Malcolm Butler Mega Thread

[luuked]

His point was that the team was prepared so the Butler thing shouldn’t have mattered.

The team wasn’t prepared, as already illustrated from the mouth of Eric Rowe. The Butler thing did matter.

Reading comprehension a total failure..

 

[ctpatsfan77]

But he didn’t get hurt on the first play.

He did however get benched pre-game, thus the crying during the National Anthem. Do you think the players, his close friends, didn’t notice that and take it into account?

Pretty hard to just block that from your mind, that one of your best players will be benched in the Super Bowl, for no apparent reason, which was a complete switch up of the two week long installed game-plan.

Belichick handicapped his team with this foolishness and lost us a Super Bowl. Zero way to defend any of this.

Again, this means you think BB would rather have a moral victory than a 6th Lombardi?

 

[mosi]

You know, on PFW this week, either Andy or Paul (can't tell them apart) thought they might sit Butler in favor of one of the bigger guys - like Rowe. I could have seen that to start but to be missing for the whole game? To do that seems crazy.

 

[Todd Bradley]

Again, this means you think BB would rather have a moral victory than a 6th Lombardi?

That seems to be the general consensus this morning.

Becuase no single media person can find another reason. I’m sure you’ve got one?

 

[mosslost]

No. I’m saying the next man up situation didn’t need to happen and the only reason why it did seems to center squarely on Belichick. Making a “what if” counter argument appears to be you going to ridiculous lengths to support an awful coaching decision. What happened last night is totally different from a hypothetical injury. You know this.



And it was a terrible decision. I’m not sure what the team thought they’ve seen throughout the season, but Rowe and Bademosi have never been better than Butler at covering faster, more shifty wideouts in their career. They tried it anyway, though, and the result was the unit being unable to get off the field, particularly on 3rd down, and getting totally tuned up at 41 points.

And that’s not even mentioning the steaming turd that is Richards. Did this team just not watch the KC tape at all? Because they made many of the same personnel errors against a very similar team last night.

Belichick sucked last night

 

[Kontradiction]

I am not supporting any coaching decision in terms of Butler. My entire issue is the claim that his inactivity suddenly caused confusion among players because (and I quote) they had no idea what to do.

The idea that the substitute players came in unprepared is what I take issue with. Because there is enough evidence in the last 15+ years of excellence that if anything a BB coaching staff overprepares.

No... it's worse. It's not that they didn't have any idea what to do or were unprepared. It's that they couldn't get the job done as well as Butler could and Belichick, for whatever reason, kept him on the sideline when he was healthy enough to contribute and make plays for what looks to be the final game of his Pats career.

 

[mosslost]

Anyone with a subscription to BSJ? Bedard has a story up about this and he had an earlier story describing how they were becoming tired of his nonsense earlier in the year

Whose nonsense? Butler or Belichick’s?

 

[Kontradiction]

Belichick sucked last night

No doubt. Belichick got his ass handed to him in the coaching battle in a big, big way. I still wouldn't want anyone else as my team's coach, but you have to call a spade a spade here.

 

[GorBelSer]

Eric Rowe is not a starting-caliber CB and he did not make a single start this season (or at all). And yet, he was our starting CB assigned to shadow other team`s top WR in the most important game of the season . Right, I guess that was the best the Patriots could do with their current personnel.

 

[luuked]

You know, on PFW this week, either Andy or Paul (can't tell them apart) thought they might sit Butler in favor of one of the bigger guys - like Rowe. I could have seen that to start but to be missing for the whole game? To do that seems crazy.

There is definitely more going on than just football reasons otherwise he would have been in the slot at the very latest in the second half.

 

[letekro]

Whose nonsense? Butler or Belichick’s?

Butler

 

[mosslost]

I don’t know about Brady or Kraft but he was certainly mad enough at Butler for whatever reason. At the end of the day Brady built on his legacy today and Bill watered his down.

Bill sucked hard last night.

 

[Uptown]

 

[ATippett56]

I have no idea if it was or wasn’t. But I’ve never advocated that, so I have no idea where you’re getting that from.

But to your point, that’s complete idiocy to even attempt Chung there. Butler in the slot, Rowe on Smith and Gilmore on Jeffrey abd Chung on Ertz should’ve been the plan from the start. I have no idea what the hell they rolled out with.

I'm in agreement with your stance on the matter. The worst playoff defensive performance in the Bill Belichick era against a backup quarterback, no less.

 

[aluminum seats]

I am sorry but if any player was distracted because Malcolm Butler didnt get to play and cried during the national anthem that player should be cut or traded. It is the NFL and you are a professional football player.. you are supposed to do your job.

When Belichick cut Lawyer Milloy, the emotional impact of that led to the Pats losing to the Bills 31-0. Should everyone on the team have been cut or traded?

The players are human beings. Yes, it's good to have rules and stick to them, but not knowing when flexibility is called for is fanatacism.

 

[mosslost]

No doubt. Belichick got his ass handed to him in the coaching battle in a big, big way. I still wouldn't want anyone else as my team's coach, but you have to call a spade a spade here.

I give the Eagles credit. They came to play and to play hard. Hope their fans freeze into the crisco covered minnesota Street light poles

Brady is a god

 

[luuked]

No doubt. Belichick got his ass handed to him in the coaching battle in a big, big way. I still wouldn't want anyone else as my team's coach, but you have to call a spade a spade here.

I just rewatched some of the third down conversions and they are just beautifully drawn up. I am not sure how sustainable it is because of its simplicity but what the Eagles are running right now devalues the QB position a bit because you dont need an elite passer to complete well designed plays like that.

The thing that kills most QBs in the NFL is that once they have to go through progressions or read the field they turn into inconsistent garbage. The Eagles (and Rams) avoid most of that right now by giving easy reads to their QBs.

 

[borg]

It starts with the draft.
Whiffs + lack of draft picks (forfeiture / trade outs) over the past 3 seasons.
Compounded by the exit of quality defenders....via trade/ FA
2017 will be known for many things...including how NE suited up 22 UFAs, including how NE relied on the waiver wire to fill starting positions
In just 3 years the front 7 went from a major strength to a major liability

I give both Jacksonville and Philly credit for attacking NE's defensive deficiencies. They recognized NE's LBs could be exploited in multiple ways. Lack of speed, awareness, quality.
What was also striking was how small NE's front 4 looked when lined up across from quality playoff O lines. Philly's ability to run the ball was the key to this game. Impossible to scheme a pass rush with LBs because NE would only be guessing pass or run. And as usual, NE's front 4 couldn't find Foles.

NE had a championship offense....but not a championship defense. Far from it.


Still.....what an exciting game. 60 minutes of edge of the seat viewing.

 

[ashley]

I thought Rowe on those first two catches had decent coverage, just got out jumped....We've seen that happen to Butler many times.

 

[Kontradiction]

@luuked on second thought, they might not have been prepared for this after all. At least not if you believe Rowe...

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

Rowe didn’t know he was going to start until kickoff. He also didn’t know Butler wasn’t going to get any time on the field.

“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.”