Do we want Butler to get ****y?

[IcyPatriot]

I believe any athlete who is out there on their own more or less ... CB's .... strikers in soccer ... pitchers in baseball .... etc .... need some of that bravado whether it be outward or inward. Belichick himself is ****y .... it's in a different form but we've heard sound bites of it over the years.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I would prefer a sensitive, self-reflective man who often insecurely ponders whether he belongs in the league, second guessing himself several times each play.

Gawd. It all comes down to SNL...

 

[DarrylS]

I think being ****y is good, if he keeps this up would not be surprised if the Pats lock him up long term during his current contract..

He was on "Undrafted" on the NFL network last week, and he is confident off the field.. very quick feet.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I believe any athlete who is out there on their own more or less ... CB's .... strikers in soccer ... pitchers in baseball .... etc .... need some of that bravado whether it be outward or inward. Belichick himself is ****y .... it's in a different form but we've heard sound bites of it over the years.

No kidding. 30 seconds to go in the SB the ball on the 1 yd line, 300 million people chewing their nails to the quick, coaches screaming at him to call a time out and BB says....

"I got it."

If that isn't the definition of supreme confidence I don't know what is.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think being ****y is good, if he keeps this up would not be surprised if the Pats lock him up long term during his current contract..

He was on "Undrafted" on the NFL network last week, and he is confident off the field.. very quick feet.

Damn. I meant to watch that. How was that episode?

 

[Joey007]

I would prefer a sensitive, self-reflective man who often insecurely ponders whether he belongs in the league, second guessing himself several times each play.

You want to bring the 2011 secondary back?

 

[DarrylS]

Damn. I meant to watch that. How was that episode?

Good episode should be repeated tonite, they have a tendency to repeat..

Interesting series.. the story about HS football in Barrow Alaska is good to, i think the HC is from the Boston area.. he sports a #75 jersey..

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Belichick once said, according to this thread:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...reads/defining-the-bb-defensive-back.1113462/


(Note that is not a direct quote from BB, but a quote of a paraphrase of an article ...)

Is this just a flexible rule of thumb, or do we want Butler to be ****y? I kind of like his humble style. Do we have examples of corners who were amazing, but humble? Darrell Green comes to mind. I think he was extremely confident, but wasn't a jerk or even particularly selfish. But he was an amazing corner.

But people here know more than me about everything football related, so just curious what the football PhD's think...

The key word, IMO, in the BB quote (paraphrase) is "good." I think BB will tolerate almost anything from a player who meets his definition of "good," as long as he is a positive presence in the lockerroom, works hard and, above all, understands that BB expects his players at all times to "Do Your Job."

It's important to note also that BB has had the good fortune to have leaders on both sides of the ball in his lockerrooms over the last 15+ years who know how to help a "****y" player understand what is OK behavior and what isn't OK behavior.

 

[Rhodey]

Belichick once said, according to this thread:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...reads/defining-the-bb-defensive-back.1113462/


(Note that is not a direct quote from BB, but a quote of a paraphrase of an article ...)

Is this just a flexible rule of thumb, or do we want Butler to be ****y? I kind of like his humble style. Do we have examples of corners who were amazing, but humble? Darrell Green comes to mind. I think he was extremely confident, but wasn't a jerk or even particularly selfish. But he was an amazing corner.

But people here know more than me about everything football related, so just curious what the football PhD's think...

Personally, I never found Revis to be that ****y. And he's been quite successful at his position.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Butler wanted to test himself vs. Jackson last year

FOXBORO -- Malcolm Butler was about six months away from becoming a Super Bowl hero and a household name during training camp practices between New England and Washington last summer.

It was during one of those joint sessions that Butler -- in order to help carve himself a Patriots roster spot -- requested to cover the toughest assignment in the opposing huddle: receiver DeSean Jackson.

"I asked coach to go against him," Butler said Tuesday inside the Patriots locker room. "That didn't turn out too well." Butler was taught a thing or two, but he lives to tell the tale, and he uses that moment as just one of many learning experiences that have helped him through a year and a half of NFL life.

"I was just getting here my rookie year," Butler said, "and I saw DeSean Jackson. I've been a big fan of his, and I said, 'I want to try him.' I went out there and . . ."

 

[The Brandon Five]

"You can never learn enough in this league," Butler said. "Probably in life too."

This.

 

[gitgronked82]

i think he's ****y in the way you need to be in football. he believes he's a lockdown corner. so if he ever gets beat, he's furious. in his mind, a corner of his caliber doesn't give up completions. that's what you need. it's not about sitting in press conferences saying the world revolves around you. it's about thinking you're better than everyone around you.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

As a CB..you need to be ****y..and i absolutely love that about him. He has swagger out there you can clearly see...a good thing IMO

 

[RobertWeathers]

Being ****y is empty without unshakable confidence and trust in your ability.

 

[DarrylS]

Being confident and expressing yourself on the field is OK.. not being confident is worse.

Not expressing yourself(****iness) might be viewed as being intimidated or fearful..

 

[archstanton543]

No.

 

[neuronet]

i think he's ****y in the way you need to be in football. he believes he's a lockdown corner. so if he ever gets beat, he's furious. in his mind, a corner of his caliber doesn't give up completions. that's what you need. it's not about sitting in press conferences saying the world revolves around you. it's about thinking you're better than everyone around you.

Yes, you can be extremely confident without being ****y primadonna. But it isn't common in this league!

 

[patfanken]

There are 2 qualities I would want in a CB if I were a coach playing in the league today, confidence and coachability. Now confidence is different than "****iness". Remember we are playing in an area where often time you are going to "fail" over 50% of the time. So you need to have the confidence in yourself to know and accept that, and move on to the next play.

Coachability is all about "want to". One of the first things I noticed about Butler was how badly he wants to get it right. Yet he never seems to get down on himself for long. He was blaming himself for the Kearse catch and thought he let down the team, yet 2 plays later he has his head on straight, so he can make one of the biggest single plays in superbowl history. THAT is mind set that will set him apart at his position.

I would love it if Butler patterned himself on Revis. Revis isn't a big talker to the media. He knows who he is, does his thing on the field and lets other people talk about him. Revis also is the Tom Brady of CB's as far as preparation goes. So Butler has had/has 2 of the best role models he could have possibly have had.

Bottom line - Butler has a vision of what he wants to be. He has the wisdom to know that it is a process that won't happen over night. He has the persistence to work hard at it and learn from his mistakes. I wouldn't be surprised if one off season when Tom goes to Montana with some of his receivers he takes Malcolm along.

I don't know if Malcolm Butler is going to be an elite shutdown CB eventually. But I do know that he will be a good one and do the work so he can play to his potential. Coaches love players like that. Those are the guys make you want to work harder yourself to help them achieve their goals.

So far this season we have seen Butler have his ups and downs, and here is what I like from what I've seen.

1. He competes hard on EVERY play.

2. He might already be one of the best tacklers in the league at his position.

3. He is in tight coverage on almost every play, even when the ball is caught. He has rarely been cleanly beaten on a route.

4. And the last one is the most important. He has gotten better with every game he plays.

Malcolm has been inches from making the play on about 10 catches this season. Over time I believe that he will close that gap. Like I said, he might never become an "elite" CB, but I think he will be good enough to become a rock you can build your CB group on.

Remember so called "elite" CB's of today like Peterson had some very rocky years starting out,. Given Butler's VERY modest background, he has progressed amazingly well.

 

[neuronet]

Patfanken not sure how I missed that post,but it is a great one....Belichick pretty much agrees:
Humble Malcolm Butler surprised by Pro Bowl selection, sees plenty of room to improve

I think he is closing in on being elite, and frankly I am not sure he has even hit his ceiling yet....

Belichick quote:

He’s humble, works hard, tries to get better, makes mistakes – there are a lot of things he can do better – but he works hard to get them better and he corrects them, and I think everybody that’s on our team or around our team respects that. He doesn’t have all the answers, tries hard, plays with a good level of confidence, which is good for his position – I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all – and he’s gotten better, so we all respect that.

The part that I emboldend is relevant to this thread.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

****y is what makes him who he is. And it's fantastic and i LOVE it