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

[TB_Helmet]

The Patriot way *is* more important to this franchise than any one Superbowl.

Just stop.

Thought experiment:

I give you a choice. Butler sits for a quarter and we win the Super Bowl.

OR

We lose the Super Bowl the way we did.

Which one do you choose?

 

[signbabybrady]

So the picture being painted is one of a player who did not fly with the team because he was too ill. But then when he got there he proceeded to have crappy practices. Assuming still recovering from the illness he went to a concert at a club and missed curfew. Then had some sort of argument/fight with a coach.

I would say Bills mistake was not the benching but actually dressing him. Makes me think the last straw may have come within 90 minutes of kick off. I wonder if the reported fight/argument occurred just before kickoff.

 

[Todd Bradley]

No.

BB still didn't think Malcolm could help the team.

That’s entirely the issue and why people are upset. How that flies over your head is another story.

This by the way is the same guy that felt comfortable pulling Kyle Arrington in place of rookie Butler in a close down to the wire Super Bowl game.

But in a Super Bowl where your defensive gameplan is failing on every level and the score is tethering on the edge of a possible blowout, it makes very little sense to not give Pro Bowler Butler even a few snaps to prove his worth.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Since we don't even know what Butler did, I have no idea how you can say that with such seeming certainty.

The truth will leak out soon. Do honestly believe that this was simply a matter of game planning? Butler was suited up he was not sent home. IF he was good enough to suit up he was good enough to play. The entire organization was punished for whatever foolish mischief he was engaged in.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I thought Butler's response to Reiss while getting on the team bus was telling because he genuinely seemed surprised and unsure of the reason for his benching. This tells me one of two things. Their was no single event that occured that was the obvious reason for his benching. If there was an incident he would have answered the question differently or not at all. The other possibility is he's a better actor than than most people give him credit for. I'm going with the first answer and assume it was performance related. This kid has all of the physical skills to be the top corner in the game but mentally, he seems to struggle at times.

And, according to Malcolm Butler, “ they lost faith in me.”

“ they,” not “ he,” lost faith in Malcolm Butler.

So the coaches who gave Malcolm Butler the chances to begin with, and who had placed their “faith” in Malcolm Butler, lost their trust and faith in him.

Whose fault is that?

Malcolm Butler, through his attitudes and behaviors managed to blow all the trust and faith the Patriots coaches and organization had put in him and now people want to blame Belichick for that?

That’s f.cked up.

If people put great trust and faith in you and you blow it then that’s on you, not them. The blame is on Butler, not Belichick. Getting to play in a Super Bowl is earned, it’s not entitled.

If people want to blame anyone then blame Malcolm Butler.

 

[makoute]

Some people should root for new teams and coaches.

Because Bill is a god and his authority and genius should never be questioned.

 

[PatsFan2]

IF I never see Bill's smug face or hear his arrogant responses to questions again it would be too soon...this one is going to hurt for a very long time. Thanks for ruining the entire Teams season Bill. Another thing that pisses me off is Yes Man Fatty Patricia I wish him nothing but disaster in Detroit after putting up with that Sh!t.

 

[sambam94]

agholor 3 catches for 38 yards on go ahead drive with 3 different safetys trying to cover is all that needs to be said

 

[Simpelton]

Just stop.

Thought experiment:

I give you a choice. Butler sits for a quarter and we win the Super Bowl.

OR

We lose the Super Bowl the way we did.

Which one do you choose?

false dilemma. We have every chance to win the Superbowl without Butler if we get one more bounce. We have every chance of losing that game against a very good Eagles team if Butler plays every snap.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Patsinthesnow, appreciate the comments but I just don’t buy the premise that Butler would have made a stop that would have changed that game or defensive performance. And while I think that Butler healthy and in the right frame of mind could have helped them I don’t believe that was the case. Like Collins I think he had tuned the coaches out and he had become a problem, but that’s just my take on it. I think people claiming he would have been the difference are talking out of their asses because they have no information on how he was performing and behaving leading up to the game, and then projecting him as some MVP performer in it. I don’t think Belichick took this lightly in any way or that he was being arrogant or cavalier about it. I think it was a decision he put a lot of thought into, and that he consulted with his defensive coaches and Scar about it.

I think the much bigger problem, both in that game and going forward is that the Patriots have real trouble with RPO offenses and mobile quarterbacks, and it’s going to take changes in personnel and schemes to completely address those issues. I don’t think Butler is the difference maker in those games, and their defensive performances against teams like KC and Carolina demonstrate that. And without much much much more knowledge about how Butler performs against those offenses, as well as his performance leading up to the Super Bowl, I find it impossible to say that Belichick’s decision to bench Butler cost them the game.

I understand why people are upset about losing a Super Bowl, my problem is the extreme overreactions we are seeing.

That’s a fair enough response. If Butler really F-ed up that badly where BB had no choice but to sit him than that part is on him. Our scheme collapsed without him & Chung should have been on Ertz with the 3 CBs on the 3 WRs. We still need the full story.

 

[Ring 6]

That makes no sense. If that was the case then whatever he did if he actually did do something was clearly not that big of an issue.

Of course it makes sense because it’s what happened. Butler was benched but if there was an emergency and there was no choice but to play him he would have gone in.

 

[Simpelton]

The truth will leak out soon. Do honestly believe that this was simply a matter of game planning? Butler was suited up he was not sent home. IF he was good enough to suit up he was good enough to play. The entire organization was punished for whatever foolish mischief he was engaged in.

Why do you feel that that's not largely Butler's responsibility and fault?

 

[Ring 6]

The funny thing is hat is exactly what they did. They went into the game as if he had been sent home. They played as if he wasn’t dressed.

Correct.

 

[Ring 6]

I thought Butler's response to Reiss while getting on the team bus was telling because he genuinely seemed surprised and unsure of the reason for his benching. This tells me one of two things. Their was no single event that occured that was the obvious reason for his benching. If there was an incident he would have answered the question differently or not at all. The other possibility is he's a better actor than than most people give him credit for. I'm going with the first answer and assume it was performance related. This kid has all of the physical skills to be the top corner in the game but mentally, he seems to struggle at times.

It doesn’t take a good actor to screw up and act like you were entitled to not be punished.

 

[makoute]

Of course it makes sense because it’s what happened. Butler was benched but if there was an emergency and there was no choice but to play him he would have gone in.

Not being able to get off the field sounds like an emergency.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Apparenly Bill didn’t give Butler (or the team) a reason for getting benched. Good job Bill!

NFL Rumors: Bill Belichick Didn’t Give Malcolm Butler A Reason For Benching

 

[makoute]

Correct.

So then why dress him. I thought Bill didn’t coach with injuries in mind

 

[chasa]

the entire defense had to change assignments because of butler being out

Whatever he did BB didn't think he could trust Malcolm to do his job.



He might be graying the lines. Whatever it was BB felt Malcolm was not prepared to do his job and the coaches could not trust him out there.



I think if Butler had prepared for the game like Devin McCourty or the other 51 players BB would absolutely put him out there. Even for limited snaps.

I believe this benching was not about the flu.

Well, Bill said it wasn't discipline. he answered a straight up "NO" on that question, Bill isn't a guy who lies, and if had been he would have side stepped the question.

The fact of the matter is Rowe played like Hot garbage, not cold garbage, not luke warm garbage. HOT STINKY GARBAGE.

Butler played ZERO snaps ZERO ****ING ZERO snaps. You're telling me the guy who played in 98% of the defensive snaps during the season couldn't play better in the second half then the guy who gave up 95% of the targets thrown at him in the game?

really?

REALLY?

Take the blinders off dude. I'd take a one armed butler wearing a blindfold over Rowe in the second half of the superbowl.
ZERO SNAPS on defense.

****ING ZERO?!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

zero snaps to the guy with the highest snap count on defense during the season.

This isn't like cutting tiquan underwood before the game. tiquan was a 4th string wide receiver. Butler was CB 1 for the two years prior to this one, and was CB 2 this year.

With Butler playing defense the patriots gave up 14 ppg during the season.

With Butler not playing defense the patriots gave up 41 ****ing points in the superbowl.

ZERO SNAPS

 

[Bradybranch]

Good for you, thankfully we don't live in America where people prefer to make decisions on tax dollars from weed than the safety of its citizens.

The only place for weed is as a pain relief for other more life threatening problems.

Sheep right here

 

[Ring 6]

Belichick was asked yesterday why it was better for the team for Johnson Bademosi and Jordan Richards to be playing than Malcolm Butler and he said because they had practiced. Apparently because of Butler’s limited practice time coming off the flu BB would have us believe Bademosi and Richards suddenly passed him on the depth chart. Belichick also said clearly the benching was for football reasons and was not disciplinary in nature. It’s been pointed out that were it disciplinary he probably, like Branch, wouldn’t have dressed and almost certainly wouldn’t have played on special teams.

That’s not an accurate depiction of the question and the answer. Everything else you say is worthless because your premise is wrong.