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

[GorBelSer]

They picked a game plan they thought would work. It didn't and we lost. And they screwed up. It happens in literally every game to at least one team. We just happened to be on the wrong side this time.

Then they need to have their heads checked. SS is playing slot while FS is shadowing TE? #3 CB, a slot guy, is covering #1 WR, deep outside threat?

 

[Ring 6]

I agree 100% with the OP which I thought was great and spot on (except that Brady shook hands with plenty of Eagles players, don't believe the fake news going around that he didn't).

The only thing I would add is if you have to punish him, then bench him for the first quarter or something. That sends a message to everyone else if you have to send it. Don't throw the Super Bowl to prove your point.

We'll be talking about this for years, if not the rest of our lives, so get ready.

So if your kid swears you punish him with no desert.
If he beats up a girl half his size and spits in her you punish him with no desert?

 

[mosslost]

I agree 100% with the OP which I thought was great and spot on (except that Brady shook hands with plenty of Eagles players, don't believe the fake news going around that he didn't).

The only thing I would add is if you have to punish him, then bench him for the first quarter or something. That sends a message to everyone else if you have to send it. Don't throw the Super Bowl to prove your point.

We'll be talking about this for years, if not the rest of our lives, so get ready.

Couldn’t care less if Brady shook any hands. He should have face slapped Belichick

 

[Simpelton]

Answer honestly, how many superbowls does Belichick win without Brady?

it's impossible to answer an unknowable question honestly.

 

[RobertWeathers]

In this case I agree with @PatsDeb that the punishment may not fit the crime, but we won't know for sure until/if we find out what that crime was. Are there any violations that you consider minor enough to allow Butler to play? I think there are.

Again I do not think it was just a "crime" or a simple team violation. I suspect there were a multitude of serious issues (combination of booze, weed, ****ty week of practice, disrespected coaches, missing flights, out partying, not knowing the gameplan or his assignments) that convinced BB Malcolm- even if he played, would not be effective.

I'll say this....if we find out it was a simple bed check issue or he smoked a little weed while watching Family Feud in his hotel room and Malcolm was READY to go then BB deserves to be tarred and feathered.

 

[condon84]

He couldn’t be inactive because there were no corners left if there was an injury. If it happened Saturday night it was to late to add a player from the practice squad.

Then he should have just played him.

I can understand if he murdered someone but a little nightcap bowl in the Super Bowl ain't such a bad thing.

 

[Todd Bradley]

He decides if he wants to follow the team rules that allow him to play. The other 52 guys didn’t have a problem whth that.


Of course it had to do with issues. Belichick is never going to make those comments publicly. You are grasping on to something ridiculous. And you know better.

Just stop, please.

No matter which way you slice it, the facts are:
- Belichick had every opportunity to play Butler. He didn’t.
- The defense got shredded, historically bad. Butler could’ve helped.
- Butler is a better cover corner, better tackler and better all around player than Rowe or Bademosi.
- This was the Super Bowl. Not a week three game and a title was on the line. There’s no room for petty disciplinary crap to a guy who’s outta New England after four quarters of play. You only hurt 52 guys by doing this.

 

[Ring 6]

Then the assumed violation wasn't serious enough to kick him off the roster, but serious enough to have 3 players playing out of position in the secondary?

What happened to putting players in a position to be successful?

BB owns the loss.

He couldn’t kick him off the roster Saturday night.

Had it happened earlier in the week perhaps he would have brought a corner up from the ps and made butler inactive.

 

[mosslost]

I'm not willing to dismiss a 17 year run that has seen unprecedented excellence

Brady

 

[RobertWeathers]

Like Bill Russell.

That make zero sense

 

[1960Pats]

It all comes down to if you believe in the core tenants of how BB runs the football operation. Its unbending, uncompromising and unbreakable. BB believes that is the foundation to winning culture.

For some people its a matter of convenience and circumstances in how its applied.

For BB its a code.

People find that tough to understand or accept and I understand that.

For people who have been in the military know exactly what I am talking about.

What I mean is that I don't believe that his benching was because of poor preparation. It was obviously something else.

I went in the National Guard during the Vietnam War at the behest of my older brother and parents. Does that count as military?

 

[mosslost]

of course he is accountable..but what good does it do benching a player that could help the team win the freaken Super Bowl?...WHEN THE PLAYER IS NOT RETURNING NEXT YEAR ANYWAY.
The players worked their butts off to get to this game and the coach refuses to put a player in the game after he sees his defense getting destroyed possession after possession..for what? So players NEXT YEAR won't do something similar? It's the last g*** Damn game of the year...WIN IT!!!

BB did what he did out of pure vindictiveness and lack of care for the fans, players, and owner.

 

[Ring 6]

Just stop, please.

Stop what? Thinking and not crying?

No matter which way you slice it, the facts are:
- Belichick had every opportunity to play Butler. He didn’t.
- The defense got shredded, historically bad. Butler could’ve helped.
- Butler is a better cover corner, better tackler and better all around player than Rowe or Bademosi.
- This was the Super Bowl. Not a week three game and a title was on the line. There’s no room for petty disciplinary crap to a guy who’s outta New England after four quarters of play. You only hurt 52 guys by doing this.

Most of that is opinion, but in any event since you don’t know what he did to let his teammates down you don’t know if the punishment was correct or excessive. No matter how many times you want to act like you do.

Does it not make you wonder why no one in that locker room has said a single word backing butler?

 

[patsfan13]

Name another deactivated player what would have won the game.

That wasn't the point was it wasn't this about the BB "CODE"?

If it was about WINNING play the man.

Are you seriously saying that the D was better with Butler on the bench and Rowe, Chung and McCourty playing out of position?

SERIOUSLY?

 

[mosslost]

That make zero sense

I know.. just stirring this pot as best I can

 

[pwes]

Believe what you want.

I will believe it because it's what our coach said. I guess you're calling him a liar now? You keep bringing up that he wont throw a player under the bus but he didn't have to say anything. When asked if it was behavioral he didn't have to say no. He could have plainly said it was a team decision. Except he specifically said it was not punishment. Bill is not dumb and knows how to answer a question with a non-answer. He does it all the time. In this specific instance he chose to give an actual answer and you refuse to believe it.

 

[RobertWeathers]

What I mean is that I don't believe that his benching was because of poor preparation. It was obviously something else.

I went in the National Guard during the Vietnam War at the behest of my older brother and parents. Does that count as military?

Absolutely. My dad was in the NG and almost went to 'Nam. He raised me with a military mindset. I'm glad he did.

 

[Todd Bradley]

Stop what? Thinking and not crying?


Most of that is opinion, but in any event since you don’t know what he did to let his teammates down you don’t know if the punishment was correct or excessive. No matter how many times you want to act like you do.

Does it not make you wonder why no one in that locker room has said a single word backing butler?

I said please.

You’re dancing in circles trying to defend Bill and you’re tearing at the seams. I have no interest in continuously correcting your completely wrong take.

 

[Simpelton]

Just stop, please.

No matter which way you slice it, the facts are:
- Belichick had every opportunity to play Butler. He didn’t.
- The defense got shredded, historically bad. Butler could’ve helped.
- Butler is a better cover corner, better tackler and better all around player than Rowe or Bademosi.
- This was the Super Bowl. Not a week three game and a title was on the line. There’s no room for petty disciplinary crap to a guy who’s outta New England after four quarters of play. You only hurt 52 guys by doing this.

And the fact is as well that Belichick is fully aware of all this, and chose not to play Butler.

The fact of the matter is, we're talking about the decision of one of the greatest coaches in the history of football. Giving him a little credit for knowing what he's doing is hardly insane.

He's built his team this way, and his team has certain rules. If Butler started completely disregarding those rules because he thought he was short-timing it anyway and what the hell, Bill's got to do something about that.

The Patriot Way is a huge part of how we get any Superbowls at all, if I have to choose between the Patriot Way and any one additional Superbowl, I like my odds if I make the decision to protect the Way.

Letting the Patriot Way die because one guy decided to say screw it is only even slightly acceptable if Bill is retiring next year or something, and the culture would have to change anyway with a new head coach. Since that's not happening, he's got to take steps to protect the team culture, or every time a player is short timing he'll feel he can just say screw the rules. And how do you get buy in from the scrubs when the veterans and short timers are openly refusing to buy in?

Winning one Superbowl and sabotaging his culture and rules when he has many future Superbowls to play for is not smart even if it would lead to a gain short term -- which is by no means guaranteed with a player with a to-hell-with-it attitude about the rules in the first place.

Oh -- and judging what Butler would do in this game based on his performance while he WAS following the rules is a little bit dicey and uncertain IMHO. We have no idea whether that player would have showed up in the #21 jersey that day.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I'm waiting to hear what the reason was. I'm not sure what he could have done that made BB bench him on defense but not special teams.

It’s just speculation on my part but I think Butler tuned out the game planning and the coaches, I think his mindset was that he was going to do his thing and make up the money he lost by his play this season in the Super Bowl. More than any sickness or curfew violation I think Belichick has no tolerance for players who tune out the coaches and unit approach to the game. Belichick believes wholeheartedly that every player has to do their job within the scheme for the defense to succeed, and if he lost faith that Butler would do that it would explain the decision. It wouldn’t satisfy the people freaking out over it but it would explain it.


Now that I think of it that’s exactly what Butler said, “ they lost faith in me.”