In defense of Tate and Butler

[Don_the_patfan]

I guess when talking about Tate I believe my eyes and he has shown absolutely nothing on that field to make me think he is part of the future. Until he does his name needs to be included when talking about cuts. It has nothing to do with hate it has to do with production on that field.

Beyond that I will take Troy Brown's word which is that Tate cannot run routes and he doesn't see him sticking with the team long term when he was on WEEI. So for as much grief as people get for dumping on Tate when you hear a Pat's great says that anything that anyone in this forum says is irrelevant.

As far as Butler we will see soon enough. He needs to beat Arrington first in that rotation we'll see how that goes.

 

[Ron Sellers]

The Pats pass defense hasnt been of championship caliber for about 5 years. Even during the 16 - 0 season, Brady had to return after leaving a game because the defense couldnt stop the other team passing the ball.

The defense has gone through a complete overhaul the last few years, replacing older players. What the 2007, 2008, and 2009 defenses did is irrelevant. Having to rely on Deltha O'Neal and Lewis Sanders in 2008 has absolutely nothing to do with the current state of affairs.

By the way, in the game you are referring to Brady was reinserted because Matt Cassel threw a bad pick-6 to Jason Taylor. The move was done because Belichick was pissed at Cassel, not because the defense was getting gashed.

A crappy Sanchez threw 3 TD passes last post season.

There was a whole lot more to that loss than corners not adequately covering. The defensive line was decimated by injuries, which led to a mediocre run defense and not nearly enough pressure on Sanchez. Give any NFL quarterback enough time and he's going to have a good day.

Its not the pass rush. People keep blaming the pass rush when its players that cannot cover.

We agree to disagree then. In my opinion the lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks was a much, much bigger problem for the Patriots' defense last year (as well as the one game you pointed out) than was the corners ability to cover. To me the amount of pressure on the opposing quarterback has at least as much, if not more to do with a team's pass defense than coverage does.


Butler is a 4th option at CB, and will become the 5th option once Dowling gets on the field. Am I disappointed in how he has played thus far? Of course, who isn't? But seriously, how many NFL teams have a better #5 CB? Depth at CB is the last concern this team has right now.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Butler has been god awful in coverage, I don't know how anyone could be excited about his potential.

BB has started using him as a KR in practice, he'll be more useful in that role.

 

[Keyser Söze]

The kid still doesnt look when the WR does, I don't know when this kid will get it. His usual body position:

And the one he stood off to the side against edwards and just tried to swat the ball

 

[NEP4Life]

Butler is more likely to make the roster as sub in a dime, quarter or half package.

Tate's only chance is as a kick return specialist, and it's unlikely this year's Pats will dedicate a roster spot to that role.