Congratulations to Darius Butler and Whoever the Hell Coached Him Up

[jays52]

I find that to be almost.... evil.

Deliciously evil.

 

[Water Boy]

I find that to be almost.... evil.

 

[DarrylS]

Frankly, I think for whatever reason he wasn't playing as well as Arrington or Wilhite or the extra safety in the sub. Now he seems to be.
There is A LOT more to this than his play though.
I studied his game vs the Jets because everyone was ripping him, and we have had many corners play many games much worse than that one and not lose their jobs.
Personally, I think that there was an immaturity issue. I think he was benched not for his overall play vs the Jets but because of a couple of mental mistakes.
When we dropped down the depth chart it was up to him to show he should move back up. I guarantee BB wasn't treating him any different than any other player who needed to show something to earn more playing time.
I really don't buy the common perception that BB psychoanalyzes 53 players week to week. He fields the team he thinks gives him the best chance to win, and when a player appears to be deserving of sharing time with or moving ahead of another, he gets the chance.

That would be called a meritocracy...

Glad to see he showed the heart to make it back...

 

[Bostonian1962]

You know, with his incredible physical talent (speed, jumping ability, loose hips etc.), one woud think with the right coaching, he could play at a high level. I gotta give the man credit for looking as good as he does. Right now the trio of McCourty, Butler, and Arrington look pretty darn good, and how many of us would have thought that three months ago?

 

[bresna]

I thought for sure the flag was going to fly on one of Butler's plays yesterday. I thought he definitely interfered with the receiver and didn't fully turn his head until the ball was already there. Against Indy, that's a flag for sure!

 

[tuckeverlasting]

I thought for sure the flag was going to fly on one of Butler's plays yesterday. I thought he definitely interfered with the receiver and didn't fully turn his head until the ball was already there. Against Indy, that's a flag for sure!

i know the exact play you're talking about. i thought the flag was coming, from the replay, also. pi is so subjective. in a big spot, in a big game, against indy, that flags flying.

 

[Triumph]

i know the exact play you're talking about. i thought the flag was coming, from the replay, also. pi is so subjective. in a big spot, in a big game, against indy, that flags flying.

Also, some officiating crews would throw the flag for less.

IIRC, Arrington got away with one too.

 

[D-cleater]

I'm riding the wave of enthusiasm as much as the next Pats fan,but it always amuses me how this community can be so up and down on a player from one week to the next. Butler is all of the sudden projecting to be one of the best slot corners in the game, when he can't even beat out the back up safeties and Wilhite, who this community has regularly killed, for the job. I'ts hysterical.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Hasn't BB been personally working with Butler on technique? That seems to be where Butler's improvement has come from, better technique.

With more maturity and an improved technique, Butler could become everything he was supposed to be when we drafted him.

Wilhite needs to go the way of the dinosaur.

 

[D-cleater]

I agree on Wilhite, but all the same I expect to see him t starting at nickel next year unless the pats acquire another corner next year, or BB still likes having a safety at the position.

Going back to Butler, I've personally thought that his best position is LCB, where he played in his rookie year, and he simply got beat out, and rightfully so, by McCourty. He has been unable to adjust to the right side, and he doesn't have either the physical or mental skillset, or both, to cover the slot in this defense. I think he projects as McCourty's top backup next year, nothing more or less.

 

[upstater1]

I'm riding the wave of enthusiasm as much as the next Pats fan,but it always amuses me how this community can be so up and down on a player from one week to the next. Butler is all of the sudden projecting to be one of the best slot corners in the game, when he can't even beat out the back up safeties and Wilhite, who this community has regularly killed, for the job. I'ts hysterical.

You're harping on this when the fact is, the extra safety is there because of what's going on with the D-Line. When the D-line was intact 5 games ago, Butler logged 40 snaps.

 

[upstater1]

Hopefully they go to the best BBQ joint in the entire northeast and not to any club. The scene in Rochester is not ideal, to say the least.

I called it. Darius Butler just tweeted that Alge Crumpler treated the entire team to Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester. Let me tell you, when Southern cousins have visited me here in Upstate, their jaws dropped inside Dinosaur BBQ. And I have tried lots of southern BBQ, Dinosaur is just as good if not better than any others I've tried, lots of famous places. Maybe only Blue Smoke in NYC was better.

Lots of the Patriots' Southern Boys probably got a taste of Southern cooking, and the team bonded over some Dinosaur.

 

[HershilShah23]

Up and coming defense

 

[RobertWeathers]

Maybe only Blue Smoke in NYC was better.
.

Haven't been to Roch in a number of years but if you say close to Blue Smoke, that is saying something.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I got the feeling early in the off season that Darius was developing the dreaded I'm a lock syndrome, he and Bodden did everything in tandem including travel and partying like their pairing as LCB and RCB was a fait accompli. Tom said early on that putting in your time in the program in the off season wouldn't cut it. This team demands more. Come in early, stay late and take work home with you when you'd rather be chillin' playing video games... Never assume you have a job on a BB team or you will likely find some retread or UDFA outworking you to land it.

 

[upstater1]

I got the feeling early in the off season that Darius was developing the dreaded I'm a lock syndrome, he and Bodden did everything in tandem including travel and partying like their pairing as LCB and RCB was a fait accompli. Tom said early on that putting in your time in the program in the off season wouldn't cut it. This team demands more. Come in early, stay late and take work home with you when you'd rather be chillin' playing video games... Never assume you have a job on a BB team or you will likely find some retread or UDFA outworking you to land it.

Don't forget though that Mike Reiss said there was no harder worker than Darius Butler right up until the regular season. Reiss went in predicting Butler would have a huge year precisely because Butler was the hardest working player in the offseason.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Don't forget though that Mike Reiss said there was no harder worker than Darius Butler right up until the regular season. Reiss went in predicting Butler would have a huge year precisely because Butler was the hardest working player in the offseason.

Kinda like Gutierrez, eh?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Not sure how you can call him a reclamation project when he's only a 2nd year player.. But, that being said, He has done a helluva job the last few weeks..

He lost his job to an undrafted STer and IIRC was a healthy scratch a few times. I think it's fair to call him a reclamation project, and as shmessy said, it's a great development for us. I don't think we'll ever have the full story on what happened to him this year, but if he's established, that takes CB off the need list in the draft, imo. Reclamation project is a pretty subjective term, though, so differences of opinion can happen even when we agree on all the facts.

 

[Dragda]

even as*holes smell pretty sometimes

I disagree with this. I spent the last two trips on the commuter train trying to find even one single as*hole that smelled decent. I was completely unsuccessful, but I made $22 in tips!

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

Butler and Arrington a just fine CBs.

Let's just hope the Pats don't have to play the Saints in the SB.