These opposites attract
Brady praises ex-mates Butler, Ryan
FOXBORO — When Malcolm Butler first broke into the NFL, he made a name for himself with his practice performances against Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.
During his first offseason with the Pats, the undrafted rookie out of West Alabama seemed to make a play every day.
“This one player just kept making plays and I kept going, ‘Who is that? Who’s that guy running down balls?’ Brady said after Butler’s legendary Super Bowl XLIX interception. “He had great quickness, great speed, great jumping ability, played the ball so well, intercepting passes all season long practicing on the scout team, and got some opportunities as the season went along to play on defense.”
At yesterday’s press conference, Brady reflected on his battles with Butler.
“I’ve always loved playing against him and in practice, it was very competitive,” Brady said. “He’s a very competitive person. He wants to try to win every play and hopefully we can have a good plan against that entire defense.”
Brady will be plenty familiar with the Titans secondary when the two teams square off tomorrow. In addition to Butler, former Pats cornerback Logan Ryan will be in Titans blue.
“They’ve gone on to have some really great contracts and I’m happy for them,” Brady said. “They really earned it. I think when you’re a great player, you get the opportunity to do that. I know we can’t keep everybody but obviously happy for them and what they’ve accomplished. They were hugely impactful in what we were trying to do in the roles that they played.”
Butler’s struggles in 2018 have been well documented. According to Pro Football Focus, Butler ranks near the bottom of the league in receptions allowed, yards allowed, and touchdowns allowed.
Ryan, meanwhile, has been solid as a slot cornerback. He likely will draw the Julian Edelman matchup tomorrow.
“Logan was a great player, still is,” Brady said. “(He has) incredible awareness and (is) just such a smart player.”
Brown’s back
Patriots left tackle Trent Brown returned to practice after missing Wednesday and Thursday with an illness.
He’s listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game at Tennessee. Also questionable are: tight end Rob Gronkowski (back/ankle), running back Sony Michel (knee), linebacker Dont’a Hightower (knee), offensive lineman Shaq Mason (calf) and tight end Jacob Hollister (hamstring).
Gronkowski has missed two of the past three games. Michel did not play in Weeks 8 or 9. Mason missed the Week 9 victory over the Packers, as well. All three players participated in a limited fashion this week.
Homecoming for Obi
After being released by the Raiders, strong safety Obi Melifonwu, a talented second-round pick from the 2017 draft, visited a handful of NFL teams.
He opted to sign with his hometown franchise.
Melifonwu, who grew up 40 minutes northwest of Gillette Stadium in Grafton, remembered rooting for the Patriots as a kid. He was a fan of the standout safeties from early in the dynasty.
“Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison are two I definitely watched,” Melifonwu said. “The team as a whole — Ty Law, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Deion Branch, all of them. I was a huge fan.”
Melifonwu was in high school when his new teammates, Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty, were drafted by the Pats.
“Yeah, those are two guys both have a lot of range, both can tackle,” Melifonwu said. “They definitely stress that here, tackling. Both can do a lot of things for the defense to play multiple roles, and that’s something that I envy, being a guy that can be ver- satile and help with a lot of different things.”
At yesterday’s press conference, coach Bill Belichick indicated the 6-foot-4, 225pound Melifonwu “possibly” could have some positional versatility.
“We’ve really only had him for a couple of days so we’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said. “He has good size. He’s smart. He learns quickly. He’s athletic. We’ll see what he can do. I don’t know.”