Belichick, Butler Open Up About Super Bowl On Patriots All Access
BOSTON (CBS) -- The game of football is certainly a funny one.
Look no further than Super Bowl XLIX, which was decided by just a single yard on a single play by an undrafted rookie. Chances are no one could have predicted how that game would end, with Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler, the undrafted rookie, picking off Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson at the one-yard line with the Patriots clinging to a 28-24 lead.
Yet, given his 40 years of coaching experience in the NFL, New England's Bill Belichick had an inkling that just a single yard could be the determining factor in the biggest game of the season.
"It's funny, one of the things we talked about going into the playoffs was how the game, or in this case the entire season, could come down to one yard -- the ability to make it or the ability to defend it. That's literally what it came down to with 20 seconds to go in the game, we're talking about one yard to decide the championship," Belichick told Scott Zolak on Friday night's Patriots All Access on WBZ-TV. "That was a close win and as good as it gets."
Butler impressed the Patriots in training camp and throughout the preseason, earning a spot on the 53-man roster out of the gate. But when Brandon Browner returned from his four-game suspension, the opportunities were few and far between for the 24-year-old.
That was until the week leading up to the Super Bowl. As he had been all season, Butler was impressive in practice, and the Patriots coaches took notice. So when they needed Butler to take over for the struggling Kyle Arrington in the second half, they were confident he would be up to the challenge.
"He had a couple of interceptions in practice and I remember walking off the field with [defensive coordinator Matt] Patricia and [cornerbacks] coach [Josh] Boyer, and we were all saying, 'this guy is probably going to make a big play in this game because that's the way he's practiced.' It certainly turned out that way," Belichick said. "Malcolm is an instinctive player and he has explosive quickness. The way he closed on that under route and made the play was impressive."
While many were puzzled the Seahawks called a passing play on second-and-goal from the one-yard line, the Patriots knew it was coming. They had practiced defending that play in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, with Butler struggling as late as Wednesday of Super Bowl week. But by game time on Sunday, he was prepared to defend it when the time finally came.
"I got beat on it. I bagged back too much at practice, I gave ground," Butler recalled to WBZ-TV's Steve Burton on All Access. "[Then in the game], they called goal-line three corners. I thought they should be running it, but I'm a pass defender first so I was thinking pass. They should have run it but they didn't, and that was a good thing. The formation of the stacked receivers came back to my memory and I knew what was coming.
"[Brandon] Browner jammed the top receiver up well to let me get around, and I just had confidence and believed in myself," said Butler. "I broke on the ball and was focused on the ball. You can't do anything without the ball."
Once he came down with the football, Butler knew his life was about to change. He had gone from an undrafted college player who used to work at Popeyes to a Super Bowl hero.
"[I'm] super blessed," he said, spending most of the interview near tears. "It's been a long journey."
Butler said he saw just how important his play was when over 750,000 fans lined the snow-covered streets of Boston for Wednesday's victory parade. He received some of the loudest ovations from the crowd, and recalled hearing such things as "Super Bowl Hero" and "Pick Master."
"Malcolm has competed as hard as anybody all year," said Belichick. "It's hard to make the team and it's hard to make the 53-man roster. There were times when he was on it and times when he was off it, but he competed for playing time, and competed all the way up to the final practice in Arizona."
"I was anxious to get in the game when big plays were given up. I just wanted to go out there and prove they could trust me," said Butler.
