Howe: Butler missed flight, held out first three weeks of practice

Let's not put him in canton yet speech I agree BB is trying to keep young Malcolm to the grindstone saying you are not a superstar, you are a football player trying to carve out a role for yourself on this team.

What I tried to do was see if he had any commitments the day or 2 before his flight ...
Figuring those right up to the wire appearances may have put him over the edge ... but I came up empty.
Then I thought maybe he had someone call for him ... like his agent ... bad move also ... man up.

Alas ... we may never know and not sure it matters either.

You guys still believe media reports? lol

farn said:

BB is ridiculously harsh about the start times. But he has a rule and people follow it or get sent home. For whatever reason, this rule works for him.

Side note, which may or may not play a role here : BB has never seemed crazy about the celebration tours. Remember Gray's 15min ? Didn't take long to snap him back. Can it be that BB thinks MB has milked his new fame a bit more than he should have ? Or is it just "it's our rule" ?

Click to expand...

I can buy the idea of him trying to reign Butler in a little. But ultimately I think the length and terms of the punishment are relative to the timeframe. Bill isn't gonna have Revis miss more than 1 day of practice during the regular season... Conversely, it's OTAs, so only missing 1 day would be kind of a small "punishment". Also, he wasn't forced to go home for 3 weeks, just missing the on-field component. So really, 3 weeks of just no on-field stuff during OTAs isn't really a lot worse than 1 day of absolutely nothing during the actual season IMO. It is worse, but it's not some sort of Goodell-level over-punishment.

Ross12 said:

Also, he wasn't forced to go home for 3 weeks, just missing the on-field component.

Click to expand...

YES. What if BB feels he needs to watch a lot of film? I would bet he did a decent amount the past few weeks. Perhaps that is more important in BB's mind.

Weren't they on the field for 6 days the past 3.weeks? Not that big a deal. On the field for minicamp.

Deus Irae said:

He did plan to leave a day early. For a non-mandatory event.



Care to try again?

Click to expand...

I stand by what I wrote as far as poor planning by the player. Fact is that he was late for practice and evidently no one else was.

Per Reiss: "first organized team activities practice May 26 because his flight to Boston the night before was canceled due to weather issues, according to a source close to the situation. " I don't see an extra day there.

For me BB is at that auerbach type level now that if he makes butler do this all training camp I wont complain.



.He has done too much for this team to be questioned . thats just my opinion of course

Deus Irae said:

Sitting someone for 3 weeks over a grounded plane flight, particularly when the OTA wasn't even mandatory, is a character building exercise? No, it's idiocy, which is why I hope (and would expect) that there's more to the story.

Otherwise, this is just Goodell-level overly harsh punishment being played out at the team level.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you understand the philosophical point I was making. As to the punishment fitting the crime? Agreed, which is why there is, undoubtedly, more to this story.

fgssand said:

I stand by what I wrote as far as poor planning by the player. Fact is that he was late for practice and evidently no one else was.

Per Reiss: "first organized team activities practice May 26 because his flight to Boston the night before was canceled due to weather issues, according to a source close to the situation. " I don't see an extra day there.

Click to expand...

May 25 and May 26 are two different days. And you can stand by your erroneous claim all you want. It's a foolish claim. Do you think people needed to keep their appointments during the snowstorms all this winter, when mayors were asking people to stay home?

I would hope not.

patsinthesnow said:

@MikeGiardi: If you hold Malcolm Butler out for 3 weeks of oTAs just b/c of a missed flight (due to weather!) then I don't know what you're doing

Click to expand...

Giardi generally doesn't know what anyone is doing.

IMO....what BB is doing here is 2 things....

1. While it is very harsh...he is stressing the point of being prepared ahead of time for anything that may occur. Whether that is spending an enormous amount of time watching game film of an opponent (this is something Revis is famous for)....or taking an early flight to make sure you don't miss OTA's.
2. I believe BB thinks Butler needs to watch a lot of game film (like Revis does) ....and that's exactly what he did the past 3 weeks.

Joker said:

Are we witnessing the Fall Of The Romanatriot Empire..?

Owner acting like Nero, field general forced to camp outside the city gates, leading Patrician senator acting like Crassus, slaves to the games revolting across the empire....is THIS it?

Click to expand...

Gronk acting like Caligula........

Zuma said:

2. I believe BB thinks Butler needs to watch a lot of game film (like Revis does) ....and that's exactly what he did the past 3 weeks.

Click to expand...

That's probably the most positive way to spin it: BB thinks Butler has all the physical tools already and thinks he needs more mental improvement.

patsinthesnow said:

@MikeGiardi: If you hold Malcolm Butler out for 3 weeks of oTAs just b/c of a missed flight (due to weather!) then I don't know what you're doing

Click to expand...

How do you miss a flight due to weather in the middle of summer?

Sorry coach, it was just too rainy for me to make it to the airport on time.

Butler will be their guy at one of the spots week one. Now who will play opposite him is where it will be interesting. Most likely Logan though. Would be nice if Darryl Roberts pulled a butler and showed out during preseason and carved out a role though

If someone already linked this then sorry, but obligatory:

chasa said:

How do you miss a flight due to weather in the middle of summer?

Sorry coach, it was just too rainy for me to make it to the airport on time.

Click to expand...

Lightning. Happened to me a few years ago flying home from Ft. Myers. Scared the living s### out of me. I nearly cried out loud...

rochrist said:

Giardi generally doesn't know what anyone is doing.

Click to expand...

Yes, he of the famous presser question to BB last September after the KC debacle, I believe, "Is it fair to say you're re-evaluating the QB position?" (I may be paraphrasing somewhat.)

BB is just communicating the truth. If you are lucky enough to play in the NFL (and especially for the Patriots) for a small fraction of your life, you should be 100% appreciative of the chance you're given during that short span.

Early is on time, on time is late, and late is a no go. Weather comes into play in getting to any job. Anyone who believes BB should cut players slack for being late doesn't know the dedication it takes to truly be great at something.