Butler v. Brown, and other bits

[50-yard-line]

Watching the game now on tape. Paying particular attention to Brown v. Butler...Easley...run D.

First drive: Brown has two catches, both BEHIND the line of scrimmage, one for an 8-yard loss.

Easley was walking on his own on the sideline...slow and a limp, but it didn't look disastrous. Hard to tell, of course...torn muscle? Broken bone? Didn't seem as brutal as Colvin, but again, these guys ca with Lewisn take a ton of pain.

Geneo Grissom replaces Easley at DT - the Pats are rope-a-doping like they did against the Colts a couple of years ago, conceding the run. Even with that reality, De;Angelo Williams looks rejuvenated - very fast.

Pats first drive: I see why people are happy with Lewis. He'll be open a lot.

Steelers' second drive: Branch in the game...Williams stopped for a couple up the middle, then stopped cold by Chandler. Suddenly stouter against the run.

Amazing catch by Brown, with GREAT coverage by Butler - omg, what a catch! Brown 3-for-3 so far, but Butler's been there perfectly.

4-for-4 - Butler out there alone with 2 receivers and picked on a quick slant.

Hightower sacks Ben - A-gap monster.

Pats up - to me, Lewis looks like a better runner than White.
Julian Edelman is a beast. Love his fire. No inch isn't worth fighting for...
Rocket-man Shazier drops Bolden for a loss - he is so much like Collins. Wish the Pats had grabbed that kid!

Nice block by Lewis on a blitz - I see why people are thrilled by the interior rookies on the OL. And by the way, Casey Hampton is no slouch. Go Andrews!

Pittsburgh next drive: Great throw by Ben to DHB.
Boy, De'Angelo Williams looks like a rookie out there. Looks so much quicker - good pick-up by Pitt.

Great coverage 1-on-1 by Butler on Brown to end the drive. Blanketing him. I'm surprised that BB is letting him go 1-on-1 with Brown in a third down situation. Amazing.

Another bubble screen to Brown - played perfectly by Butler for a big hit. brown is like 5-for-6 at this point, but four of them have been at or behind the LOS, and the 5th was a simply unbelievable catch against perfect coverage.

And then Brown just beats Butler for a 37-yard bomb - Butler didn't get a jam on him from the slot position.

 

[50-yard-line]

Part 2: 2nd half (looking for Easley, as others said they saw him, watching the BvB battle).

2nd half:
Does Julian Edelman ever stop trash-talking? Ha, love it!
Chandler lines up at fullback, flanks out, TD - too many weapons. Too many.

Double move, Brown beats Butler for 33.

Moving on - no Easley that I've seen so far.

Brown on a crossing pattern gets open...nice pass. Butler got picked a bit by Fletcher.
Then Ben makes a great throw to Wheaton, beating good coverage by McCourty - nice play.

Ben yelling: "They can't shift!" after an illegal procedure. on 3rd and goal.
Brady thinking: "Read the damned rule book."

Michael Williams took a squib kick - others were talking about him falling on the on-side kick and wondering where he got the 8 return yards. Did it on the squib kick after the Pitt FG.

I never realized how agilely Gronk can cut, even backpedaling - watched the fourth TD...he just wriggled away from the LB, changed direction too fast for the guy to recover. That's just not fair.

Tarell Brown is pretty good - drove Antonio Brown into Collins on one play, then had great coverage on Wheaton on the next play to stop the drive.

Nice pass to Wheaton - shorter: Butler all over Brown.

Fletcher made the Harmon pick - nice play all around.

Andrews holds up his man, then rolls off and hits someone else on almost every play. The more I see, the more I like.

Last drive...Pitt terrible with the clock...nice play by Fletcher covering DHB to keep him in bounds.

Ben hits Brown - good coverage by Butler, but well-executed.

Sheard = GREAT PICK UP.

Can't believe Brown caught that TD against Butler...how did Butler miss that ball? Lol.

Recap: People who thought Butler played badly are just wrong. You wouldn't put many on Brown 1-v-1, especially with Bryant and Bell out, but they did.

He got beat twice for a total of 70 yards, but the other 7 completions were an AMAZING catch under great coverage, a TD that Butler just whiffed on while having great coverage, two crossing routes well-executed and a bunch of bubble screens. I'll take it.

The interior OL was just good, very good. Mason, Kline, Jackson, and Andrews shocked me - looked like a veteran unit.

Dion Lewis, welcome to New England. Now I know why so many here were excited.

The Pats D is, yes, a work in progress, but they'll be better than anyone here feared, I believe. butler is good, so is Brown, and Fletcher ain't terrible, either. This is a top-tier offense and QB...14 points + 7 in garbage time.

Pitt will put up 30 on most teams this year.

I'll take it...tell me Easley's only gone for a couple of games and I'll definitely take it.

 

[Joey007]

I personally in a nutshell thought Butler wasn't great but I understood who he was facing and will give him a pass. I thought Brown was decent and made a few nice plays, including a big tackle for loss on one play.

Fletcher meanwhile was not very good. Needs work.

 

[turkeyneck]

I'm pretty optimistic about Butler. Yes, he lost some very close battles on throws that very few NFL quarterbacks could have made. Any AFC East QBs attempting similar throws aren't going to have the same success and Butler probably gets one or two picks.

 

[FourierSeries]

That first catch Brown made was insane. Butler had perfect coverage.

 

[manxman2601]

Part 2: 2nd half (looking for Easley, as others said they saw him, watching the BvB battle).

2nd half:
Does Julian Edelman ever stop trash-talking? Ha, love it!
Chandler lines up at fullback, flanks out, TD - too many weapons. Too many.

Double move, Brown beats Butler for 33.

Moving on - no Easley that I've seen so far.

Brown on a crossing pattern gets open...nice pass. Butler got picked a bit by Fletcher.
Then Ben makes a great throw to Wheaton, beating good coverage by McCourty - nice play.

Ben yelling: "They can't shift!" after an illegal procedure. on 3rd and goal.
Brady thinking: "Read the damned rule book."

Michael Williams took a squib kick - others were talking about him falling on the on-side kick and wondering where he got the 8 return yards. Did it on the squib kick after the Pitt FG.

I never realized how agilely Gronk can cut, even backpedaling - watched the fourth TD...he just wriggled away from the LB, changed direction too fast for the guy to recover. That's just not fair.

Tarell Brown is pretty good - drove Antonio Brown into Collins on one play, then had great coverage on Wheaton on the next play to stop the drive.

Nice pass to Wheaton - shorter: Butler all over Brown.

Fletcher made the Harmon pick - nice play all around.

Andrews holds up his man, then rolls off and hits someone else on almost every play. The more I see, the more I like.

Last drive...Pitt terrible with the clock...nice play by Fletcher covering DHB to keep him in bounds.

Ben hits Brown - good coverage by Butler, but well-executed.

Sheard = GREAT PICK UP.

Can't believe Brown caught that TD against Butler...how did Butler miss that ball? Lol.

Recap: People who thought Butler played badly are just wrong. You wouldn't put many on Brown 1-v-1, especially with Bryant and Bell out, but they did.

He got beat twice for a total of 70 yards, but the other 7 completions were an AMAZING catch under great coverage, a TD that Butler just whiffed on while having great coverage, two crossing routes well-executed and a bunch of bubble screens. I'll take it.

The interior OL was just good, very good. Mason, Kline, Jackson, and Andrews shocked me - looked like a veteran unit.

Dion Lewis, welcome to New England. Now I know why so many here were excited.

The Pats D is, yes, a work in progress, but they'll be better than anyone here feared, I believe. butler is good, so is Brown, and Fletcher ain't terrible, either. This is a top-tier offense and QB...14 points + 7 in garbage time.

Pitt will put up 30 on most teams this year.

I'll take it...tell me Easley's only gone for a couple of games and I'll definitely take it.

Very nice breakdown. Agree with you on Butler. He had a tough night but only lost Brown badly on two plays, the one out of the slot you mentioned and there was a double move too that Butler bit on. Agree on Fletcher helping to make Harmon's INT and I agree on the IOL too.