How bad has Darius Butler been?

[The Dynasty]

After reading a few blog posts on the Pats D I found a pretty alarming stat that shows just how much Darius Butler is struggling.

There’s a ton of stats to illustrate how bad Butler is, but this one blew my mind: Opposing quarterbacks have posted a 151.6 passer rating when throwing at Butler, the second highest mark among 88 qualifying cornerbacks.

Let that sink in for a minute. 158.3 is a perfect score. So in essence, throwing at Butler has almost been like throwing at nothing.

He’s been targeted 18 times, allowing 15 completions for 207 yards, the most in the league. 198 of those yards came in the first two games since Butler played only three snaps Sunday against the Bills.

Man, how much do the Pats miss Leigh Bodden?

 

[HowardRoark]

Man, how much do the Pats miss Leigh Bodden?

I know I miss him...

 

[A.C Vegas]

yeah he has sucky moments but plenty of room to get better and probably will espcally after being benched

 

[Sicilian]

Darius Butler has struggled supremely, but I want to see how the number of targets compares with other CBs, as well as percentage of targets overall (i.e. how many of Sanchez's 30 pass attempts were targeted at Butler.

To me, a pass not targeted to a CB is as good as a pass broken up for that player. So just looking at success when he's been thrown at is only half the story.

But again, I will reiterate before I get the inevitable "If you can't see that Butler has struggled you're not watching the games " attitude. He has NOT played well at all. That stat is still incomplete.

 

[PatsBoy12]

At this point (notice how I'm talking right now), Butler is Wilhite 2.0. He's seems to be in position on a great number of plays, but he fails to make the play each and every time. He's a magnet for the yellow flag as well. We all hope he turns things around, but it isn't looking good at the present moment.

 

[TheComeback]

He has the physical talent, he just needs to put it together. I don't think he's the 2nd worst corner in the league. He'll improve before the year is over.

 

[The Dynasty]

Darius Butler has struggled supremely, but I want to see how the number of targets compares with other CBs, as well as percentage of targets overall (i.e. how many of Sanchez's 30 pass attempts were targeted at Butler.

To me, a pass not targeted to a CB is as good as a pass broken up for that player. So just looking at success when he's been thrown at is only half the story.

But again, I will reiterate before I get the inevitable "If you can't see that Butler has struggled you're not watching the games " attitude. He has NOT played well at all. That stat is still incomplete.

McCourty hasn’t been anything to be afraid of yet, though he is fairing much better than Butler.

Quarterbacks are 11 for 15 against him and have posted a 112.2 quarterback rating. But the main difference is that he hasn't been susceptible to the big play the same way that Butler has been. McCourty is allowing an average of just 8.2 yards per catch, while Butler has given up an average of 13.8.

I guess this shows that McCourty hasnt been that great either. I think hes looked so much better than Butler that his play as a whole has been overrated a little bit

 

[The Dynasty]

He has the physical talent, he just needs to put it together. I don't think he's the 2nd worst corner in the league. He'll improve before the year is over.

Obviously he isnt the 2nd worst corner in the league, he has raw talent. It just shows just how much he is struggling and allowing opposing teams QBs to constantly throw at him. The stat didnt even account for his PI penalties

 

[HowardRoark]

To be fair to Butler, the sample size isn't that large, especially with his limited playing time at Buffalo.

 

[upstater1]

Obviously he isnt the 2nd worst corner in the league, he has raw talent. It just shows just how much he is struggling and allowing opposing teams QBs to constantly throw at him. The stat didnt even account for his PI penalties

He's had 2 PI penalties, one of which was totally bogus.

 

[bresna]

He's had 2 PI penalties, one of which was totally bogus.

Especially if you watched the Jets/Dolphins game last Monday. Cromartie got away with mauling Marshall a couple of times. If it had been Butler, yellow flags would have rained from the sky.

 

[doesntmatter1]

To me the difference between McCourty and Butler is that mccourty seems to be in much better posistion and usually sees the ball coming but they are just thrown very well. While Butler seems to only play the receiver and gives to large a cushion on some obvious quick throws.

Butler needs to be more physical and jam harder at the line or play with an even bigger cushion than he has and use that good burst of his to jump routes.

Back to McCourty. I have watched him closely and I like him alot but he doesn't take chances almost ever and maybe thats why hes been so successful at defending the deep ball, but i wonder if that will change with more experience.

If i had my way i would have arrington and mccourty on the outside with butler in the slot and chung and merriweather as the safeties. I have disliked sander's range since 07 and i cant stomach the angles wilhite takes to tackle someone(poor ball skills is one thing but some of the yac he has allowed is ridiculous).

And out of pure curiousity i would like to see how our defense performs with guyton and myron pryor inactive. I have issues with their game far more than any other's throughout these early stages of the season.

 

[ALP]

To me the difference between McCourty and Butler is that mccourty seems to be in much better posistion and usually sees the ball coming but they are just thrown very well. While Butler seems to only play the receiver and gives to large a cushion on some obvious quick throws.

Butler needs to be more physical and jam harder at the line or play with an even bigger cushion than he has and use that good burst of his to jump routes.

Back to McCourty. I have watched him closely and I like him alot but he doesn't take chances almost ever and maybe thats why hes been so successful at defending the deep ball, but i wonder if that will change with more experience.

If i had my way i would have arrington and mccourty on the outside with butler in the slot and chung and merriweather as the safeties. I have disliked sander's range since 07 and i cant stomach the angles wilhite takes to tackle someone(poor ball skills is one thing but some of the yac he has allowed is ridiculous).

And out of pure curiousity i would like to see how our defense performs with guyton and myron pryor inactive. I have issues with their game far more than any other's throughout these early stages of the season.

i think i have an inkling about why guyton, but why pryor?

 

[stinkypete]

Butler's play has been incredibly poor so far, but I'm not panicking yet.

From what I've seen, Butler has shown that he has the athleticism to keep up with Chad 8-5 and Braylon 0.16 Edwards. Not too shabby at all. He just needs some serious coaching.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Hell,Compared to Butler's play I miss Duane Starks right now

 

[doesntmatter1]

i think i have an inkling about why guyton, but why pryor?

From what i've seen there are massive holes created in our sub defense and pryor seems to be the reason. yeah guyton isn't a physical run stopper but pryor doesn't make his job any easier. pryor is in there for pass rush but he is usually handled easily and those holes he created were magnified when fitzpatrick ran for those first downs up the gut. you may argue that it was an obvious pass play and thats why pryor wasn't ready for those runs but they happened repeatedly and those runs happened in the spots he vacated.

 

[ALP]

From what i've seen there are massive holes created in our sub defense and pryor seems to be the reason. yeah guyton isn't a physical run stopper but pryor doesn't make his job any easier. pryor is in there for pass rush but he is usually handled easily and those holes he created were magnified when fitzpatrick ran for those first downs up the gut. you may argue that it was an obvious pass play and thats why pryor wasn't ready for those runs but they happened repeatedly and those runs happened in the spots he vacated.

so you're saying that pryor is not filling gaps...

can a DL both rush the passer and fill a gap at the same time? or should pryor have been keeping it in mind?

and if hes doing so poorly, how come most ppl think hes doing well?

^^^honest questions, no irony

 

[sbpatfan]

Have to get your ass kicked before you can kick ass.

 

[Sicilian]

Have to get your ass kicked before you can kick ass.

Approves:

 

[JackBauer]

Approves:

Watched that last night, actually. What a weird movie.