I’d like to learn more about why he was benched for the game. Butler played 97% of their regular season snaps, PFF had him at 51st/122 CBs in 2017. So why was Malcolm Butler benched? ProFootballTalk The world may never know why Patriots coach Bill Belichick decided not to give cornerback Malcolm Butler a single defensive snap on Sunday night. Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston has an unequivocal opinion as to what it all means. “You know it, I know it, the country knows it — and most importantly, the Patriots themselves know it — that keeping Malcolm Butler on the bench cost them Super Bowl LII,” Curran writes. It’s hard to disagree with Curran, as much as I’d like to. It would have been very different if the Patriots had been getting it done defensively without Butler. But they weren’t. At some point, Belichick should have turned to Butler and said, “Get in there, 21.” The fact that Butler didn’t know he’d be out — and Eric Rowe didn’t know he’d be replacing him — until shortly before kickoff suggests that something happened on Sunday or Saturday night. Whatever it was, it prompted Belichick to opt for sending the kind of message that jeopardized further cementing his legacy as the best coach of all time, in any sport. For Butler, it’s obvious that he’ll become a free agent in March and leave New England. Before anyone signs him, however, it would be wise to know exactly what prompted the strange move that kept the Patriots from matching the Steelers with six Super Bowl wins.
Uncle Bob only tolerates sexual harassment from his employees. When it comes to weed or kneeling during anthems, that's where he draws the line.
Nah. The line is domestic violence. Jaelen Strong was here for a whole season after his arrest. Under Rick Smith, they also didn't go after repeat offenders and players disrespecting staff. We will see where things are with Gaine
And he probably shouldn’t. If you can’t wait a week for a Super Bowl... and for your teammates... I don’t want that in my room. He’d actually be better off in my eyes if he admitted he had a problem and took some steps to address it, but it seems like he has been working his way deeper and deeper into Belichick’s doghouse for a while. These usually aren’t one time deals. I doubt things change because those handcuffs are put on by McNair. Until the owner stops making player decisions this will be an uphill battle.
