TRANSCRIPT: Matt Patricia with Julian Edelman On the Malcolm Butler Interception
Matt Patricia talks about the Malcolm Butler Play on Julian Edelman's Podcast.
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Here’s a transcript of the conversation between former New England Patriots coach Matt Patricia and former wideout Julian Edelman on a recent Games With Names podcast talking about the Malcolm Butler interception against the Seattle Seahawks.
Take us through the Malcolm Butler situation, the interception in ’14 on the Super Bowl, that whole sequence of plays. What do you got on that?
“Yeah. So obviously, you’re talking about great games, and certainly the ’11 Baltimore team, and the “Y” and all, that’s why I love that one, and obviously you. So I thought that’d be a great one. But the ’14 game, the ’16 game, the Super Bowl, there’s some crazy, crazy stuff that just happened in those games. And the thing about the ’14 Super Bowl with Seattle. So, going back to around this time, really, when I took over the defense ’11 and ’10, Bill would come to me every training camp. And again, in the Bible, I had all the calls. And he’d be like, Hey, he’s like, ‘We really…’ – Every training camp – ‘Hey, when are we putting goal line three corner in?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we got to get that in. We got to get that in.’ I’m like, We’re never going to run goal line three corner. It’s 11 personnel. I’m not doing it. They’re going to throw. It’s the whole thing.”
So for years, I was like, Yeah, it’s going to… We never got it in. So as soon as we win the Championship game, and I’m like, I knew we were playing Seattle. I walked in the defensive staff room and I go, You’re not going to believe what I’m about to say. And they’re like, ‘What?’ I’m like, ‘We got to put goal line three corner in.’ And they’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I’m like, ‘We’re going to need this call in this game. I’m just telling you, we can’t go 11 personnel and not have as much mass on the I’m like, We got to figure this out.’ I knew that Monday, and everyone was like, ‘There’s no way you’re going to call this.’ I’m like, ‘I’m just telling you, we’re going to need this call.’ So start drawing it up, going through the call.
Why do you think you need the call?
“Because I knew that no one had seen it. We hadn’t run this call.”
What did Seattle do to make you think you might need that call?
“Just 11 personnel inside the three-yard line, trying to be able to stop [Marshawn] Lynch, the quarterback run game, the receivers that are on the field. If you were going to go sub defense on the two-yard line, it’s just too much space. It’s just too much space. He’s too good. Remember, I played Lynch for a lot of years when he was at Buffalo. My happiest day when Buffalo sent him to Seattle, I was like, ‘Thank you. I’m going to send flowers to Buffalo. You get them out of here. This guy is unstoppable.’ I’m like, ‘That guy was so good. So good.’ So I just needed to have enough size to stop the line of scrimmage from moving, and I couldn’t give up any space. And I also knew that no one had seen it. And it was going to be one of those calls where I was going to make them panic. They were going to panic. I wasn’t sure what they were going to do. We knew that they would have a check, which they did. We knew we’d get them into that throw, the rub route.”
So I draw it all up. I get it ready to go. We go down. Remember, we practice three days before we leave, and then we go. And I told everybody, I’m like, ‘Look, we’re going to put as soon as we get down there.’ But I wanted the week to really work through all the problems. That’s just kind of my problem solving. I wasn’t going to give it to the guys and then change it. We get down to Arizona, and I put it in, and I had the guys in the right spot that I thought we practiced it. Now, we ran that pick route. We ran it like…”
Eight times.
“Of course, we’re into the cards. That was like one of those cards. We need to see this card.
Josh Boyce did it five times in practice that week.
“We did. The thing was, everybody saw it. It wasn’t the same guy every time seeing it. We ran all the combinations. We get into the game or we get to the end of the week of practice, and I looked at it and I was like, ‘There’s something here I don’t really like. I need to move.’ I switched Jamie [Collins], I switched him, I switched [Don’ta Hightower]. I kind of moved somebody up and I kind of switched it after we practiced it the last day and we kind of just walked through it. And I was like, ‘All right,’ because it was really about stopping the run. It was going to stop the run. And really the combination with it to that side was the Snag 7 flat. I didn’t worry about the other side because we knew what that was. So we practice it, change it at the last minute. I was like, ‘Okay, it’s ready. I’m going to need this.’ And it’s literally written. It’s like three letters in the bottom right-hand corner of the call sheet. It’s like the most tiniest call on the sheet.”
So we get into the game. We had talked about how tough this game was going to be. The first play of the game is my favorite play of the game. You watch the defensive guys because we knew their offensive line looked to clean the pile. So as soon as Lynch got the ball, they were coming to take people out. And I was like, ‘Look, we’re going to tackle this dude on the first play of the game.’ I’m like, ‘But as soon as he’s down, everybody else go find someone. Go find someone and go knock their heads off because they’re not doing that to us.’ And to the point of like, one of my favorite compliments of all time, and it was probably in the 12th era, was Chris Berman, who’s a great guy, great friend, came up to me and he said to me, he goes, ‘You have the best-tackling corners in the NFL. And I was like, ‘If our corners tackle at a high level, the whole team is going to tackle at a high level. I took so much pride in that.'”
“So that first play of the Super Bowl in ’14, we tackle Lynch. Everyone turns and looks and starts to take dudes out. And like, [Darrelle] Revis is like, he’s going to get one of the biggest linemen, their tackles they had that’s coming. So I’m like, ‘Okay, we’re on this, right? We’re coming.’ So we get into the second half and going into halftime, we were struggling with some coverage matches, right? And they scored right before half. I was hot. I was hot. This was a bad series, bad play. So I am literally, I’m like, ‘We’re changing. I’m switching some guys up. Malcolm [Butler] is going to come in,’ the whole deal.”
“So getting into the second half, and it was back and forth, right? They were moving, we were moving. It was like, the defenses in the Super Bowl get worn out. It’s just what happens. If you can control it early, you have a chance. But if you’re playing, those games are long. And if you’re moving the ball or in the first half, the second half, you’re worried about how well is the defense going to hold up? It’s going to be a shootout. So both teams are moving the ball. I was like, ‘Oh, man, we got to get one stop in the red area. We’ll be okay.’ So it’s a series going away from the last play of the game is the left, so the series going to the right end zone. And third and two, so I call a call, one of them, ‘Stack-backer Left.’ So the idea of the call was we’re going to walk up on the edge, the defensive end who’s now [Rob] Ninkovich, he’s going to crash down hard and he’s going to take out Lynch, and then the backer’s coming off for the quarterback.’ So Call Stack-backer Left, third, and two. Rob goes in and nails Lynch, and we stop him on third and two.”
“So I was like, we just stopped him on a nickel defense, really 2 yards, giving the ball to Lynch. So I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s going to change what they’re doing right now.’ So we get the last drive. They’re coming down. They hit the big play down the far sideline. It’s on the opposite side. Duron [Harmon] jumps over the pile. It falls. [Jermaine Kearse] catches it. Now, again, I’m sitting here, 2014, seven years later in the same stadium in the Super Bowl, where David Tyree, who I coached in college, who was a special teams… He didn’t catch anything in college, catches this thing. I’m like, ‘Holy F. Did that just happen again?’ I was like-”
Great Play by Malcolm, too, on the seam. We’re talking about the seam where he tipped it and Kearse ended up doing a back thing.
“Malcolm’s great. There’s a great play that Malcolm makes on a third down earlier where he goes up and through the pocket and then rips the near hand and gets the ball out. There’s a big play in that game earlier to get them off the field to get the ball back to the offense. Now they line up on them, I click into ‘High,’ – I’m like – ‘They’re going to run it, man.’ Now I’m looking at High [Dont’a Hightower] – High’s got one arm – I’m like, ‘They’re going to run it.’ We were stuck in the defense, and he makes – that’s an unbelievable tackle. Unbelievable tackle. Gets him down.”
“So now the clock is moving. So I know the situation. And so it’s one of those moments where really life slowed down for me. I don’t know exactly how long the seconds were, but for me, it felt like a half hour. So I know the call I want to make. I’m hearing 11 personnel going in the game and I slide over next to Bill because I wasn’t going to put it out there and let them call time out. I didn’t want them to see, no one had seen this. And then so I slide next to Bill and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m like, are you calling the time out?’ And he’s staring. He’s just staring across the field. And I’m like, ‘Bill, are you calling the time out?’ And he’s not saying anything to me. And I was like, ‘Hey, I need to know because I’m not putting this out there. Are you calling the time out?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, just make your call.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ So I click on it. I’m like, ‘Hey, goal on three corner, get it out. Make sure we got Malcolm.'”
“So I’m down with Bill. Everyone else is down the sidelines. So I hear Flo [Brian Flores]. He’s like, ‘Malcolm!’ He’s screaming because we had changed the coverages. So later, I’m talking to Bill. I was like, ‘What were you watching?’ He’s like, well, ‘I was watching Pete.’ He’s like, and’ I’m watching their offense’ trying to figure out, they put the personnel, could they sub? He was watching. And then once we put goal line, he knew we subbed it so late. They weren’t going to be able to change. They were going to go to the check. So we were just waiting it out to see who could get it out there last. And I was like, because the helmet communication shuts off. So they weren’t going to be able to check the play to Russ [Russell Wilson]. So we get goal line. So they just see we’re signaling goal line. So goal line is going out. Well, automatically to them, they’re like, ‘All right, well, we’re going to throw.'”
“I have like, 6000 pounds of flesh sitting there. I have Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, [Alan] Branch, Vince [Wilfork]. This is like an 18-wheeler out there. I understand, just give the ball to Lynch, but we had just stopped them. These are some of the best players in the NFL right there. So I was like, ‘They’re going to panic. They’re going to throw it.’ I was worried about the Snag 7 Flat.’ So I watched them build. So I’m watching in my end, I’m watching the left side, and I’m like, watching them build. They bring the receiver over.”
You think that the rub is all good?
“We’re good on the rub. They’re going to go to the Snag 7 flat. The ‘got to have it’ play to the other side. They’re going to pick the linebacker. So I’m on with High. I go, ‘Hey, make sure you don’t get picked here.’ I’m like, ‘Lynch is going – this is going to be to be Snag 7 Flat to your side.’ So I’m watching the left side of the offense, the right side of the defense, and the ball is snapped and I look and it’s Snag 7 Flat, and we get picked. Chandler’s peeling late because he had the peel call. From the High [call], I’m like, ‘Give Chan [Chandler Jones] the call.’ So Chan’s [Chandler Jones] peeling late. But if it was good throw, I was like, this is going to be a touchdown. And I look and I’m like, and then they picked the linebacker. So I’m on the headset and I’m like, ‘All right, here we go.’ I’m like, all right, it’s not the run. I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to get the Snag 7 Flat. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, they picked him.’ And then everyone starts screaming like, ‘No, he picked it!’ And I’m like, ‘Who picked what?’ I didn’t even see the play.”
“I didn’t even see the play on the other side. I was so worried because the guy’s open in the flat. So everyone’s going crazy. And I’m like, ‘What?’ I don’t even know. I’m like, ‘What happened?’ Obviously, the best part of the story is [Brandon] Browner, who I love. Browner is the one when we were going into the half, Browner knew that personnel so good. He’s like, ‘Put me here, put them there, put them there.’ So, to be a good coach, the best thing you can do is just listen to your best players, listen to your smart players. So that was the matchups that we did.”
“But when they built the stack, Browner looks at Malcolm and goes, ‘Listen, I’m going to choke the s**t out of them. You just go.’ And if you watch the play, Browner, he’s literally got his hands around his neck. And then Malcolm just goes. So I didn’t see any of that. I’m like, ‘We got picked.’ Everyone’s like, ‘No, he picked it!’ I’m like, I didn’t even know we had the ball. Yeah. So that was like, chaos is going on. So now, again, I’m nervous because I’m looking at the clock. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. I’m like, ‘The ball’s on the inch line here.’
No safety.
“Right. So I’m like, they’re going to get the ball back. I’m going through situational plays. No one wants to listen to me because I’m like, ‘What are we going to do? What are we putting out there?’ Because I’m panicked. We’re going to be back on the field. And obviously, we get the thing and the game ends.”
“And I turn around and Revis is running at me and he jumps. And I catch him. Do you know how thick Revis is?”
Revis is thick?
“He was so strong. So he bent…he cracks my back. So at the end of Super Bowl, I cracked my back in the celebration because he jumps up on me. I didn’t care. Who cares? Who cares, right? It doesn’t matter. Stevie B [Steve Belichick] is running around me. Everybody’s freaking out. It was amazing. Malcolm’s still crying.”
I think I choked out Josh [McDaniels].
“Yeah. It was like total chaos. And my best play, if you watch the coaches copy of that tape, if you watch the end zone copy, because again, we had the extended end zone because we watched the celebration and all that stuff. In the back of the end zone is the Seattle mascot. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world. He’s standing there and you can see him as right before the snap, you can see him. You can just see his face, his expression hasn’t changed. You see him, ‘we’re about to go back to back. We’re about to hand this thing to Lynch. We’re about to score.’ And they snap the ball and you see him freeze. And then the ball is picked and he just takes his hands and he puts his hand on the front of his beak. And he stands there like this, and he doesn’t move. And you could just see him like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ It’s the funniest s**t ever. I’m just telling you, it’s hysterical. And he doesn’t move. There’s chaos going on. He doesn’t move for five minutes. He’s just standing there. It’s amazing.”
But you know what’s crazy? That’s not the first time a coach has pointed out a stand thing.
“We watch the stands all the time.”
Because they watch so much film.
“So much film. You got to do something.”
With Bill and them. So they sit there, [Chad O’Shea] would come in there like, ‘Look at this guy, pour a beer on this guy’ in this place. Like, what the f**k, Chad?
My favorite. I would watch every year – there’s a guy in Buffalo, he sits in the right corner of the stadium, and it would be the middle of December. He’s got no shirt on. He’s got a big beer belly, and he looks like he’s got long, gray hair. So I’m like, and he’s every year, he’s there. And I always check. I’m like, ‘He’s still there.'”
Same guy.
“No shirt. It’s middle of September. Or in New Orleans, where the scoreboard, there’d always be a crew that on Halloween would dress in costumes and sit above the scoreboard. So you’re looking for stuff always. But the mascot in the end zone of that thing, we had an [extended view], it’s one of the most amazing things.”
“But that was that play, how that was put together, the game, the halftime, the fact that it was like, ‘I can’t believe we’re going to install this.’ This is like six years he had been asking. I’m like, ‘Nope, here it is. We need it. We got it. We got to have it right now’ And to put that in that week and have that thing go out it was … that was crazy.”
“And honestly, that whole defensive year, Vince Wolfork and I sat down because he wanted to win again. He was unbelievable, man. His leadership, his guidance of like, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ We gave the defense guys a book. We read Legacy, the All Blacks, and we put all our words together and just all the way through the season, the night before the Super Bowl, I read it to the defense again. ‘Hey, this is what we said we’re going to do.’ When you win the Super Bowl, I think that was the year I told him, the trophy, what it’s like to hold the trophy. ‘It’s heavy at the top.’ It was the thing, the story. And I explained to him how when we won in ’04 and being able to hold the trophy and what that’s like and just all of that expression and Vince leading the charge. And we tell them, ‘You win a Super Bowl, you’re bonded for life. You’re bonded for life.'”
Yeah, you are.
“‘It doesn’t matter where you are, when it is. Anybody on those teams call you, you are bonded for life.'”
“I have a great picture of you. I was actually looking at the other day. It’s you and Rob and Chan after the White House. You guys are walking down the side of the bus. It’s just the three of you. And I just snapped it. I think you got to lipper out to here and the whole deal. It’s the coolest s**t ever. But that play, it was just one of those moments in life where just time stopped for me. And I was just like, ‘Here we go. We’re going to do this. It’s going to be crazy.'”
It just hit me. Two of the last couple of plays, one on defense and one on offense, other than the one we were running out the clock, were adjustments added after practices, after all our prep was done. My return route.
“Yeah, right.”
We added that on Saturday night.
“Yep. In the hotel, right? Yeah, goal line three corner.”
Goal Line Three corner added after practice.
“Had to adjust it.”
But that shows you how smart our coaches were to understand that we needed to put that in and how smart the players were to be able to execute it without a rep of practice.
“That’s right. It’s not us. It’s you guys.”
But still, knowing that we may need this and it comes down to it. That happened a lot of times in my career.
“How fast you guys process and put that stuff together, man? It’s amazing. Look, I’m just lucky to be there and help and do whatever I can to give you guys a chance to go play and execute. But to watch you guys do that up close, man, that is a treat that I’ll have with me forever, thankfully.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
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