Rumor why Malcolm Butler didn't play in the SB

erikthredd · February 5, 2018 10:26AM

This story is getting killed here in NE right now and the rumor is Butler might have missed curfew,got caught with weed with MINN cops involved, then went at it with NE's coaches. Then he was benched for the SB minus the one or two times he played on special teams.
Barstool Sports is where i got that info. If this is true,this is just a sad conclusion to this kid's Patriots career. Its hard to believe that he couldn't have helped in at least the second half if Belichick was so adamant about disciplining him.
https://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/a-writer-at-pff-is-saying-malcolm-butler-missed-curfew-got-caught-with-weed-then-had-a-meltdown-on-the-coaches/?_branch_match_id=489125207360014634

perkdog · February 5, 2018 10:46AM

I don’t think anyone outside of NE gives a crap one way or another except Philly fans who were probably grateful he didn’t play. If the kid got caught with weed then shame on him for being an idiot, I’m 100% OK with weed but before during the week your playing in the Super Bowl??? If he is as late for a meeting then shame on him but to bench him for the Super Bowl might be a bit to harsh, not sure about the details if it’s true. It could have been Belichek getting into some type of argument with the kid or got slighted by him and his god complex game into play too. Bottom line the kid suited up and would have given us a better chance to win if he started so at the end of the day I blame Belichek. I have always been critical of some of the stuff Belichek has done regardless of how successful he has been. And before the WCK types chime in and ask me if it’s ok to break team rules ect I adamantly say if he suited up he should have started regardless, deal with punishment after the game.

erikthredd · February 5, 2018 11:08AM

I agree with all of that. We might not ever get the whole story so who knows. If this ends up being true or close to it,the blame sits squarely on Butler who has been here for four years and knows what he shouldn't be doing,especially days before the SB. I do think Belichick's arrogance does hurt them at times but sitting him for the entire game made no sense at all especially when we pretty much know Butler isn't getting resigned by NE this offseason. Sit him a quarter or two to send your message then stick him out there for the second half,then after the game you start looking to replacing him this offseason.
This kid is one of my favorite Pats players and that SB INT moment is forever but its a shame his Pats career ended this way even though it looks like he brought it on himself if this story is true.

BGS_Buyer · February 5, 2018 11:12AM

Dope-Gate

Coinstartled · February 5, 2018 11:13AM

Can't believe that Belichick would let something as unimportant as a rules violation alter his SB lineup.

Must have been a personal issue.

bronco2078 · February 5, 2018 11:28AM

who was the patriot that was running around naked and stoned a few years ago? He got shipped out of town a while later

fergie23 · February 5, 2018 11:34AM

Belichick has always run a tight ship. It is why he is the greatest football coach of all time. It might have cost him a single game but in the end it isn't about one game or one Super Bowl. Love it or hate it his approach has lead to the most successful dynasty in the Super Bowl era.

If the report is true then mystery solved and I respect Belichick more for it. It is incredibly difficult not to compromise your principles when the stakes are so high.

Robb

BGS_Buyer · February 5, 2018 11:44AM

I didn't watch the game, so for those who did
did Philadelphia target his side / replacement ?

BGS_Buyer · February 5, 2018 11:46AM

@Coinstartled said:
Can't believe that Belichick would let something as unimportant as a rules violation alter his SB lineup.

Must have been a personal issue.

no kidding

dope smoking
late arrival at the super Bowl
Police involvement
yelling at coaches

what choice is there ? "Get in there champ & do us proud"

only thing missing off his resume, is beatin' on some Bia-tches!

galaxy27 · February 5, 2018 11:53AM

@perkdog said:

And before the WCK types chime in and ask me if it’s ok to break team rules

lol

perkdog · February 5, 2018 12:10PM

Obviously the choice is to suit him up and start him  or don’t suit him and start someone else. Bottom line the guy was in uniform and didn’t do a thing except bring a distraction on the sideline during the biggest game of the year. If the police didn’t get involved and arrested the kid then it couldn’t have been that bad, if it was an off the field incident. In house crap you can deal with later.                                                                           > @BGS_Buyer said:

@Coinstartled said:
Can't believe that Belichick would let something as unimportant as a rules violation alter his SB lineup.

Must have been a personal issue.

no kidding

dope smoking
late arrival at the super Bowl
Police involvement
yelling at coaches

what choice is there ? "Get in there champ & do us proud"

only thing missing off his resume, is beatin' on some Bia-tches!

Brick · February 5, 2018 12:52PM

If he was not to be resigned and was guilty of team rules and was suited up for the game, I would have played him when he was the best man at his position and let him and the team know he is auditioning for the other teams because - "You aren't coming back next year after those violations."

stevek · February 6, 2018 8:15AM

This story gets more and more bizarre.

Bottom line - Belichick should have at least started Butler considering his talent, and if Butler was screwing up out there for whatever reason, then yank him quickly.

Vince Lombardi had partiers galore on his team, that likely broke the rules all the time. However on Sunday, Lombardi let 'em play and they won football games.

It appears that Belichick made a big mistake here. I'm not saying it's okay to break team rules, but I think the better option would have been to fine Butler, fine him big, but let him play in the Super Bowl.

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 8:38AM

Brandon Browner is officially a dumbass. He's calling out Bill Belichick for this Butler benching when Bill Belichick was the only head coach willing to sign Browner in 2014 knowing full well Browner had been suspended the first 4 games for violating the substance abuse policy. Ultimately Butler's benching falls entirely on his shoulders for not following the team's orders at the SB.
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2018/02/06/patriots-benched-one-time-super-bowl-hero-malcolm-butler-over-perfect-storm-issues-report.html

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 8:51AM

Boston sports talk radio are saying there is a report of Butler actually pushing one of his coaches during the confrontation although it hasn't been verified yet. With so many people digging into this story the truth is going to come out eventually.

bronco2078 · February 6, 2018 10:17AM

if the pats won no one would be talking about it. This is media at its finest . They act like if Butler played the pats would have won. They were up by a point with 2 minutes remaining without him, it wasn't that big of a deal

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 10:44AM

No i think had he played,he might have been able to keep Nelson Agholor from catching 9 balls for 84yds. Rowe would have then gone on to cover Torrey Smith. Philly scored on all four second half drives maybe Butler could have made a play here or there that could have led to a punt on one of those drives. I won't go as far to say NE lost because of Butler being benched but their chances were better had he played.
I think its such a big story because no one is coming out from either side to verify or deny the rumors for why he didn't play.

stevek · February 6, 2018 11:02AM

@erikthredd said:
No i think had he played,he might have been able to keep Nelson Agholor from catching 9 balls for 84yds. Rowe would have then gone on to cover Torrey Smith. Philly scored on all four second half drives maybe Butler could have made a play here or there that could have led to a punt on one of those drives. I won't go as far to say NE lost because of Butler being benched but their chances were better had he played.
I think its such a big story because no one is coming out from either side to verify or deny the rumors for why he didn't play.

The weirdest thing of all is that Belichick did allow Butler to play on some special teams from what I've read. Just not at his key position. If whatever Butler did was so grievous, and I'm definitely not excusing any of it, but why let him play at all or even suit up?

I've stated before that Belichick in my opinion is the greatest professional football coach of all time, and this incident hasn't changed my opinion one bit. But Belichick seems to have had a brain-fart on this one.

bronco2078 · February 6, 2018 11:21AM

Butler would have tackled better. So I think one or two of those big run after catch plays would have still happened but been 10 yards instead of 40

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 11:22AM

@stevek said:

@erikthredd said:
No i think had he played,he might have been able to keep Nelson Agholor from catching 9 balls for 84yds. Rowe would have then gone on to cover Torrey Smith. Philly scored on all four second half drives maybe Butler could have made a play here or there that could have led to a punt on one of those drives. I won't go as far to say NE lost because of Butler being benched but their chances were better had he played.
I think its such a big story because no one is coming out from either side to verify or deny the rumors for why he didn't play.

The weirdest thing of all is that Belichick did allow Butler to play on some special teams from what I've read. Just not at his key position. If whatever Butler did was so grievous, and I'm definitely not excusing any of it, but why let him play at all or even suit up?

I've stated before that Belichick in my opinion is the greatest professional football coach of all time, and this incident hasn't changed my opinion one bit. But Belichick seems to have had a brain-fart on this one.

Belichick is getting killed here in NE right now and deservedly so. One of the talk radio hosts said it perfectly,if you think Butler's actions were so grievous then send him home,don't tell him minutes before the game that he's not starting making him stand on the sidelines after putting him in for one series on S/T.
Butler is a bonehead but i agree Belichick could have absolutely handled it better.

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 11:26AM

@bronco2078 said:
Butler would have tackled better. So I think one or two of those big run after catch plays would have still happened but been 10 yards instead of 40

Giving up 3pts instead of 7 on any one of the three TD drives in the 2nd half might have made a big difference in the Final score. It is what it is at this point. This offseason will be loads of fun here in NE with all the departures and media drama.

stevek · February 6, 2018 11:33AM

@erikthredd said:

@stevek said:

@erikthredd said:
No i think had he played,he might have been able to keep Nelson Agholor from catching 9 balls for 84yds. Rowe would have then gone on to cover Torrey Smith. Philly scored on all four second half drives maybe Butler could have made a play here or there that could have led to a punt on one of those drives. I won't go as far to say NE lost because of Butler being benched but their chances were better had he played.
I think its such a big story because no one is coming out from either side to verify or deny the rumors for why he didn't play.

The weirdest thing of all is that Belichick did allow Butler to play on some special teams from what I've read. Just not at his key position. If whatever Butler did was so grievous, and I'm definitely not excusing any of it, but why let him play at all or even suit up?

I've stated before that Belichick in my opinion is the greatest professional football coach of all time, and this incident hasn't changed my opinion one bit. But Belichick seems to have had a brain-fart on this one.

Belichick is getting killed here in NE right now and deservedly so. One of the talk radio hosts said it perfectly,if you think Butler's actions were so grievous then send him home,don't tell him minutes before the game that he's not starting making him stand on the sidelines after putting him in for one series on S/T.
Butler is a bonehead but i agree Belichick could have absolutely handled it better.

I just think that Belichick thought his team was so much better than the Eagles, especially with Foles in there, that his team would beat the Eagles handily, and didn't need Butler to do it. Perhaps Belichick figured he could have his cake (severely discipline Butler) and eat it to (still win the game).

Even the great ones make mistakes.

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 11:38AM

@stevek its not the first time Belichick's ego has cost the team and i'm sure it won't be the last. For all of the great SB wins & great players drafted there are plenty of the "WTF was Bill thinking?" moments too.

Justacommeman · February 6, 2018 12:42PM

Gotta take the good with the bad.

mark

erikthredd · February 6, 2018 1:16PM

Butler just posted this on his twitter account

perkdog · February 6, 2018 1:31PM

There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

stevek · February 6, 2018 9:10PM

@perkdog said:
There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

Not you or Eric, but it seems like some Patriots fans act as if their team went 6-10 for the season, didn't make the playoffs, and Brady had a 50 QB rating for the year.

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl last season, came close to winning it this season, and some Patriots fans seem like they're ready to tell Belichick, Brady and other players to get out of town and go somewhere else? Madness.

erikthredd · February 7, 2018 7:17AM

@stevek said:

@perkdog said:
There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

Not you or Eric, but it seems like some Patriots fans act as if their team went 6-10 for the season, didn't make the playoffs, and Brady had a 50 QB rating for the year.

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl last season, came close to winning it this season, and some Patriots fans seem like they're ready to tell Belichick, Brady and other players to get out of town and go somewhere else? Madness.

You should hear the Pats fans here in NE calling into the sports talk radio shows these past few days. They want heads to roll and sound like spoiled petulant 5yr olds. No one is calling out Brady but its "lets rip Belichick" 24/7. Many think Belichick has lost "it" and NE should move on from him this offseason. I didn't agree with benching Butler for the entire game but it is what it is at this point and it would be crazy to get rid of Belichick because of that decision. We'll have to what and see how it plays out now.

stevek · February 7, 2018 8:18AM

@erikthredd said:

@stevek said:

@perkdog said:
There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

Not you or Eric, but it seems like some Patriots fans act as if their team went 6-10 for the season, didn't make the playoffs, and Brady had a 50 QB rating for the year.

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl last season, came close to winning it this season, and some Patriots fans seem like they're ready to tell Belichick, Brady and other players to get out of town and go somewhere else? Madness.

You should hear the Pats fans here in NE calling into the sports talk radio shows these past few days. They want heads to roll and sound like spoiled petulant 5yr olds. No one is calling out Brady but its "lets rip Belichick" 24/7. Many think Belichick has lost "it" and NE should move on from him this offseason. I didn't agree with benching Butler for the entire game but it is what it is at this point and it would be crazy to get rid of Belichick because of that decision. We'll have to what and see how it plays out now.

I've stated this before a few times but I think it's worth stating again. I think that Bill Belichick is THE greatest professional football coach of all time. And I know all about Bill Walsh, etc, but I've listened to and heard football strategy and commentary from Belichick that is pure genius level, better than anything I've read or heard about football...and the bottom line is it works, and works outstandingly in a very tough era of parity, etc to win multiple championships like he has.

Belichick is getting older, I think he is 65, but that's certainly not too old. He did look fairly bloated and overweight recently. Perhaps he should get on a diet program to give him more energy etc, but in any event, considering what he's accomplished, and what he has just accomplished, another excellent season...well i just cannot comprehend some Patriot fans on this one.

erikthredd · February 7, 2018 8:33AM

@stevek said:

@erikthredd said:

@stevek said:

@perkdog said:
There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

Not you or Eric, but it seems like some Patriots fans act as if their team went 6-10 for the season, didn't make the playoffs, and Brady had a 50 QB rating for the year.

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl last season, came close to winning it this season, and some Patriots fans seem like they're ready to tell Belichick, Brady and other players to get out of town and go somewhere else? Madness.

You should hear the Pats fans here in NE calling into the sports talk radio shows these past few days. They want heads to roll and sound like spoiled petulant 5yr olds. No one is calling out Brady but its "lets rip Belichick" 24/7. Many think Belichick has lost "it" and NE should move on from him this offseason. I didn't agree with benching Butler for the entire game but it is what it is at this point and it would be crazy to get rid of Belichick because of that decision. We'll have to what and see how it plays out now.

I've stated this before a few times but I think it's worth stating again. I think that Bill Belichick is THE greatest professional football coach of all time. And I know all about Bill Walsh, etc, but I've listened to and heard football strategy and commentary from Belichick that is pure genius level, better than anything I've read or heard about football...and the bottom line is it works, and works outstandingly in a very tough era of parity, etc to win multiple championships like he has.

Belichick is getting older, I think he is 65, but that's certainly not too old. He did look fairly bloated and overweight recently. Perhaps he should get on a diet program to give him more energy etc, but in any event, considering what he's accomplished, and what he has just accomplished, another excellent season...well i just cannot comprehend some Patriot fans on this one.

Oh,he's always had the man-boobs but i don't think his energy level is a factor. Its just reached the point here in NE where its SB win or bust and everything in between is a failure. Out of all the Pats teams that made the SB in the BB era,this one was arguably considered the weakest of them all because of the defense. NE always has a great offense but when their defense can't get the job done in the SB,they lose. Benching Butler with no real explanation has everybody going nuts up here and Its easy to think that he might have helped the defense in that game but Foles had that offense running on all cylinders so who knows.

stevek · February 7, 2018 9:37AM

@erikthredd said:

@stevek said:

@erikthredd said:

@stevek said:

@perkdog said:
There are so many rumors going on right now it’s ridiculous, I have heard that Jonathan Kraft is taking a bigger role with the team and there is a rift between him and Belichek, another rumor is Gronk might retire , Brady might retire, Belichek might move on, who knows?? I would bet a lot of money that Butler won’t be in a Pats uniform next year though lol, that being said this whole thing was handled really bad, either dress the kid and play him or send him packing. Letting him play a few snaps on special teams is taking a shot at the kid out of spite in my opinion.

Not you or Eric, but it seems like some Patriots fans act as if their team went 6-10 for the season, didn't make the playoffs, and Brady had a 50 QB rating for the year.

The Patriots just won the Super Bowl last season, came close to winning it this season, and some Patriots fans seem like they're ready to tell Belichick, Brady and other players to get out of town and go somewhere else? Madness.

You should hear the Pats fans here in NE calling into the sports talk radio shows these past few days. They want heads to roll and sound like spoiled petulant 5yr olds. No one is calling out Brady but its "lets rip Belichick" 24/7. Many think Belichick has lost "it" and NE should move on from him this offseason. I didn't agree with benching Butler for the entire game but it is what it is at this point and it would be crazy to get rid of Belichick because of that decision. We'll have to what and see how it plays out now.

I've stated this before a few times but I think it's worth stating again. I think that Bill Belichick is THE greatest professional football coach of all time. And I know all about Bill Walsh, etc, but I've listened to and heard football strategy and commentary from Belichick that is pure genius level, better than anything I've read or heard about football...and the bottom line is it works, and works outstandingly in a very tough era of parity, etc to win multiple championships like he has.

Belichick is getting older, I think he is 65, but that's certainly not too old. He did look fairly bloated and overweight recently. Perhaps he should get on a diet program to give him more energy etc, but in any event, considering what he's accomplished, and what he has just accomplished, another excellent season...well i just cannot comprehend some Patriot fans on this one.

Oh,he's always had the man-boobs but i don't think his energy level is a factor. Its just reached the point here in NE where its SB win or bust and everything in between is a failure. Out of all the Pats teams that made the SB in the BB era,this one was arguably considered the weakest of them all because of the defense. NE always has a great offense but when their defense can't get the job done in the SB,they lose. Benching Butler with no real explanation has everybody going nuts up here and Its easy to think that he might have helped the defense in that game but Foles had that offense running on all cylinders so who knows.

Well, we shall see what happens, but I'll be very surprised if Belichick, Brady and Gronkowski are not with the Patriots for the coming season.

Butler is gone - that's not even debatable.

Rumor why Malcolm Butler didn't play in the SB

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