Butler’s star continues to shine
TWO YEARS AFTER CAREER-CHANGING PLAY, CORNERBACK REMAINS IN SPOTLIGHT
When the Patriots returned from practice to the JW Marriott Galleria on Thursday, the players filtered into a ballroom for their final media session of the week.
Ten players were assigned to raised podiums, the rest relegated to seats at circular tables. Malcolm Butler found his nameplate atop a dais on a far end of the room, a prime spot that was reserved the previous two afternoons for the most prominent player in Super Bowl LI — New England quarterback TomBrady.
The scene was the latest example of how dramatically Butler’s life has changed in the two years since he made one of the biggest plays in Super Bowl history. In the week-long media frenzy that preceded Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz., Butler says he was engaged in conversation by one lone reporter.
“We got well acquainted,” Butler said, smiling.
At that point, Butler wasn’t even sure he would touch the field against the Seattle Seahawks. The undrafted rookie cornerback’s game-winning, goal-line interception turned him into an instant celebrity. Brady even gifted him the red Chevy truck he was awarded for being named the game’s MVP.
Two years later, Butler, 26, is the top cornerback on arguably the best team in the NFL. He has started every game the last two seasons and is a pivotal piece of a Patriots defense tasked with slowing down Matt Ryan and a high-powered Atlanta Falcons offense Sunday at NRG Stadium. Who will he cover?
Whether Butler covers Falcons superstar wide receiver Julio Jones is one of the biggest unknowns entering Super Bowl LI. The Patriots may opt to match up the 5-11 Butler one-on-one with Mohamed Sanu or Taylor Gabriel and double-team the 6-3 Jones with a bigger corner, such as the 6-1 Eric Rowe, and a safety.
Either way, Butler comes into this Super Bowl with a predetermined important role. Last time, he was on the field for his interception of Russell Wilson only because of a special, threecornerback package the Patriots employed in certain goal-line situations.
“It’s just amazing to see where he constantly has grown,” Patriots safety Duron Harmon said. “He hasn’t let one play define him. He continues to get better and better. He continues to grind. He continues to learn the game. It’s exciting to see where he’s going to keep growing to because, I mean, he’s still young. He’s going to keep getting better, and I’m just excited for him.”
The Patriots discovered Butler when poring over the list of players unsigned after the 2014 draft. The University of West Alabama product became one of 10 to 15 players the team invited to an extended rookie tryout at its complex in Foxborough, Mass. Coach Bill Belichick and his staff identified a player with a skill set they felt could mesh with their defensive scheme.
“I’d say once we saw Malcolm on the field, after the first workout it was pretty obvious that we felt like this was the type of kid that we want to work with,” Belichick said. “He was raw technique-wise and all of that. He had a good training camp and got a little bit of playing time during the year.”
Butler is said to play bigger than his measurables. Since becoming a starter at the beginning of last season, the game has slowed down to him, he said, and he has improved in areas such as film study, taking care of his body and understanding the game.
“I started understanding football when I got with the New England Patriots,” he said. “I was just playing football (before). When I got here, I started to understand football.”
The potential Butler vs. Jones matchup became a popular story line last week when social media sleuths uncovered a former tweet of the cornerback’s. In December 2012, when Butler was still in col- lege, he tweeted, “I wanna check julio jones ... lol ...... real talk doe .” As soon as the Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, the tweet had new life.
“I was just a young kid in college trying to work hard and trying to achieve my dream, and it came true,” Butler said. “That hard work paid off. I had a vision, and all you have to do is just believe in yourself and work hard. Dreams come true, just like that tweet did.
“To all the guys in college across the globe, if you believe in yourself, that is an example right there.” Interception still a big story
Even two years later, most of the questions Butler fields pertain to his famous interception. Television cameras were a fixture in front of his podium Thursday as he was peppered with questions about seemingly every last detail of the Ricardo Lockette route he jumped to help deliver Brady and Belichick their fourth championship.
“That’s a well-documented story here,” Pats cornerback Logan Ryan said, smiling, in prefacing a lengthy answer he gave this week about Butler.
Butler will be asked about his first career interception the rest of his life. He understands it comes with the territory. He politely answered every query this week, regardless of how many times he was posed the same question. He stressed that Sunday’s Super Bowl is a new game.
It certainly has been a different week.
“During my first Super Bowl, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I was out there sitting at a table and looking at Darrelle Revis and Tom Brady (conducting interviews on the dais). Now I’m up here.
“Things changed really fast. You’ve just got to stay prepared on what’s most important, and the game is most important.”