Malcolm Butler Mega Thread

GorBelSer · Feb 5, 2018

DaBruinz said:
Who said Rowe lied? I said that it's come out that the decision was made prior to kick-off, contrary to what Rowe said. There are possibilities that make that plausible without Rowe lying..

Rowe said he did not know he will start and that the decision was made at the last moment. Some claim it was known long before that. Other possibility is that he was completely unaware of what was going on around him regarding game plan.

DaBruinz · Feb 5, 2018

brdmaverick said:
Belichick in typical fashion doesn't owe anyone outside the team the details, but I agree with you that "coach's decision" doesn't satisfy the questions the media and fans have.

I for one still have the following questions............

"Ok, Bill, I understand this was a coach's decision and you do what's best for the team, but what is it about benching Butler that puts the team in a better position to win? Is it a bad matchup for a particular receiver/scheme/what? When the game played out the way it did in which the defense was getting gashed left and right, was their any thought to throwing him in there? Was the defense really better off with Bedemosi out there instead of Butler?"

When you make a controversial decision and it works out you get hailed as a genious. When you make a controversial decision and it not only fails but is an extreme failure, not only do you look like bad but I think it's perfectly acceptable for fans and media to want an explanation beyond the 'coach's decision'. He should be accountable for the move.

He's been accountable. He's already said that it's on him. He owes us nothing else beyond that.

SHOWTIME15 · Feb 5, 2018

robertweathers said:
It wasn't "disciplinary" and BB says it was a "football decision".

Its all I got.

I’m sorry but this this explanation by BB is simply not good enough.

mosslost · Feb 5, 2018

Brady6 said:
I disagree. I think Brady is driven with or without Belichick.

I am going in that direction myself, retroactively in many respects too. I'm am leaning the success more Brady than Belichick..

VrabelJr · Feb 5, 2018

It's probably been addressed, but aside from missing a talent like Butler, the bigger damage I think is every player on the team spending between 0 seconds and several minutes thinking "WTF is going on?" rather than being singularly focused on the game.

Also, it was Agholor who kept their drives alive and I think Butler matches up well against speedy and shifty guys like that.

DaBruinz · Feb 5, 2018

GorBelSer said:
Rowe said he did not know he will start and that the decision was made at the last moment. Some claim it was known long before that. Other possibility is that he was completely unaware of what was going on around him regarding game plan.

Who are you going to trust? Rowe or McCourty? It was McCourty who told Mike Giardi and Phil Perry that Butler wasn't a part of the game plan. Check post #231 in this thread.

Ras-IR Dowling · Feb 5, 2018

DaBruinz said:
No. The worst thing he could have done was going with Ertz and leaving Flowers alone with Clement. Can't you give ANY credit to Foles for making a damn good throw?

I never said anything about the throw. Since you brought it up I will say it was a great throw. I was bringing up the coverage. Had he went with ertz foles throws a similar pass. Flowers coverage was good, the throw was better.

IllegalContact · Feb 5, 2018

DaBruinz said:
Who said Rowe lied? I said that it's come out that the decision was made prior to kick-off, contrary to what Rowe said. There are possibilities that make that plausible without Rowe lying..

basically calling him a liar

Eric Rowe on Malcolm Butler's benching: 'That wasn't the plan'

“That wasn’t the plan,” Rowe said during a postgame press conference after the team’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “It wasn’t official until kickoff.”

to 'say it's come out that the decision was made prior to kickoff' is to call Rowe a liar without using the word

He was asked if he knew why Butler didn’t play.

“No,” he said. “I had no idea.”

Could he have made an impact if he was given the chance to play?

“Yeah, we definitely could,” Rowe said Sunday night. “We could have used anybody that the coaches throw in. Whoever the coaches throw in, I think they’ll help impact the game. Malcolm — it could have been anybody.””We were just trying to run packages that we had on defense and those guys that were out there were out there for all the situations we needed them for,” Patricia said. “So it kind of turned out that way with the game and the way it went and some of the situations that came up, that’s just the way it went.”

somebody is lying, you just want it to be Rowe

mosslost · Feb 5, 2018

If Brady was every going to become a "coach killer" now would be the only moment it could be possible. -kidding. I could see Brady doing it though, or "him or me" etc.

IllegalContact · Feb 5, 2018

DaBruinz said:
Who are you going to trust? Rowe or McCourty? It was McCourty who told Mike Giardi and Phil Perry that Butler wasn't a part of the game plan. Check post #231 in this thread.

you're just choosing what you want to be the truth.........why would Rowe, who was the beneficiary of the playing time say these things? what's his motive? I think mccourty has more motive to gloss over the truth than Rowe does....he's still got 2 years at big bucks

Patriot Missile · Feb 5, 2018

We got beat. But this whole Butler scenario was/is really tough to take in. He played the whole season and the last two playoff games and now in the last game where everything matters he sits? The defense wasn't great by any means but it did keep opponents score low or came through when needed including last game when the chips were down. It was a formula and it was changed hours before the game? Really tough to take in and left a lot of what if's on the field yesterday that won't be going away anytime soon. Just one Agholor stop might have made the difference. Not taking anything away from Foles cuz he played great. Would Butler have made 1,2 or 3 routine plays? I guess we'll never know?

Patriot_in_NY · Feb 5, 2018

TommyBrady12 said:
It has to be a personal issue with Butler. This is the same coaching staff that had no problem whatsoever putting Butler in in SB49 on Kearse when Matthews was killing us.

Agreed. You can’t tell me that at some point the team that hailed as the best at “in game” adjustments wouldn’t have at some point in the second half said “let’s throw Butler in see if that slows these MFs down a bit”. Despite how putrid the D looked, one of our (arguably) most consistent and better defensive players did not play a snap. I cannot even envision a scenario of that happening if it was truly a football decision

It was a decision that was personal between BB/MP and Butler. We may never know the reason/answer, but our defense was lost out there and it certainly cost us the game. I hope it was a good one.

mosslost · Feb 5, 2018

robertweathers said:
I can go on for hours re: speculation and the only thing I can come up with is he dogged it during practice during Super Bowl week.

It wasn't "disciplinary" and BB says it was a "football decision".

Its all I got.

but the other players are stating that he practiced his position and they did not.. at least I read that quote somewhere

Mack Herron · Feb 5, 2018

luuked · Feb 5, 2018

Brady6 said:
I disagree. I think Brady is driven with or without Belichick.

The question is not about being driven because obviously both of them are maniacs independently of each other. What makes the situation special is that they complement each other. BB is the ideal coach for Brady for he is similarly detailed obsessed and built an environment that over 15+ years has emphasized the strengths of Tom. By all accounts Brady loves to be coached hard and thrives on competition.

Similarly Brady is the ideal QB for BB because he is calculated in the risks he take, he is rarely injured (i.e. dependable) because he actually actively working to minimize risks (e.g. learning how to fall..), damn accurate and is level headed enough to keep taking what the defenses are giving him.

But sure go on trying to rank them as if it makes any difference at all.

mosslost · Feb 5, 2018

Patriot_in_NY said:
Agreed. You can’t tell me that at some point the team that hailed as the best at “in game” adjustments wouldn’t have at some point in the second half said “let’s throw Butler in see if that slows these MFs down a bit”. Despite how putrid the D looked, one of our (arguably) most consistent and better defensive players did not play a snap.

It was a decision that was personal between BB/MP and Butler. We may never know the reason/answer, but our defense was lost out there and it certainly cost us the game. I hope it was a good one.

Maybe the Detroit Media will get it out of Patricia

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2018

TommyBrady12 said:
I’m sorry but this this explanation by BB is simply not good enough.

Its a sucky explanation. THE WORST.

However, if you think about this coach and his hard-line-no-gray-area-policy on working hard and playing well in practice which gives you opportunity to play in games then that is exactly what happened.

I'm taking BB at his word. Malcolm sat because of a "football issue" and not a disciplinary one.

Is he lying? Very possible.

RobertWeathers · Feb 5, 2018

mosslost said:
but the other players are stating that he practiced his position and they did not.. at least I read that quote somewhere

I'm sure Malcolm did practice. I have no doubt of that.

The question is did he practice and prepare at the level of satisfaction to BB, MP, etc.

chumpchange · Feb 5, 2018

Off ESPN: "According to @EliasSports, the Patriots' 613 total yards are the most in a loss in any game in NFL history (regular season or postseason)."

...We so should have won that game.

IllegalContact · Feb 5, 2018

robertweathers said:
Its a sucky explanation. THE WORST.

However, if you think about this coach and his hard-line-no-gray-area-policy on working hard and playing well in practice which gives you opportunity to play in games then that is exactly what happened.

I'm taking BB at his word. Malcolm sat because of a "football issue" and not a disciplinary one.

Is he lying? Very possible.

it's the kind of explanation that is given when you know the truth will be hard to stomach given the manner of the outcome

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