Malcolm Butler Mega Thread

[RobertWeathers]

He was crying because he wasn't playing! He took him out at the last minute. It's one of the most baffling decisions ever made in super bowl history. The eagles got a nice early Christmas gift courtesy of BB.

Why wasn't Malcolm playing?

 

[BadMoFo]

I just have a hard time putting any blame on the O when they scored 33 pts and put the team in position for 37 pts (missed field goal and extra point). The O cannot be perfect, but they were pretty close. The D on the other hand were spectacularly bad. Eagles scored on 8 of 10 possessions. That falls on them and the position Belichick put them in.

I'm not trying to blame the offense, of course the defense was the main reason we lost. We obviously had an incredible game plan on offense. But like Brady always says, it's about execution and we had several screw ups when we closed in on the red zone.

 

[makoute]

Please explain “Johnny Manziels brain into Butler”. If you’ ve been paying attention everyone involved said it was performance, not discipline. Belichick said it was performance. Shefter’s sources said performance. Minnehan’s said performance. Butler denied any of the unfounded rumours. So if both Belichick and Butler said it wasn’t due to discipline, don’t make Butler out to be some Johnny Manziel like character.

But that would mean that Bill had a brain fart. God doesn’t have brain farts. So that theory is impossible! How dare you agree with God’s own words. He is never wrong, except for when he says something that makes him look bad and my mind just won’t accept.

 

[Ivan]

So are you.

Actually he’s the one spinning as he is making an argument with no facts to support it.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I'm not trying to blame the offense, of course the defense was the main reason we lost. We obviously had an incredible game plan on offense. But like Brady always says, it's about execution and we had several screw ups when we closed in on the red zone.

No. Offense was fine. In the second half they looked very good. All they needed was the defense to step up. They let nick freaking Foles beat them! They did nothing defensively to adjust. BB went through the motions with the defense.

Agholor was the X factor In the second half. A guy i am sure butler would have handled well.

 

[Ivan]

Why wasn't Malcolm playing?

I can’t imagine any coach seeing a player crying on the sideline and thinking they should go in.

 

[makoute]

No way BB played the best players. Nobody believes that. The rest is speculation.

Some people on here certainly do.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I can’t imagine any coach seeing a player crying on the sideline and thinking they should go in.

Well BB made him cry by pulling him at the last minute. I know butler has been a malcontent but he should have been able to play in his last game in a pats uniform. The guy only won you a super bowl bill!

 

[Ivan]

Thinking back to the game, did we blitz at all. Can't recall much pressure on Foles.

Just playing Captain Hindsight, just like with the Butler situation.

I think that’s one of the most viable criticisms of that defensive game plan, they weren’t going to be able to cover long so they should have gotten physical on the receivers and used every kind of blitz they had to shake Foles into mistakes. They needed to take chances and made it easy for them instead.

 

[makoute]

I can’t imagine any coach seeing a player crying on the sideline and thinking they should go in.

Ray Lewis is always crying. I think the ravens won a super bowl with his crying.

 

[Ivan]

Well BB made him cry by pulling him at the last minute. I know butler has been a malcontent but he should have been able to play in his last game in a pats uniform. The guy only won you a super bowl bill!

Are you reading your own words?

“ BB made him cry”

Really?

Belichick pulled Arrington for an undrafted free agent with no playing experience in the second half of the Super Bowl against Seattle, I don’t recall Arrington crying? Do you?

 

[Boomer B]

Why wasn't Malcolm playing?

From Shefter’s sources it was performance based. And Shefter is known for having very good sources inside the Pats. Minnehans source said the same. Belichick had soured on Butlers play.

I have no issue with him getting benched due to his play, but him staying on the bench while Chung is getting torched by Agholor is inexcusable.

 

[Ivan]

Ray Lewis is always crying. I think the ravens won a super bowl with his crying.

True

But that’s cause he killed a guy

 

[RobertWeathers]

I can’t imagine any coach seeing a player crying on the sideline and thinking they should go in.

So the counter argument from the anti-BB crowd is....

"Well, if BB told Malcolm he was starting he wouldn't have been so upset and cried".

What is this? U-8 soccer?

 

[RobertWeathers]

From Shefter’s sources it was performance based. And Shefter is known for having very good sources inside the Pats. Minnehans source said the same. Belichick had soured on Butlers play.

I have no issue with him getting benched due to his play, but him staying on the bench while Chung is getting torched by Agholor is inexcusable.

I know..

I wanted to see what he said.

He wants to debate this just like I do and I was laying a trap for him.

 

[RobertWeathers]

True

But that’s cause he killed a guy

Tears of joy.

 

[Ivan]

Well BB made him cry by pulling him at the last minute. I know butler has been a malcontent but he should have been able to play in his last game in a pats uniform. The guy only won you a super bowl bill!

This is a big part of the problem, Butler believed he was entitled to play, and when they told him he wouldn’t start he should have doubled and tripled down on showing them he should be out there as much as possible, imo he did the opposite and that led to him getting benched completely.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Well BB made him cry by pulling him at the last minute. I know butler has been a malcontent but he should have been able to play in his last game in a pats uniform. The guy only won you a super bowl bill!

You must coach little girls soccer and hand out participation trophies.

 

[BadMoFo]

Are you reading your own words?

“ BB made him cry”

Really?

Belichick pulled Arrington for an undrafted free agent with no playing experience in the second half of the Super Bowl against Seattle, I don’t recall Arrington crying? Do you?

But Arrington played before he was yanked from the game. Butler never got that shot. I agree if he stunk while playing in this game, pull him. Bottom line is this decision will always be questioned whether or not it was the right decision.

 

[GorBelSer]

I wonder if that was their original plan and what set Butler off initially. My speculation is: The defensive coaches put a game plan together that has Butler on Agholor in the slot. Butler balks at being put in the slot because he sees it as a demotion that will cost him money as a free agent. Butler then cops an attitude in meetings and practice. Butler misses practices and practices poorly when he’s there. The coaches inform him a few days before the game that he won’t start, Butler then gets really upset and instead of stepping up to show he should play he goes the other direction. Belichick and the coaches decide he can’t be trusted and rule him out.

Again, that’s just speculation on my part but it’s the most likely scenario I can come up with. I don’t think it’s fair to Butler to throw shade on him with the accusations about weed and fights without real good information supporting them, but I think you can see it happening as I suggested based upon how Butler has conducted himself over the past year.

Plausible explanation, although I believe the word about his poor practices and subsequent demotion would be out long before Sunday, with all that media coverage and dozens of guys providing a ton of updates on an hourly basis. Also, the postgame reactions of his teammates do not indicate any grudge against him.
My take is that he found about the demotion just before the kickoff, hence the crying during the national anthem. As someone had already pointed out, if he was excluded from the game plan, they should have informed him in advance. And Rowe as well, the man looked truly puzzled while discussing his sudden starting spot. Shock treatment backfired in the worst possible moment. All of that should have been handled much better.