Carolina Panthers: Vernon Butler making the most of his opportunity

The Carolina Panthers of certainly appreciated his contributions.

The bye week has been a boring one admittedly, and I can’t wait for the Carolina Panthers get back at it. Friday, Bill Voth of Panthers.com put together his weekly Grill Bill column, and there was definitely some interesting content in it.

One of the players that has had to step up with the injury to Kawann Short is Vernon Butler. Admittedly, Butler has struggled to find his groove sense he has been here. Whether it be lack of opportunity, or unpolished skills, Butler has had to face many obstacles. However, it appears that the game is slowing down a bit for him and he is making an impact when he is on the field. This is certainly good news for the Carolina Panthers in terms of seeing if Butler can make the most of his opportunity.

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On the season, Butler has played in four games. He has forced three fumbles, and recorded three sacks. In addition, he has recorded a quarterback hit and four tackles. He has done a little bit of everything for the Carolina Panthers. This certainly bodes well for the rest of his time in Carolina. He is playing on a contract year, so he is certainly peaking at the right time.

Voth had nothing but good things to say about Butler. In particular, he talked about his growth from a technical aspect. It makes sense why Butler has improved. Sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest differences.

"Well, he has an opportunity that he’s taking advantage of with Kawann Short out for the year. But from a technical standpoint, what Butler is doing best is finally using violent hands. It’s something he’s struggled to do consistently since he was drafted, and it appears that part of his light bulb is switched on."

It’s encouraging to see Butler progress. It will be interesting to see what he does in the second half of the season. He has now officially had a full first half in a starting role.

I could see him really becoming a staple of this defense for the remainder of the season. He has shown he can rush the passer. More importantly, he has shown he can make big plays when he needs to. Using those violent hands undoubtedly helps him shed blocks a little bit easier. Getting into the backfield seems to be the name of the game for him so far.

The Carolina Panthers have had some relative unknowns step up for them this season. Butler would certainly count as one of them. Now that he finally has a shot at playing time, he could become very well-known by the end of the year.