Asante goes off on Bill/Pats organization

[bresna]

You realize that, over the course of any season in any sport, athletes are generally not 100% focused. Are you 100% focused and dialed-in on any given day at your job? So why would it be different for an athlete?

This was the friggin' Super Bowl. You think maybe he shoulda been focused on that?

 

[XLIX]

For all the jokes about Belichick drafting Samuel Jr, that makes me wonder about the timing of Samuel Sr.'s remarks. He simply may not want his son to go to NE......

 

[Kontradiction]

This was the friggin' Super Bowl. You think maybe he shoulda been focused on that?

Who says he wouldn’t have been? He was talking about during the week leading up to it. FFS, BB used to coach a player who would snort enough coke to have an elephant thinking about starting a new business. You think LT was always dialed-in and 100% focused? Of course not.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

My buddy was an intern with the team and told me the story, but he said the Patriots gag ordered it from getting out.

On the Thursday before the Super Bowl, Butler mixed up one of his voluntary Meals on Wheels deliveries. The elderly lady who got the meal complained that it wasn’t the kosher one she requested. Butler apologized, drove to her house, and personally cooked her a meal. The next day, there was a staff meeting about it and it was determined he shouldn’t play.

You Brady nut huggers will surely get mad because you really want to hate Bill, but I calculated the Patriots would have lost by at least 20 if they’d played Butler while his teammates were so disappointed in his careless mistake.

 

[bresna]

Who says he wouldn’t have been? He was talking about during the week leading up to it.

The week leading up to it IS his Super Bowl. The game should be execution. You do the work in the weeks leading up to it. If he wasn't getting the prep work done, he should have been benched. This is Malcolm Butler we're talking about - the biggest example of what Super Bowl preparation can do. His interception was 90% prep & 10% execution.

 

[Boomer B]

My issue with the Butler benching isn’t so much that Bill didn’t start him, but the fact that the Eagles were moving up and down the field at will, and Bill still wouldn’t put him in was a complete slap to the face of the players, the fans, and the franchise. Whatever minor infraction he did didn’t warrant him sitting on the bench the full game while Belichick’s defence couldn’t stop a nose bleed.

 

[Kontradiction]

The week leading up to it IS his Super Bowl. The game should be execution. You do the work in the weeks leading up to it. If he wasn't getting the prep work done, he should have been benched. This is Malcolm Butler we're talking about - the biggest example of what Super Bowl preparation can do. His interception was 90% prep & 10% execution.

You can bench him as long as you have someone who can replace his production behind him. Tell me... how prepared did Eric Rowe and Johnson Bademosi look? Were they “dialed in” and “100% focused?” Or did they just blow? Benching him destabilized the only strength on that defense, since the run D was already awful. The result was getting absolutely lit up by the dynamic duo of Nick Foles and Doug Pederson.

 

[203Pat]

My buddy was an intern with the team and told me the story, but he said the Patriots gag ordered it from getting out.

On the Thursday before the Super Bowl, Butler mixed up one of his voluntary Meals on Wheels deliveries. The elderly lady who got the meal complained that it wasn’t the kosher one she requested. Butler apologized, drove to her house, and personally cooked her a meal. The next day, there was a staff meeting about it and it was determined he shouldn’t play.

You Brady nut huggers will surely get mad because you really want to bate Bill, but I calculated the Patriots would have lost by at least 20 if they’d played Butler while his teammates were so disappointed in his careless mistake.

I legitimately laughed out loud.

 

[ralmat55]

Whatever the truth. Whatever Asante’s motivations. Statements like these are devastating to the future of the Patriots and the reputation and legacy of Bill Belichick. Last week it was a loyal soldier like Ninkovich. This stuff is only beginning. The long knives are out.

 

[Spiral]

In retrospect he might think that his successful career in the NFL was inevitable, but for a CB who ran like a 4.6 coming out of college, it wasn't. The Patriots say you're welcome.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

You can bench him as long as you have someone who can replace his production behind him. Tell me... how prepared did Eric Rowe and Johnson Bademosi look? Were they “dialed in” and “100% focused?” Or did they just blow? Benching him destabilized the only strength on that defense, since the run D was already awful. The result was getting absolutely lit up by the dynamic duo of Nick Foles and Doug Pederson.

Dude - whaaat?? Huh?? I see you’re cherry picking here. You just ignore that Jordan Richards - while technically a safety but taking on some of Butler’s responsibilities - was the most impeccably prepared player in the entire organization.

Every film session, he was there before anyone else, well-dressed, perfect posture, well spoken, taking notes on a beautiful leather-bound legal notebook. He was a sponge for information, soaking up anything and everything the coaching staff discussed.

Maybe you don’t realize this as you hero worship thugs like Antonio Brown, but Mr. Richards is a Stanford educated intellectual who majored in Public Policy. I’ll take that any day of the week over a DIVA like Malcolm Butler. Butler even took Brady’s SB MVP prize car after SB49...I’m not saying he didn’t pay taxes on it or that he didn’t use it for illicit purposes. I’m just saying we don’t know either way.

 

[Wozzy]

This is just a bunch of hogwash. He started 2 weeks before the SB in the AFCCG and played well, third in tackles.

You keep saying Butler was wrong, but you don't say what it is he was wrong about. Complaining about contract negotiations? Is that what got him benched? So, Asante's claims ring true then, that BB is so spiteful he'll punish players over non-football matters above the interests of the team?

Butler would've absolutely made a difference. He was a good tackler and could've helped in limiting rushing yards. One PD or INT could've made all the difference in the world (where have we seen that before?).

Yes I did say what he was wrong about... multiple times. The first and main thing is not finishing out the contract he had, instead becoming a malcontent who refused to communicate with Gilmore to start the season which forced the team to bench Stephon until he figured the defense out on his own. He was wrong letting his play slip, getting burned by Jay Cutler and throwing Patricia under the bus after stinking up the joint. He was wrong screwing up during the most important game of the year... you have earmuffs on.

 

[Koma]

I think we're missing a glass half full angle of Asante's comments. He may be completely right about in his complaints about how the Patriots handled his contract, but that just puts him in a very large group of people who think that their employer could and should have been paying them more.

The positive part of this is what Samuel is not saying: Nothing about taped walkthroughs, bugged locker rooms, deflated footballs, warm gatorade, etc. One of the arguments of the Patriots haters is "Just wait. Just wait until some of these players retire or leave the team and then we'll hear the truth." Asante has no problem speaking out about Belichick's management/negotiation style and there's nothing preventing him from burying Bill about cheating allegations. Either "they" got to Asante and said you can complain about your contract, but not the shady behind the scenes stuff, or there's nothing there.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Yes I did say what he was wrong about... multiple times. The first and main thing is not finishing out the contract he had, instead becoming a malcontent who refused to communicate with Gilmore to start the season which forced the team to bench Stephon until he figured the defense out on his own. He was wrong letting his play slip, getting burned by Jay Cutler and throwing Patricia under the bus after stinking up the joint. He was wrong screwing up during the most important game of the year... you have earmuffs on.

One day (perhaps sooner than you think), Bill Belichick will also be a former team employee. I wonder if you’ll still be on Team Bill and defend him with your life or decide to just crap on him, too, making up stories and exaggerations to ensure your mind is in a safe space away from any criticism about current Patriots while dumping on former ones.

It’s pathetic that a guy like Butler served you up the greatest moment of fandom that fans of other teams would kill for, and you don’t even have the decency to try to be objective or measured in any way. Your goal is to get a win for Team Bill and nothing else. Your “summary” of Butler’s 2017 season isn’t even based on rumors; you’re outright fabricating it. We all know Butler struggled during the 2017 season. The attitude/intentional sabotage stuff is you trying to fill the holes of your argument with your own made up bullsh*t.

 

[203Pat]

One day (perhaps sooner than you think), Bill Belichick will also be a former team employee. I wonder if you’ll still be on Team Bill and defend him with your life or decide to just crap on him, too, making up stories and exaggerations to ensure your mind is in a safe space away from any criticism about current Patriots while dumping on former ones.

It’s pathetic that a guy like Butler served you up the greatest moment of fandom that fans of other teams would kill for, and you don’t even have the decency to try to be objective or measured in any way. Your goal is to get a win for Team Bill and nothing else. Your “summary” of Butler’s 2017 season isn’t even based on rumors; you’re outright fabricating it. We all know Butler struggled during the 2017 season. The attitude/intentional sabotage stuff is you trying to fill the holes of your argument with your own made up bullsh*t.

I could not have said it any better myself.

 

[Username]

For all the jokes about Belichick drafting Samuel Jr, that makes me wonder about the timing of Samuel Sr.'s remarks. He simply may not want his son to go to NE......

Well he's going about it the wrong way then. BB can be a petty man, watch him draft Jr out of spite...

 

[venecol]

Sure but players that don't prepare don't play. It's been that way for 20 years. Change it for one game?

That's just not a credible story at all. Butler played well 2 weeks before. Are we to believe that he fell apart the week before the SB? It's not like he hadn't been in a SB before and made one of the most amazing plays in NFL history.

Malcolm came out with a completely different tune right after the game disputing the false claims about him. He also said the team gave up on him.

I think it's more believable that once Butler had his contract with the Titans, he (wisely) chose to put this incident behind, took the high road, and fell on a sword to not "piss off" one of the most influential (spiteful) persons in the NFL.

 

[Wozzy]

One day (perhaps sooner than you think), Bill Belichick will also be a former team employee. I wonder if you’ll still be on Team Bill and defend him with your life or decide to just crap on him, too, making up stories and exaggerations to ensure your mind is in a safe space away from any criticism about current Patriots while dumping on former ones.

It’s pathetic that a guy like Butler served you up the greatest moment of fandom that fans of other teams would kill for, and you don’t even have the decency to try to be objective or measured in any way. Your goal is to get a win for Team Bill and nothing else. Your “summary” of Butler’s 2017 season isn’t even based on rumors; you’re outright fabricating it. We all know Butler struggled during the 2017 season. The attitude/intentional sabotage stuff is you trying to fill the holes of your argument with your own made up bullsh*t.

I provided links/tweets for my “made up BS” so show me where I was wrong. You can’t... it’s faux outrage on Butler’s behalf and more “because I say so” nonsense with zero substance.

I slammed Belichick when he didn’t address the TE position the offseason before last, when he drafted Duke Dawson, Dominique Easley and traded for Kony Ealy... everyone gets judged on the merits of their actions so save the holier than thou BS. Butler was wrong. You think you’re worth x amount of dollars, play the contract you signed, go out and prove it.

We should make a tag for everyone that simply hates Belichick, you guys can start a support group for Brady loss survivors.

 

[Wozzy]

That's just not a credible story at all. Butler played well 2 weeks before. Are we to believe that he fell apart the week before the SB? It's not like he hadn't been in a SB before and made one of the most amazing plays in NFL history.

Malcolm came out with a completely different tune right after the game disputing the false claims about him. He also said the team gave up on him.

I think it's more believable that once Butler had his contract with the Titans, he (wisely) chose to put this incident behind, took the high road, and fell on a sword to not "piss off" one of the most influential (spiteful) persons in the NFL.

Butler was the worst graded out starter all season, the “he played well” part is complete fiction.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

In the history of the Super Bowl, only one regular starter has ever been benched for “not being focused” or whatever the excuse here.

Butler isn’t a free agent anymore. Why the gag order? If he kicked Steve Belichick in the nuts, it seems the fans (also known as customers) should know that and understand the reasoning, three years later. Frankly, I’d bet Butler did something really bad to get benched like that. It would make sense. These excuses like “He had a bad week of practice” are moronic when considering how ****ty the alternatives were during the game. If this was really about “the best chance to win” than this strategy was the worst in Super Bowl history.

Team Bill: please let me know why you think Bill is stonewalling the public about this decision in particular, considering that the Patriots have never in the past tried to shield players from transparency/embarrassment and reporters have always gotten the scoop.