Patriots Gridiron News: Malcolm Butler Earns More Praise from Belichick
New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler has gone from Super Bowl hero to one of the top cornerbacks in the league.
Malcolm Butler was the No.5 cornerback heading into Super Bowl XLIX. He was unknown, unproven and the least likely player to make the game-winning play. Two years later and the undrafted cornerback out of West Alabama is one of the more important players on the New England Patriots roster.
As the team prepares to take on Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, Butler will be called upon to help lock down one of the most potent passing attacks in the NFL. His high level of play throughout last season and this season has made head coach Bill Belichick look like a genius once again as the team moved on from Darrelle Revis because of what they knew they had in Butler.
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Through hard work and a highly competitive nature the Patriots No. 1 cornerback has lived up to those expectations.
"“Long way from West Alabama,” Belichick said via NESN. “But, you know, again, and that’s absolutely true for Malcolm, and I’d say that we have a lot of other players in that category, guys that come into this league and wherever they were, it’s a huge jump on a number of levels — competitively, socially, economically, the attention from the fans and the media and so forth. Not everybody is from Alabama or Michigan or USC or those places, and even the ones that come from there, it’s still a huge jump. It’s a big part and a big time in a professional player’s career.”"
While it is not a definite that Malcolm Butler will match up against Julio Jones, the Falcons have other tough matchups in Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel. It is possible the defensive game plan could be to match Butler up against Sanu and double Jones using Logan Ryan with high safety help.
Whichever the case, the man out of West Alabama will have a chance to do something special again.
Thursday walkthrough: The Patriots had some good news Friday in regards to core special teamer Nate Ebner. As reported by WEEI, Ebner was at the team’s walkthrough practice inside Empower Field House.
Ebner suffered a concussion in the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As the former rugby player missed Thursday’s practice, his presence Friday is a good sign that he will be available for Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5.
Next: Belichick To Have Gameplan In Place By Monday
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