New England Patriots: Not having Malcolm Butler hurt says Danny Amendola
Former New England Patriots wide receiver believes Malcolm Butler not being on the field for Super Bowl 52 hurt their teammates.
The New England Patriots are deep into preparation for the 2018 NFL Draft. In less than two weeks, the Patriots will be on the clock in the first round, ready to add another young player to their roster in a quest to return to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots have spoiled their fans with their success over the past two decades. They have seen the team make eight trips to the Super Bowl, taking home the championship five times. The most recent loss, in Super Bowl 52 to the Philadelphia Eagles, is one that still perplexes people.
The Eagles were one of the better teams in the NFL throughout the season. Even without potential MVP Carson Wentz, who went down with a knee injury in Week 14, the Eagles offense steamrolled through the Patriots defense.
New England had no answer for the Nick Foles led Eagles offense. While Philadelphia had a good game plan, New England handcuffed themselves with the decision to bench cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Butler has been an integral part of the Patriots defense since Super Bowl 49 when he was the hero against the Seattle Seahawks. During the regular season, Butler played the most defensive snaps on the team. In the first two playoff games, he didn’t come off the field. So, for him to not play a defensive snap in the biggest game of the season was a major surprise.
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It was a decision that fans and players alike couldn’t understand at the time. To this day, there is still uncertainty around why Butler was not on the field with his teammates that evening.
There is no doubt that the game would have been different if Butler was out there. He said it himself following the game that he could have changed the game.
Removing a player of Butler’s caliber undoubtedly has an impact on the team’s performance. However, it can also mess with the team mentally, especially since this move is still shrouded in some mystery.
Wide receiver Danny Amendola believes not having Butler out there did hurt his teammates.
"“Yeah, I did (believe that), honestly,” Amendola told Reiss. “Nobody really got an explanation for it. He’s a brother of ours. He was a brother of ours that year. And I hate to see a guy who worked so hard throughout the season not get a chance to play in the biggest game of the year and really get no explanation for it. With that said, I don’t know how the business aspect went into that decision. I don’ know how the personal aspect went into that decision between him and Bill. But as a friend, I would have loved to see him on the field that day.”"
From the sounds of it, not having Butler on the field impacted the psyche of the Patriots players. There are different stories about whether or not the players knew Butler wouldn’t be on the field. Regardless, it is clear that the Patriots would have used him.
New England had no answer for Foles. Not having Butler out there wasn’t the sole reason for their struggles. The non-existent pass rush certainly didn’t help. However, not having Butler on the field forced the Patriots to lean on less talented players and they were exposed.
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It is a situation we will probably never know the whole extent of. It was a bizarre end to a relationship between a player and team, however. Butler left New England this offseason to sign a long-term deal with the Tennessee Titans.