...Honestly we should all wait and watch, remember the reaction to mankins last year and where we ended up? Remember when Milloy left and where we ended up? Folks this is too easy bb knows how to troll yall and it's absolutely hilarious to watch these "experts" go bazerk
Oh I generally agree, and I should preface all comments with "by the way, I am always wrong."
This is absolutely the case. In fact, at this point I am tempted to go totally negative rather than "explain" in my head what's going on (i.e., guess), because we'd win another SB for sure. In fact, last year, after many seasons of "In Bill We Trust" -- RIGHT before the Cincinatti game -- I was like "Well let's not walk right off the ledge... yet... BUT... um they're right, right now we're not very good we ain't winnin' nothin' this year unless something changes and that O-line couldn't get protection if it stopped at every 7-11 between Foxborough and New York." It was like magic, I tell ya.
That said... yes, BB has had time to evaluate Butler; however, the evidence cited here was not the full season of evaluation by him, the DC, his position coach, etc., but a "whole quarter" of football in the super bowl.
Clearly, absent some further personnel plans between now and opening day, we think that Butler is one of the guys who gets it done at CB. Like the guy who started the thread by this title... I love our front seven.
It's the back four that makes me nervous. That said, In Bill I Trust. He's got himself QB-level football intelligence in Jordan Richards, who is also, by the way,
not a smurf. That might be part of what he's thinking of as the answer, but he's not
in the Pats system yet. Of course BB & Co. are
not shy to value what they think over every idiot draftnik in draftdom... they might think they have two potential pro-bowlers in Richards and Butler, that it's theirs for the taking.
Or, Dennard was overheard saying after the draft, "Hey F*** Bill Belichick, I'm safe now!"
All I can say is what it looks like from the cheap seats, that is, the POV of an addicted fan who
knows he knows far less than the brain trust in Foxboro.
One of the buzz-words in this year's draft (see the "draft vocabulary" thread) was "...can take the top off a defense." Welp, from the cheap-seats, this D looks like a convertible with the top down. I mean it's a nice convertible, a
really nice one.
But the lack of concern at secondary was already evident with the non-panicky response to the Revis/Browner departure. Okie-dokie. Fine and dandy.
Dumping Dennard makes me go "dang." Not because I think Fonzie is a world-beater, more because we're throwing out another guy who I thought was a bit more than "JAG" with (to me) unknowns.
What people have seen on the practice field, in college game film, and in spot action is fairly unknown to me because I don't do this for a living. But for a guy who
doesn't do this for a living... it's scarrrrryyyyyy.
All that said I have a great deal of trust in those who
do do this for a living, for the Pats. Were I (for example) a JEST fan, every such move would have me running for the hills. But the Pats' formula has always been building a team not collecting talent... we'll start seeing on opening day, against a pretty decent QB with some weapons. And the story will play out as the season goes on.
Still wondering what if any moves are planned between now and then.