Bill Belichick, New England Patriots coaches don't praise CB Malcolm Butler

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had no issue singing the praises of several of his defensive stars, save for one.

Belichick credited either the play or technique of cornerbacks Eric Rowe and Jonathan Jones, defensive lineman Lawrence Guy and linebacker Elandon Roberts on Tuesday. As for the performance thus far this season of Super Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler, Belichick sang a different tune.

"Look, we're into a new season, so I don't think anybody's performance this season is really where it needs to be or where it will be," Belichick said when asked if Butler is performing as consistently this season as he has shown him in the past.

"We all need to do a better job -- players, coaches, all of us, across the board. So hopefully, we'll all continue to get better during the course of the year. That's why we practice and meet and come in here and work hard, so hopefully, we'll all be able to improve."

Butler, who has seen his role decrease, played in just 49 of his team's 65 defensive snaps in Sunday's 36-20 win over the New Orleans Saints. His number of snaps might have been lower had Rowe not left the game with a groin injury.

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia echoed Belichick's position when asked if Butler's reduced playing time in Week 2 was based on the cornerback's inconsistency or Rowe's play.

"I think Coach Belichick obviously answered a lot of those questions too," Patricia said. "In terms of asking me as far as for us defensively, you know it's all about this year. I think what things have gone down in the past doesn't really matter to us. We're trying to get better for this year and the guys that are out there and positions or where we think they need to be right now currently and to help us win that particular week.

"Certainly with Eric Rowe involved coming in and having a full offseason, OTAs, training camp and doing a good job for us from that standpoint, I think all those guys that go out there and play have earned some time on the field and whatever that is depending on how the game is going kind of just plays itself out when we're in the particular situation we're in as far as the game is concerned."