We’re not talking about the shitty teams this week, so let’s get right to it.
Super Bowl Overreactions
The Super Bowl happened this weekend and the Pats were playing. As we all know, it’s usually just another weekend for us Pats fans, but this time things were different. Bill Belichick has lost it. He didn’t put in the time necessary to prepare for the game and it showed.
Now, let’s get to the reason why he didn’t put in that time. It’s becoming quite clear that Bill is mad at his boss and is self-sabotaging both his own legacy and his team in protest. (note: After writing this, I spoke with a mental health professional who suggested that he may not be doing it intentionally, but could simply be suffering from depression as a result of a prolonged temper tantrum brought on by not getting his way) He’s already wasted a premium asset in Jimmy Garoppolo and got next to nothing in return (let’s not forget he did the same with Jamie Collins last year). Now this decision to not adequately prepare for the Super Bowl was one thing, he could talk his way around that. But the Malcolm Butler situation is a whole other thing.
And to adequately understand the severity of the situation, you need to go back to the beginning with Butler. Butler, an undrafted rookie free agent came to the Pats with little to no fanfare. He worked hard in his first preseason and made the roster. He was a spot player throughout his rookie year, occasionally showing flashes and making some nice plays. Then came the Super Bowl…We all know the story, he picks off the pass, Pats win the game and the title. His next year, he became the team’s #1 corner, went to the Pro Bowl. Same deal in his next year. Then it comes time for Butler to be able to gauge his value on the open market and it comes back high. This seemed to upset Bill. So Bill goes out of his way to bury Butler. It works, Malcom has a down season and Bill feels good about himself because Malcolm’s value is decreased.
Now we are in the Super Bowl. Butler practices with the 1’s all week and is set to start (after battling back from hospitalization caused by the flu earlier in the week). Until he’s informed just before kickoff that he won’t be playing. The entire team is shocked and the defense sucks. Oh, and just to show everyone that Butler was not hurt and to further humiliate him, he is used on the one punt return of the game.
After the game, the reporters that I’ve spoken to said that the disappointment in the coach was visible on every defenders face when they were asked about it. Additionally, defensive captain Dont’a Hightower signed off on a critical social media post during the game. I hate to say it, but Bill Belichick has finally crossed the line and lost the locker room. It over Bill, time to sail off on the boat. Once your petty grudges start to prevent the team from winning titles, guys won’t want to put up with your crap.
Now we should talk about the game. What a marvelous bag of crap that Patriots defense is. Anyone who still wants to argue that Bill Belichick is more important to this team than Tom Brady can just go crawl in the oven. If Brady isn’t on this team, that game is like 45-3 (if they even can manage to win the shitty AFC East, let alone make the Super Bowl). Brady was his awesome self, fighting a constant uphill battle against Josh McDaniels’ shitty play calling. He shredded the defense and really held the Pats in the game, while the defense and head coach did their absolute best to lose it. There was only one punt in the game, mostly because even if the Eagles did screw up and not convert a third down, they laughed so loudly at the Pats defense that they did not hesitate to just go for it on fourth down. It all keeps coming back to the Butler benching…This game could have easily been different if the defense made just one play, or one tackle. And likely having your second best corner (and one of the better tacklers on the team) would have made that difference. Look at this stat. Nick Foles relied on his wide receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agolhor a lot at key points in the game. This is how it went when those players were covered by Stephon Gilmore 0-4, INT. And here’s how it went when they were being covered by anyone else: 12-14, TD. Hmmm…you think maybe putting a guy that can cover someone in the game might help?
Oh well, football is stupid anyway. Maybe the Pats will have a GM that believes in drafting talented players before this year’s draft so I’ll have something to look forward to…
Then Tuesday afternoon happened. (first time I write one of these things before Wednesday morning and it bites me in the ass…) Holy Hell. First thing I hear in the morning is Patriot mouthpiece Ian Rappaport telling the world that “many things contributed to Bulter’s benching” and people are talking about him showing up late and missing the plane, staying out late partying at a Rick Ross concert until all hours of the night and having a “physical altercation” with a member of the coaching staff. As one would imagine, the Lap Dogs started saying that the suspension was now justified (Still no, he could have killed a man and still should have been playing over Jordan Richards. That guy sucks so bad.) Then we get Malcolm’s response in Instagram and half the team, including Tom Brady fall on Malcolm’s side. Now, at least two of the Pats’ captains have publicly voiced support for Butler in the situation. Seems very untenable…
Last minute breaking news: Once again, yours truly was correct. I said days maybe even weeks ago that Josh McDaniels would accept the Colts job, be announced, then have his own “I Resign as HC of the NYJ” moment. Low and behold it happened. This tells me that BB is either gone within the next couple of days, or at the very least after this season and Josh is taking over.
Sometimes it sucks being right all the time…I hate Josh and think he will make a very shitty coach…Oh well, maybe he’ll at least take direction from Brady…
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