X’s and Oooh’s: What Happened to Hakeem Butler?

Each week, X’s and Oooh’s will bring you inside the game with some film analysis of a topic that caught my eye during the weekend slate of action.

If you had told a Battlehawks fan that St. Louis would put up 30 points in their season opener, that fan might surmise that WR Hakeem Butler had a big day. Maybe a couple of catches, at least one long gainer, and a touchdown.

In defeating Houston on Friday night, however, Butler was held catch-less on just two targets. I wanted to go back and rewatch the St. Louis offense to see if this was a result of Houston’s defense scheming to take away arguably the best receiver in spring football, if it was a quirk of the Battlehawks’ offense on this evening, or something else.

I started by observing what defensive players lined up opposite Butler. This was a little difficult as I only had access to the television tape of the game, which especially limits how much you can glean from routes and coverage. Nevertheless, Houston did not have one of their corners travel with Butler all game. At various points, he was guarded by Damon Arnette, Rayshad Williams, Corn Elder, Keenan Isaac, and Marquis Wilson. Notably, one of the team’s top corners from a year ago, Colby Richardson, was inactive.

Butler was playing his first game with a new offensive coordinator, and a new quarterback. He clearly had a strong rapport with A.J. McCarron, but even though Manny Wilkins has been in the system for a few years and has worked with Butler in practice, the two may not have the same chemistry, at least right away.

Indeed, in the two games Wilkins started last year, Butler had six targets in one game, but just three in the other. That lack of familiarity could’ve played a role here as well. Wilkins threw the ball 22 times against Houston, limiting Butler’s opportunities for targets, especially when accounting for plays designed to get the ball into others’ hands, like a bubble screen to Jahcour Pearson or swing pass to the back out of the backfield. It was a run-heavy game script because of how successful the team was on the ground against Houston.

Despite seeing two targets, Butler was open other times where Wilkins either didn’t see him or didn’t think he could get him the ball. There may have also been a play or two where Wilkins, an accomplished runner, took off from the pocket too early rather than letting the play develop. Let’s look at a couple of these plays.

1st Drive

The game began with Butler being defended by CB Corn Elder on the first snap. He moved into the slot on the second snap, where he played 17 of his 48 snaps. The first time he had a real opportunity to get the ball was later on that drive. FOX even showed a replay of it later on. Here is the key still image from that play:

Butler is indicated above by the blue arrow. Though he’s behind a defender at that moment, Wilkins could’ve moved the defender in the middle with his eyes to open a clearer throwing lane, or tried to thread the ball over the defender and to Butler, who had plenty of room to work upfield behind the safety. However, Wilkins took off, feeling the heat as the pocket was closing in on him.

2nd Drive

Butler’s next opportunity came on 1st-and-10 from the Houston 15-yard line.

This was a play that appeared built to get Butler the ball, as he’s washing down the line of scrimmage, moving from the slot in the right to the left. However, Houston created enough trash in front of him that by this point, Wilkins has already taken his eyes off Butler and moved to his second option on the right side of the formation. It’s also possible Butler was a decoy here, getting the defense to move to one side of the field to guard him, opening up the other side of the field for an open receiver on the backside of the play.

3rd Drive

On the first play of the second quarter, Butler was open again running a slant toward the end zone. However, for the second time with Butler in his sights, Wilkins opted to run with it. He took off despite not facing any pressure, gaining four yards. This play was noted on the FOX broadcast by Joel Klatt. Below is his diagram of the play, with the circling of Butler added by me:

3rd Quarter

The final play I want to note came on 4th-and-1 with 9:15 left in the third. Butler again comes across the formation at the snap, and this time is open. A defender is in Wilkins’s face as he boots out to his left, so it’s unclear as to whether Wilkins actually has a throwing lane to find Butler. The TV copy makes it difficult to see whether the defender is in Wilkins’s line of sight.

Butler was visibly frustrated after this failed conversion attempt, throwing up his hands at the end of his route.

Final Analysis

In viewing the film, there were several plays where Butler seemed to be moving at half-speed compared to everyone else on the field. Then, the week two injury report came out and Butler was listed with a hamstring. Depending on when that developed, it could’ve played a part in his lack of targets last Friday night (he did play 68% of the team’s offensive snaps).

The images above show that offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan did set up plays for Butler, though either due to good coverage by Houston (rookie CB Rayshad Williams made a nice play to knock a pass away from Butler in the second quarter, but then was flagged for pass interference after a review in the fourth quarter) or indecision by Wilkins, the connections were never made. St. Louis didn’t find themselves in position to need to force the ball to Butler given they had a healthy hold on the win from pretty early on.

In order for Butler and the other receivers to be successful this year, Wilkins needs to show more willingness to stand in the pocket, faced with pressure, and to pull the trigger. His legs are a huge asset for sure, and it will make the Battlehawks offense more dynamic. But they still need to show the ability to stretch the field in the passing game, something Butler has done the last two seasons.