Malcolm Butler's response to his benching

[cardiaccat52]

And I thought Ronnie was harsh benching Cam for a series for not wearing a tie...this is rough. I'm very interested to see what MB did. 

[party_animal]

There's unconfirmed rumors out saying he was past curfew and caught with weed. When confronted he may have lashed out at the coaching staff.

 

Again unconfirmed rumors.

[CatMan72]

Come on down!

[CatMan72]

2 minutes ago, party_animal said:

There's unconfirmed rumors out saying he was past curfew and caught with weed. When confronted he may have lashed out at the coaching staff.

 

Again unconfirmed rumors.

So why wouldn't they just inactivate him?

[thefuzz]

2 minutes ago, CatMan72 said:

So why wouldn't they just inactivate him?

Injuries.

[Mr. Scot]

30 minutes ago, party_animal said:

There's unconfirmed rumors out saying he was past curfew and caught with weed. When confronted he may have lashed out at the coaching staff.

 

Again unconfirmed rumors.

For what it's worth, Belichick has stated that it was not in any way a disciplinary measure.  While he wouldn't give specifics (despite being questioned by Mike Reiss) he stuck to the narrative that it was purely a "best chance to win" decision.

Quote

The curious case of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler‘s benching was one of the major topics of a conference call with head coach Bill Belichick on Monday.

Butler played just under 98 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in the regular season and every snap in their two playoff wins before getting a goose egg against the Eagles. Belichick said on Sunday that he made the decision he thought gave “us the best chance to win,” but many wondered why he continued to feel that way when it was clear that the other cornerbacks were not up to the task of stopping the Eagles.

Belichick’s initial response to questions about Butler, who said he felt he “could have changed that game” if he’d been given the chance to play, followed a similar track to what he said on Sunday.

“I respect Malcolm’s competitiveness and I am sure that he felt like he could have helped,” Belichick said, via WEEI.com. “I am sure other players felt the same way, but in the end, we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for the football team and that is what we did, that is what I did. That’s really all I can say about it.”

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com pushed Belichick for further detail about why he felt that was the best approach for the team.

“I appreciate the question, but it would be a much longer discussion,” Belichick said. “There are a lot of things that go into that. In the end, the final decision is what I said it was.”

PFT: Belichick on Butler benching

[Daddy_Uncle]

14 hours ago, JawnyBlaze said:

Maybe he didn’t wear a tie on the way over. 

you have seen their hobo coach right?

[Davidson Deac II]

6 hours ago, Carolina Cajun said:

I don't think that move made a huge difference.  Malcolm Butler is a decent corner, but I never felt that he was the kind of gamechanger that some made him out to be.  If it weren't for his game winning INT, he wouldn't have ever been a big name as a corner.  Someone is gonna overpay for him in the offseason, I hope it's not us.

I agree with you for the most part.  But its hard to say if Butler would have made a difference.  Given how close the game was, he only had be a difference maker on one play.  A tipped ball that ends in an interception, a peanut punch for a fumble, or even an tackle at an opportune moment.   No way to know what Butler might have done.  As it was, BB's move didn't help them at all.  

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Davidson Deac II said:

I agree with you for the most part.  But its hard to say if Butler would have made a difference.  Given how close the game was, he only had be a difference maker on one play.  A tipped ball that ends in an interception, a peanut punch for a fumble, or even an tackle at an opportune moment.   No way to know what Butler might have done.  As it was, BB's move didn't help them at all.  

From the whispers I've read, it sounds like some of his teammates think it could have.

A few different journalists have pointed out that Butler basically played every single defensive snap this season, including in the playoffs.  He was also getting the majority of the reps this week in practice.

[Wyank]

If he was benched for the Super Bowl over breaking a team rule, I doubt he would want to go to a team that benches their franchise QB over not wearing a tie.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

From the whispers I've read, it sounds like some of his teammates think it could have.

A few different journalists have pointed out that Butler basically played every single defensive snap this season, including in the playoffs.  He was also getting the majority of the reps this week in practice.

Going from being on the field for 98% of the defensive plays during the regular season to zero plays in the Super Bowl.  Weird.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Going from being on the field for 98% of the defensive plays during the regular season to zero plays in the Super Bowl.  Weird.

Yeah.  Even if he isn't exactly the shutdown corner that his past Super Bowl heroics make people think he is, I still gotta believe he's better than Eric Rowe.

Obviously, Belichick believed that for an entire season and two playoff games.

Of course, Belichick doesn't seem to believe that he ever makes mistakes, soooo...

[NanuqoftheNorth]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Yeah.  Even if he isn't exactly the shutdown corner that his past Super Bowl heroics make people think he is, I still gotta believe he's better than Eric Rowe.

Obviously, Belichick believed that for an entire season and two playoff games.

Of course, Belichick doesn't seem to believe that he ever makes mistakes, soooo...

Without more information as to what Belichick was thinking, the decision will remain nonsensical to me.

If a coach is unhappy with a player's performance/effort I understand telling a player he's not starting, but informing him he's not playing a single down just prior to the big game? 

As HC, why paint yourself into a corner like that?

[thefuzz]

7 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Without more information as to what Belichick was thinking, the decision will remain nonsensical to me.

If a coach is unhappy with a player's performance/effort I understand telling a player he's not starting, but informing him he's not playing a single down just prior to the big game? 

As HC, why paint yourself into a corner like that?

This may sound weird, but maybe he did stay out too late, and got popped with weed....what if BB is trying to cover that up so it won't hurt his upcoming free agency?

Now, I'm not one to think that BB would do anything nice for anyone, but that could be an explanation.  (not that I think it's a real possibility)