing the ball!?!?!??!? ****" *slams head set*.

Arrington was very successful in his role this season. Other than the Super Bowl I thought he had a great season. His contract isn't crippling and the old adage you can't have enough corners definitely comes to mind.

Butler did have a fantastic few plays in that bowl. That play where Kearse got his lucky catch was a great play by Malcolm as well. Even if they had lost that game I would never had counted that against him. He played that ball to the best of his physical ability.

@DougKyedNESN: Malcolm Butler led the NFL in pass breakups + interceptions per cover snap: http://t.co/uMxAHxwxJk

hwc said:

I don't really understand the question.

Belichick obviously wants 5 or 6 CBs on the team, most of whom will see regular action in specific packages and as game-by-game matchups dictate. Butler has clearly solidified his spot in that rotation. All things being equal, it looks like Dennard is probably the odd man out. Assuming they can get everyone signed:

Revis
Browner
Arrington
Butler
Ryan
(cheap newbie)

In year two of this defense, I would expect even more sophisticated changes week-to-week to fine-tune the matchups.

Look at the alignment on the interception. Was Butler or Browner "on the slot receiver"? I think the old concepts don't necessarily apply to the way Belichick is starting to morph his secondary in various packages.

Click to expand...

Agree, it's becoming more and more about specific matchups which could vary in-game. I love what we've got at CB right now, a real variety of skill sets and physical attributes:
- Revis' versatility, can put him on anyone
- Browner for both his height and jamming/strength
- Arrington for his speed and slot coverage
- Butler also for his versatility. He was a shutdown corner for the entire 2nd half of the Super Bowl, and Wilson really tested him. His closing speed and ability to break up the pass when he gets there is elite. The INT was ridiculous. Hard to believe he didn't get more playing time the 2nd half of the season.
- Ryan and Dennard have tools but need to develop significantly.

supafly said:

.

As you mention, Arrington was a huge contributor throughout this past season. Many were praising him in the weeks leading up to the SB.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's crazy how quickly people turn and try to make themselves look like geniuses.

When i got into work on Monday people were like "Yeah, Arrington is a bum. They defintiely should have put Butler in the game earlier.....I remember Butler making incredible plays in training camp and me being like....that kids is a stud, blah blah blah blah".

How quickly they forget Arrington has been playing well all season, including the AFC Championship game.

It would have been so painful. Oh the headlines, the twitter posts, oh the silence after winning is so sweeeeet. Thanks Malcolm.

A little off topic but has anybody seen video of Bill talking to Malcolm after he came to the sidelines? I think I've seen just about every other prominent person saying something to Butler except Bill. I just think it has to be something similar to Lawyer after the first one or his saying to Rodney boy I'm glad we got you (even though that was after the AFCCG) where you get to see Bill the person who really does care about his players.

Maybe it didn't happen until later because the game wasn't really over given out proximity to the end zone thus Bill would still have been in execution and game mode.

Interesting tidbit

I was watching Total Access on NFLN. They said only 3 teams had scouts scheduled to be at West Alabama's pro day before the Superbowl. After the Superbowl an additional 10 teams scheduled a scout to visit their pro day.

Before Butler made the Super Bowl-winning play, only three teams had signed up to attend West Alabama's Pro Day. Since then, 10 more teams have inquired with the school about attending, Cullen said. Butler is also expected to attend as a way to show his own support.

Click to expand...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...hero-inspires-two-west-alabama-draft-hopefuls

Butler isn't short. He's listed at 5'11 which is the same height as Revis and ty law.

Patriot Missile said:

That play where Kearse got his lucky catch was a great play by Malcolm as well. Even if they had lost that game I would never had counted that against him. He played that ball to the best of his physical ability.

Click to expand...

And as BB said on Letterman, it's a big deal that Butler recovered to make the tackle after the catch.

mgteich said:

Butler divided time with Dennard as being our active #5 or inactive #6 defensive back. While he had a fine season for a UDFA, and a great SB, I don't think that it is reasonable to expect that as a 2nd year UDFA, he will be our starting nickel back.

IMHO, I hope that Butler will continue to improve (better than Dennard and Ryan before him) in his sophomore year and be part of lots of winning game plans. Our big 3 for 2014 were Revis, Browner and Arrington. I expect that to continue. HOWEVER, I certainly hope that Butler will be getting more reps than Ryan or Dennard, more than the 16.6% of the reps that he had as our #6 DB in 2014.

Click to expand...

When has he played nickel back? Arrington is the nickel back. He's a backup to Revis and browner. Dennard probably should have been traded when he was marketable. doubt he makes it, but there's lots of competition for back up corner spots.

It's not arrington's fault they decided on Alley oops to a 6'5" guy who never caught a pass in his life. Browner would shut him down but they weren't expecting a guy who, again, never caught a pass in his life to be a focal point.

If they threw it over his head, he makes those catches against butle, revis or anyone else we have except browner.

He's a hell of a lot better than Logan Ryan. And Dennard is another brush-in with the law from being not on the roster. So I feel optimistic about Malcolm Butler. If you watched the comments that Lafell made - he said Butler gave him the most trouble in practice. That he had the best 'ball skills' of anyone that he went against in practice.

Now I'm not saying Malcolm necessarily overtakes a healthy Arrington. But I don't see us giving Arrington a second deal if it looks like Butler is a legit player and continues to improve in his 2nd year. I think Butler will earn more playing time. He's got upside. And it sounds like he is a hard worker/film rat. That INT at the end of the Superbowl, he saw it coming all the way due to his preparation.

mgteich said:

Butler divided time with Dennard as being our active #5 or inactive #6 defensive back. While he had a fine season for a UDFA, and a great SB, I don't think that it is reasonable to expect that as a 2nd year UDFA, he will be our starting nickel back.

IMHO, I hope that Butler will continue to improve (better than Dennard and Ryan before him) in his sophomore year and be part of lots of winning game plans. Our big 3 for 2014 were Revis, Browner and Arrington. I expect that to continue. HOWEVER, I certainly hope that Butler will be getting more reps than Ryan or Dennard, more than the 16.6% of the reps that he had as our #6 DB in 2014.

Click to expand...

he seems to always look for the ball and make a play on it even if he doesnt make the stop. and to me that instinctiveness is the most important thing with a CB

A bit off topic, but I really liked seeing a bawling Butler being mobbed by his teammates as he came off the field.

That is the epitome of what I love about sports.

Go ahead and cry Malcolm, let that emotion and enormity of what you've just accomplished in the biggest stage in the world, at the biggest time in the game, flow through you.

You've earned it, and I salute you.

The Gr8est said:

A bit off topic, but I really liked seeing a bawling Butler being mobbed by his teammates as he came off the field.

That is the epitome of what I love about sports.

Go ahead and cry Malcolm, let that emotion and enormity of what you've just accomplished in the biggest stage in the world, at the biggest time in the game, flow through you.

You've earned it, and I salute you.

Click to expand...

I certainly can't complain, I was crying too.

The Gr8est said:

A bit off topic, but I really liked seeing a bawling Butler being mobbed by his teammates as he came off the field.

That is the epitome of what I love about sports.

Go ahead and cry Malcolm, let that emotion and enormity of what you've just accomplished in the biggest stage in the world, at the biggest time in the game, flow through you.

You've earned it, and I salute you.

Click to expand...

In fact, I was going to attend a Malcolm Butler autograph signing last weekend (he ultimately had to cancel) but leading up to it I was trying hard to decide which picture to get autographed.....

Do I want a picture of him making the interception or the picture of him being mobbed by his team mates while sobbing.

Most would say it would be a slam dunk of getting the pic of him actually making the interception BUT I also have an autogrpahed picture of Adam Vinatieri. It was a pic of him on the field arms raised after the ball had just gone through the uprights. When I look at that picture I look at the emotion on his face and think "yeah, here's a pic of someone who has just realized he won the Super Bowl." and how awesome that feelign is.

While the interception is a great shot, the picture of him huddled by his teammates captures the emotion of realizing you just won the Super Bowl.

Because of the postponement I haven't made my decision yet.

patsfan13 said:

Apples & Oranges, Arrington is a good slot player and very good ST player who is miscast on the outside. Browner would be a terrible Slot corner.

Butler is competing with Ryan ( who is a zone CB) and Dennard for PT.

Click to expand...

Butler is better than either Ryan or Dennard, not even close.

Granted that a half of one game is a small sample, but he made several world class CB plays on the biggest stage:
- the immaculate INT, one of the greatest defensive plays in SB history
- the miracle Kearse catch 2 plays earlier, where Butler make a fantastic break up only to have it bounce into the receiver's arms, then also he had the presence of mind to get up and knock him out of bounds
- the 30 yd incompletion to Kearse in the 3rd qtr, where he showed incredible closing speed and got his arm on Kearse's to break it up
- the slant/seam route to Kearse in the 4th qtr where he maintained perfect position and leaped to bat it down
- the crossing route to Lockette in the 4th where they collided and Lockette went down

These were all Revis-caliber plays, and to be honest I don't even think Revis would make all of them. He was our real shut-down corner in the 2nd half.

brdmaverick said:

I certainly can't complain, I was crying too.

Click to expand...

I was jumping around like Brady after his pick. He will be immortalized in Patriots lore forever because of that play, but will be remembered even more for me because of all the great plays he made in that game. He was a great CB in that game.