Butler still has along way to go before he reaches Revis' level in his prime. He has certainly become a fine player whto has come a very long way in a VERY short period of time, but he hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling, simply because he hasn't had the time to reach it.
The Revis/Butler comparison is ridiculous right now. Revis after 15 starts wouldn't compare with Revis in his prime,how do you expect Butler to do so. If we keep raising our expectation of Butler to the level I'm seeing here, we are doomed to be disappointed, even if he plays decently.
Lets remember who this kid is. He is undersized. He doesn't have top end speed. He does have top end quickness. Ultimately it is his drive and competitiveness allows his play to exceed his physical gifts, much like Revis has. It is also obvious that like Revis he is a student of the game, but unlike Revis, he is only in the "2nd grade"of his education. He still has a lot to learn and experience
Make no mistake about it. Butler's rise has been nothing short of extraordinary. To come from a division 2 school after a lot of missteps to being a probowl starter ( BTW- mostly because of coaches and player votes) in just 2 seasons is epic. Remember Butler had just one offer from 32 teams, and that offer was to come for a tryout just to see if he would be allowed to be camp fodder, let alone make the team.
So why don't we give the kid a break and allow him the luxury of growing into what he will eventually become. With all the talk about Butler, I can't help be reminded by Dante Hightower's experience. He was lucky that he was the team's second first round draft pick, so his mediocre first season was somewhat forgiven since he was thrust into Mayo's role by his injury. As he learned in his 2nd year, there were a lot fans who started to give him a lot of heat because of another rather lackluster season. Frankly it wasn't until mid season of his 3rd year with the team that he turned the corner and he started to play at the current high level he's displayed. The point being that for even the best players in the league it takes TIME for them to reach .their potential. There is a LOT to learn about being a great NFL player. It very rarely happens in the first couple of years.
Now there are a lot of fans who would rather pay Hightower than Jones, but the fact is that for most of their 4 years with the Pats, that thought would have been laughable. Now it isn't. (though I suspect they will sign both)
