Content Post Dear Bill - Thanks for Giving Away the Super Bowl.

[XLIX]

Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts and many other states.

It is actually illegal in all 50 states because it is a violation of federal law. The previous administration announced they will not enforce the federal law and the current administration announced they might (but AFAIK have not yet done so).

However, that does nothing to change the fact that it remains illegal under federal law in all 50 states.

 

[Todd Bradley]

Once again, what was the score in that KC game?

That has literally NOTHING to do with this game. NOTHING.

You’re losing all credibility by trying to compare a week one game to the goddamn Super Bowl. It’s mental.

 

[1960Pats]

Sure lets let Malcolm completely off the hook. Let's not make him accountable for his actions when the other 51 players and the entire organization are doing eveything they can to win the Super Bowl.

If you want a team in which the coach is selective and arbitrary pertaining which rules to follow and behavior is appropriate go root for the Steelers, Bengals or Ravens.

I'm totally behind @PatsDeb with this (including the 4th and 2 in Indy) and I don't care for the "go root for another team" angle, especially since she coughed up a good chunk of change for overpriced tickets to be at the game.

None of us know what Butler did that was so bad that Belichick decided it was worthy of losing a SB to prove his point, but it did lose the game. I can only guess how much a last minute decision like that would affect the team, but the last time it cost the team a playoff game when Belichick felt like he had to make a point about Wes Welker.

There's also a possibility that this kind of reaction by Belichick could affect the players, depending of course on what Butler's crime was. If the players in that locker room don't agree that Butler's punishment fit his crime then there will be blowback for sure.

As Belichick has stated many times in the past, it's the players that win the games. In this case it could be the HC that lost a big one.

 

[JJC]

I think we can agree that Butler did something (or series of things) which led to the need for Belichick to discipline him.

All we are arguing about is whether the discipline applied fit the circumstances.

The punishment meted out to Butler also punished the other players, the ownership, and the fan base.

Results matter. If the Patriots had held on at the end and prevented PHI from scoring after going up by one point, or if Brady had led that last drive to score again and pull out another great 4th quarter comeback, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

That didn't happen. The Patriots lost because the coaching staff failed to put together a defensive game plan, including personnel decisions, that could hold the Eagles to fewer than 30 points.

People yammering about principles and standards need to back off on that argument. If Butler's offense was so egregious that he got zero snaps on defense, he should not have dressed. Saying that he was there in case of injury is an arbitrary line. It was clear that the players playing in his stead were not up to the job.

Deb is correct. It was incumbent on BB to act as if the injury had occurred and put Butler in the game late. He owed that to the other players, the ownership, and the fans. There were other ways to punish Butler without harming others.

If we find out that it was an extreme case of insubordination and BB was right not to play him, then he shouldn't have been in uniform on the sidelines. And certainly shouldn't have been in on special teams. That is inconsistent application of the laws of whatever.

I want the truth...and I can handle the truth.

 

[Kontradiction]

If Brady played as bad as the defense and/or as BB & co. coached that game, it may never be lived down. He would have had to have thrown 4 INTs and scored 7 pts for there to be an equivalent.

It’s not just Malcolm Butler:

• Barely playing Wise/A. Butler, the two rookies responsible for 25% of our sacks this season. All we needed was one play.
• Playing Jordan Richards in the Superbowl.
• Not having one of the elite TE cover men in the entire NFL in Patrick Chung on Zach Ertz. Instead, expose him at CB on Agholor.

It goes without saying BB is a legend, HOFer, etc. This game was a colossal F-up that belongs on his resume forever & should be criticized 36 hours after the game.

Yeah I think once it was proven that the Big Nickel wasn’t even going to so much as slow the Eagles down, they should have went to a plan B, defensively. We still need to hear a definitive reason for why Butler was benched, but this is the bigger storyline IMO. Chung had no business covering Agholor and Richards has no business seeing the field at all against an offensive attack with that kind of speed. The coaching and game planning wrecked that unit before they even took the field.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Its not nonsense.

You are unwilling to subscribe there were MULTIPLE egregious enough infractions which put BB in this situation and you refuse to make Malcolm accountable. Malcolm let his teammates down and BB felt he was not in a position to help the team. Period.

Winner

Not one of these poster’s saw Butler practice, or even knows why Belichick made his decision, yet all are certain Belichick didn’t know what he was doing. And they want to talk about his arrogance and hubris? Seriously?

 

[patsfan13]

If the goal was to punish Butler then don't put him on the roster for the game make him a healthy scratch. Suspend him.

If you put him on the roster play him in the game.

 

[Triumph]

Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts and many other states.

Jack Daniels is legal in 50 states.

Doesnt that you buy a jug to bring up to your room the night before the game.

 

[RobertWeathers]

It is nonsense.

Bill Belichick is the one that let his team down. Stop with the spin, you look absolutely foolish trying to defend him.

He changed a gameplan an hour before kickoff, confused players, divided the locker room and had every opportunity in the world to make amends and fix his poor decision thorougout a sixty minute game. He didnt.

You don’t sit a top corner in the Super Bowl as punishment. You clearly saw the end result of doing such an egotistical move.

You and me can keep dancing on this, but youre not right and never will be.

You are clearly that type of fan who thinks players should run the team and coaches should just let it ride.

Sounds like Mike Tomlin or Pete Carroll are coaches which align more to your philosophy.

Winning is a culture that is uncompromising. Not a lightswitch.

 

[Huckleberry1]

That has literally NOTHING to do with this game. NOTHING.

You’re losing all credibility by trying to compare a week one game to the goddamn Super Bowl. It’s mental.

You guys are claiming the defense would have improved enough to get the win, when in fact Butler was on the field for their biggest games in points allowed this season.

 

[Kontradiction]

Hey guys, I hate to say it, but until something definitive comes out about why Butler was benched, there’s not really much of a reason to discuss it.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Malcom Butler is the best tackler on the team and a miles better cover corner than Bademosi and Rowe.

Telling me that having him in there doesn’t improve the chances of winning or improve the chances of making one single defensive stop is pure looney tunes nonsense that literally no one believes.

Stop with the Belichick apologist crap. He was wrong, end of story.

Belichick put the rules over the W - this is what it comes down to. The problem with this is the consequences of it go beyond Butler. It affected 52 other players and millions of fans around the world, not to mention millions of eagles fans who are now celebrating in the streets. I get that Bill doesn’t want to reward bad behavior, but I think this was a move I could only get on board with if it were regular season.

 

[Todd Bradley]

You are clearly that type of fan who thinks players should run the team and coaches should just let it ride.

Sounds like Mike Tomlin or Pete Carroll are coaches which align more to your philosophy.

I’m the type of fan who calls out bull when I see it, not a blind Belichick apologist deciple who thinks he’s infallible of criticism.

Butler was active and dressed. Which means whatever he did, clearly wasn’t that serious. He was in the gameplan an hour before kickoff. He sat there, ready to go for the full game and was never given an opportunity to play, even though Bill saw his D getting historically shredded.

He made a horrible decision. It’s okay to criticize him and you’re not going to change my mind or the mind of a majority of fans.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Pretending Malcolm Butler would have made the one stop to change that game is total fantasy. You guys are making sh.t up and acting as though it’s fact. Malcolm Butler played in the opener against KC, how many points did they let up?

Ivan, I’m a big fan of your posting from your knowledge to taking a dump on the chicken littles in amusing ways but honest question:

You really don’t think the domino effect of playing Malcolm Butler gets us one stop?

Butler bench to CB2
Rowe CB2 to slot CB (role he’s been playing all year)
Chung slot CB to Ertz

Comeon. You know that gets 1-2 more stops.

 

[Huckleberry1]

You are clearly that type of fan who thinks players should run the team and coaches should just let it ride.

Sounds like Mike Tomlin or Pete Carroll are coaches which align more to your philosophy.

Winning is a culture that is uncompromising. Not a lightswitch.

Agree completely. And beyond that they are a talking out of their asses because none saw a single play of Butler practicing in the weeks leading up to the Game,

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'm totally behind @PatsDeb with this (including the 4th and 2 in Indy) and I don't care for the "go root for another team" angle, especially since she coughed up a good chunk of change for overpriced tickets to be at the game.

None of us know what Butler did that was so bad that Belichick decided it was worthy of losing a SB to prove his point, but it did lose the game. I can only guess how much a last minute decision like that would affect the team, but the last time it cost the team a playoff game when Belichick felt like he had to make a point about Wes Welker.

There's also a possibility that this kind of reaction by Belichick could affect the players, depending of course on what Butler's crime was. If the players in that locker room don't agree that Butler's punishment fit his crime then there will be blowback for sure.

As Belichick has stated many times in the past, it's the players that win the games. In this case it could be the HC that lost a big one.

What Bill has built here is a winning culture that is unbending and uncompromising. It has a value system. It has accountability. For it to work players need to do their job. Its is on 100% of the time. It is not a light switch.

Everyone was ok with it when the win 5 Super Bowls. Now they are not?

That is crap.

 

[1960Pats]

BB made the decision Malcolm's preparation would not put him a position to be successful in the game and thus hurt the team.

I find the bold part to be total bs. Do you really believe it?

 

[Triumph]

The weed angle would answer why Butler does not have a contract. His play was great so that cannot be it.

That is so puzzling more than the benching.

 

[Geezer Butler]

This whole situation sucks.

Unfortunately the issues with Butler were allowed to fester and the communication wasn't good enough between the two parties ever since the Gilmore signing.

This is part of the package with Belichick though, he takes ZERO **** from any player and sometimes the consequences from that mindset are less than ideal. In this case it bit them in the ass in the worst way and cost them a ring. The overall philosophy has been overwhelmingly successful but that doesn't make this hurt any less.

I'm mad a Butler because he and his agent have been head asses this entire time, really showing no knowledge about how signings in the NFL work and trying to strong arm the Pats into an early new deal. I'm pissed that Butler seems to have not taken the prep for this game seriously and the crying on the sideline shows that emotionally he wasn't in the right place. He needs to mature obviously.

I'm mad at Belichick because Butler obviously could have helped late in that game. He should have put him in, it very well could have turned the tide. I also think he could have handled the situation better by letting the guys know earlier about the switch. Springing this on the team right before the game really screwed up the defensive mindset. You could totally see this, they were flat.

All that said, this defense was terrible against the pass for the most part all year. Butler or not, I was surprised they were able to make it to the Super Bowl in the first place. It just hurts because that god damn game was STILL winnable. Even with all this BS.

 

[Observer]

Jack Daniels is legal in 50 states.

Doesnt that you buy a jug to bring up to your room the night before the game.

Look, my point is that among the list of violations worth losing a superbowl over, it does not crack the top 100. But more importantly, it is a completely unsubstantiated rumor that people are latching on to as if it were fact.