Little Bit of Scouting on Darius Butler (And other Pats DB's)

[Delhommey]

Other than rookie Devin McCourty, there were few bright spots in the defensive backfield last season. Brandon Meriweather went from the Pro Bowl to the bench to the police blotter. Meriweather earned two brief benchings during the season, one for freelancing too often during the preseason and one for a dumb helmet-to-helmet hit on Todd Heap. In March, he was accused of shooting two men in his Florida hometown. Police confirmed that Meriweather was present at the shooting, but Meriweather’s lawyer expressed confidence that his client would not be charged.

When he did play, Meriweather spent too much time flatfooted at deep safety, though that had much to do with the players in front of him. Darius Butler lost his starting job after a double pass interference meltdown in the fourth quarter of the Week 2 loss to the Jets. Replacement Kyle Arrington was just as bad as Butler but less likely to wig out. Butler has Asante Samuel’s skill set (smooth coverage ability, good hands, tackling force of a moist sponge) and had a reasonable 2009 rookie season before coming unglued last year. Arrington’s positive qualities were hard to find on tape or in the stats, although it was fun when Bill Belichick experimented with a formation that had Arrington rushing the passer as a defensive end. Second-round pick Ras-I Dowling (Virginia Tech) may beat out both of them for a starting job. At 6-foot-2, Dowling has the size to match up with Braylon Edwards/Brandon Marshall types, one of many things Butler and Arrington lack.

From Football Outsiders Almanac

[Hairless Cat]

from the Pats fans

Well, Carolina got a starting corner. Not saying much. Glue together a couple of old broomsticks and dirty mop, and it would make the secondary roster on the Panthers. They don't even have backups listed at CB on their NFL.com depth chart. I wonder if they'll draft Luck?

Best of luck, Darius.

[Reapuh]

If he can be anything like Asante I will be fuging thrilled.

[Delhommey]

I'm pretty sure he will tackle like him.

[PhillyB]

Well, Carolina got a starting corner. Not saying much. Glue together a couple of old broomsticks and dirty mop, and it would make the secondary roster on the Panthers. They don't even have backups listed at CB on their NFL.com depth chart. I wonder if they'll draft Luck?

at least our broomsticks and dirty mops don't shoot people

[Ruff]

Well, Carolina got a starting corner. Not saying much. Glue together a couple of old broomsticks and dirty mop, and it would make the secondary roster on the Panthers.

lol, so true.

[rodeo]

So he's overly aggressive when the ball's in the air, but once it's caught he gets scared.

[OneBadassCat]

at least our broomsticks and dirty mops don't shoot people

or CHEAT

[pantherfreak]

or CHEAT us out of our superbowl.

fixed

[panthers55]

Sounds like he could be a good player for us if he regains his swag.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4702077/stats-analysis-on-butler

An article from 2009.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2009/04/darius_butler_a.html

[lightsout]

Wait, so that Pats fan mentions how bad we are at CB, and how thin we are there as well...then he wonders if we'll draft Luck? Goddammit people are fuging ignorant.

I like Butler. Get him some coaching, let him make plays. He can't be worse than we have, because if you look up "shitty NFL cornerbacks", ours are bound to be first on the list.

[Hairless Cat]

I dont mean to be a total downer but if this guy had been a reject from a team like cincinati or detroit would anyone have such high hopes? What makes you think Belicheats failures are any more promising than anyone elses?

Keeping my fingers crossed but being realistic in that I expect less than nothing. I just hope we dont hold on to him like some sort of prayer wheel, like we did clowney and brown and so many others while the rest of the NFL rolled on past.

[AceMan]

Seems like Butler is an alright pick-up

Also...Ras-I Dowling = Armanti pick ;)

[jayflip]

Wait, so that Pats fan mentions how bad we are at CB, and how thin we are there as well...then he wonders if we'll draft Luck? Goddammit people are fuging ignorant.

I like Butler. Get him some coaching, let him make plays. He can't be worse than we have, because if you look up "pooty NFL cornerbacks", ours are bound to be first on the list.

Granted, he's spot on about our secondary assessment, but that Luck comment was just garbage. I picture it in that terrible Boston accent, the one that ranks slightly below a nail on a chalkboard... and I just want to punch him in his undoubtedly overweight, foul face. I wish we could give New England back to old England.