The undrafted 27-year old from Western Alabama University was forced into action due to poor play from those above him on the depth chart and was barely even known by Bostonians until the biggest game of the season and his career, Super Bowl XLIX. Butler barely played in the Super Bowl until the Seattle Seahawks began lining up with 4 or 5 wide receivers on the field (a formation they rarely used due to mediocre receiving depth in 2015). With the Patriots leading 28-24, Seattle's Russell Wilson threw a bomb of a pass toward Jermaine Kearse and the current Jet made one of the greatest catches in NFL history, only to be pushed out at the 5-yard line by Malcolm Butler.
After a short gain on the ground by Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks shocked the world by deciding to pass the ball at the 3-yard line and the only player with any hopes at preventing a Seattle win in that moment was Malcolm Butler and he made what is widely regarded as a play belonging on the Mount Rushmore of Super Bowl plays right next to David Tyree's 2008 Helmet Catch. Seattle's hopes of a dynasty were abruptly erased and the Belichick-Brady duo began a second dynasty together.
"What have you done for me lately?" is a question that is deservedly asked quite often in the NFL but, the benching of Butler in last night's game was not the moment for Belichick to put his foot down. Malcolm Butler made drastic improvements in his game over the next two seasons after that Super Bowl, making a Pro Bowl the next season and being named Second Team All-Pro just last season, as he helped New England win their fifth Super Bowl in 16 years after completing a 25-point comeback over Atlanta. The man had become a bonafide shutdown corner and a major trade asset for New England to shop around this past offseason. As a restricted free agent, the Patriots signed Butler for considerably cheaper money than they would have had he been out on an open, decent cornerback free agent market and instead of signing him for big money and keeping him satisfied, the Pats signed him to a one-year deal with a tender offer of a first-round draft pick being required in return for any team offering him more money. Ultimately, nobody took the bait and Butler stayed on board for a 13-3 season that saw New England's worst defensive performance in years with Butler regressing to league-average at his position.
Even with his struggles, Eric Rowe was still not ready for the stage of Super Bowl LII and there are no circumstances under which Johnson Bademosi and Jordan Richards should currently be slated in a defensive backfield instead of Butler. Zero snaps in a half is inexcusable and once Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia (who will now likely move on to coach the Lions) saw how well Nick Foles was throwing the ball through tight windows to his receivers, the Patriots should have at least attempted to close those windows a bit tighter with a man that's done it consistently on big stages for them in the past. Instead, Nick Foles looked like Carson Wentz in Minneapolis with 373 yards passing and an MVP label next to his name at the conclusion of the event. Butler played zero defensive snaps during the game and will now go into free agency with his price tag slightly lowered thanks to his "failure to show up when it mattered most".
Eric Rowe did not know he would start before kickoff and Butler did not know he would be benched. Bill Belichick made his first mistake of his career on the field by letting his ego get in the way and now the first cracks in the Patriots' armor are beginning to show. Only one month ago, ESPN's Seth Wickersham dropped a surprising story at a strange time (the beginning of the NFL playoffs, when New England was on bye and coming off another strong regular season) detailing the tense work environment that had developed between Belichick, Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft as they all seemed to have differing opinions on personnel, most notably the eventual trading of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second round draft pick. Ultimately, the team denied everything and America was highly skeptical of the report (myself included). There was one quote that kind of stuck out as odd where Robert Kraft stated that Brady and Belichick "need to get their egos checked in" and that confirmed at least part of the report's belief that Brady and Belichick are strictly business partners and not exactly friends once off the field. Hearing that must have made Belichick at least a tiny bit bitter as a result and instead of checking his ego in, he made sure to make his biggest "I don't need anybody to tell me how to do my job" statement on Sunday when he refused to put Malcolm Butler on the field for a single defensive package despite his starting 17 and playing in 18 of the 15-3 Patriots' games up until Super Bowl LII. Tom Brady should not lose any game where he throws for 505 yards, no interceptions and the Patriots earn one penalty. Tom Brady should be irate at a franchise wasting the 40-year old GOAT's possibly final chance at a ring (after 40, every chance at a ring is your last chance at a ring because football is one hell of a rough sport). The defense may have been terrible but, it wasn't "Nick Foles is the best player in football now" terrible until last night. Now, the Eagles are victorious and the What If? list is long...
What if that catch by Zach Ertz weren't actually a catch?
What if Tom Brady wouldn't have dropped that wide open pass from Danny Amendola?
What if Brandin Cooks didn't try to hurdle a guy?
What if that Corey Clement touchdown weren't actually a catch?
and so on...
But above all of those one-off instances of fluky plays going in the Eagles' favor, not playing a regular starter and former All-Pro of your defensive lineup for every single defensive play of the game is baffling and might just be the one mistake big enough to make the greatest dynasty in the history of football come crumbling apart. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is already scheduled to head the Colts' coaching staff and Matt Patricia to the Lions is agreed upon so, what's next? Dante Scarnecchia re-retires? Rob Gronkowski retires? or are the largest of dominoes to fall sooner rather than later? Luckily for Robert Kraft, he has six months to figure this all out and that is somehow more interesting than the Super Bowl MVP that is about to get traded.
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| AP/Jeff Roberson Best of luck to you in Cleveland, Arizona or New York, Nick Foles! |
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