Butler himself said he knew he would have a lesser role. I suspect McCourty knew as well and it wasn't just damage control.
“The week in New England, I knew I’d have a lesser role,” Butler said. “As the week kept going on there with the practices in Minnesota, it was even less.”
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2018/03/15/mississippi-native-malcolm-butler-made-rich-titans-nfl-free-agency/427295002/
Rowe was practicing as the #2 corner.
Of course he was. Butler had the flu and couldn't practice. Same as a player rehabbing an injury, you need someone else to fill in during practices. The problem comes when the player that filled in for Butler himself said he had no clue he was going to be starting at that position until right before the
game. His comments in the immediate wake of the game were quite clear on that. So, like I said, pick your poison. Belichick either screwed up by not informing the entire unit, Rowe included, about the personnel change until right before kickoff or he screwed up by not putting his most talented and best overall unit on the field. Which is it?
I've already said I don't think Butler violated any curfew or that his benching was a punishment. I think it was based on his practice performance and gameplan. BB's past decision making history allows me to trust or not trust the man himself. It's a pretty simple concept. I know what his "shocking" decisions in the past have netted and will continue to trust his decision making process. It doesn't mean he's never wrong it just means that I trust that his decisions are more right than anyone else's has ever been.
And that's a problem. Each decision needs to be weighed on its own merits. His past decisions and success are wholly irrelevant to the topic at hand just like this would be wholly irrelevant to a similar decision in the future that is actually a good one and helps solidify the unit. This was not a good decision. The proof is in the pudding. It put a scrub like Richards on the field for nearly a quarter of the defensive snaps, it put Chung on a shifty wideout like Agholor in crunch time... a task that he obviously was not fit to handle, it put McCourty in the box instead of taking advantage of his range to disrupt passes, and it put Rowe on Jeffry early in the game when that task should have been given to Gilmore. Rowe obviously couldn't handle it. His first two series were disastrous. Just one stop on one of those third downs and a corner better suited to be in position on the touchdown pass instead of letting Jeffry cross his face would have been the difference.
You have to apply that "logic" to every aspect of your life at some level. You don't have any sources you'd trust? Mike Reiss over Trollin Volin?
I don't trust any source of information without digging into it on my own. Doesn't matter who it comes from.
BB made a decision. We don't know why.
We have a pretty good idea. Very few of the hypotheticals make sense when you consider he:
- Dressed.
- Got in on a special teams snap.
In principle I agree. But it sounds like what the Viking's #1 or #2 (depending on your trusted source ) top defensive unit tried to do and they got torched. Nick Foles had the post season of his life. Their offensive line played extremely well. I think that's what led to the game plan we saw.
That doesn't mean that there isn't a better way for Belichick to adjust. But doing so, and going into a regular nickel or dime in obvious passing situations, would have meant that he had an extra corner available at his disposal. Belichick didn't have that because of
his decision.
We also don't know what Butler looked like in practice. BB does and made a decision. I think he thought they the right personnel on the field to slow them down enough for Tom Brady. Would they have had they changed their game plan? I don't know.
As I said before, I could more easily buy this if there wasn't a history of veteran players being signed/traded for mid-week only to go on and log substantial snaps that Sunday. The difference is that Butler knew the system and knew the game plan having had experience in said system and game plan.
Oh I agree. Richards, the Marsh experiment, Branch's retirement tour, injuries etc.. severely hurt the team. I think it hurt Butler and the secondary as well. When the QB gets extra time to throw it can make the secondary look like ****.
Well that's actually another interesting point. The Patriots pass rush was trash last year. No other way around that. But better coverage in obvious passing situations may have also created coverage sacks. Foles rarely had to come off of his first or second read, though, because the coverage was such a liability.
This is hindsight analysis. The game plan almost worked.
Not hindsight analysis at all. The game plan almost worked because the offense, and Brady, were almost good enough to save his bacon.
They held them to one punt and two field goals (I'm not counting the last one).
One punt and two field goals are not a win for the defense when it gives up 41 points and just needs one more stop to turn the game into a win.
They got a turnover and almost survived a couple of iffy calls, a missed field goal, a missed extra point and a couple of concussions.
That turnover was unforced and was a product of complete luck.
Would've Butler made the difference? You say he would have but I think it would have just allowed them to run more but admit we'll never know.
This assumes that the line-up they had in was getting the job done against the run. That's not the case. Richards is inadequate in run support and the Eagles gouged them for 164 yards rushing anyway. Butler is also a very solid wrap up tackler and the Patriots have played the run in the nickel for years now because of Chung's versatility. The difference here is that they would have still gotten killed against the run, but would have help up better against the pass. With the personnel they trotted out, the Eagles took what they wanted in both facets of the game.
