Jeff Buttle: This Season

[Bennett]

I heard that Jeff seems to have had really a good training during the summer. I am happy for him. I also am very happy that he is injury free this season. Although it seems that he had some struggles in GP series, I trust that he will come back strong either in Natinals or Worlds.

I heard in the beginning of the season that he would try a quad. Do you think that he would try one in Nationals? If he is going to 4CC (would he?), would he try that there before the Worlds?

I also wonder what you may think of his new SP so far. I may like his last season's SP better because the piano, costume, and performance all went so well. But this new one is nice, too. I am also happy that he kept his LP this season. That's really a masterpiece. I hope to see a clean one at Nationals as he did last season.:agree:

 

[silver.blades]

wether he trys a quad or not at Nats will depend on wether or not he's jumping better. His jumps at his 2 GPs were really tight and he was having trouble with his 3F-3T which has been a consistant jump for him. Unfortunatly, he'll probably never have a consistant quad, I think he's only ever landed 2 in competition and than was 4 or 5 years ago. His best bet is probably to concentrate on improving his other jumps and skating clean. I really hope he skates well and Nats, I don't want him to lose his title just yet, although the way Patrick's been skating, he probably only has one more year of being the top in Canada.

 

[Taan]

i think Jeff should focus on a clean sp which he has failed to do this season!!!

as an avid jeff fan , i selfishly want to see a clean performance of his pagliacci sp and if i dont get one im gonna be very

 

[Bennett]

I hope to see his clean SP, too

 

[slutskayafan21]

It is quite obvious at this point the quad is just out of his reach. His best bet is to do what Weir did this GP season, focus on what he can do well, skate cleanly, and hope some of the other guys make mistakes. Yeah it isnt totally comfortable but it is his best plan at this point. There isnt the same frusteration for him not doing a quad as some have with Weir, since Weir does beautiful quads in practice according to many observers, while Buttle clearly cant do the quad and isnt going to master it at this point of his career.

To be honest I do think his best days competively speaking are behind him. When he won his medals only Plushenko and Lambiel had the package to be better then him. Now though you have Joubert returning to form, and regardless what one thinks of Joubert's overall skating, the judges like him and with his jumping ability so far above Buttle's, Jeff wont beat him barring something unforseen. You have Lysacek gaining the quad, which combined with his consistency and that judges seem to like him, he is blocking Buttle's path as well. You have Verner really making huge strides, also armed with quad, and you have Weir albeit quadless so far too returning to his top form this season. Not to mention while Plushenko is gone (atleast appears gone) Lambiel is still there, and while has his own jump issues at times, his jumps are not more inconssitent then Jeff's, he has the big edge in difficulty with his quads, and he can pretty much outscore Jeff on anything, PCS, spins, or footwork, so it is hard to see Jeff beating him unless he goes squeeky clean and Lambiel has a worse-then-average skate at the same event. Then you look at Jeff specifically and his PCS, what he has relied on, are dropping, pretty much all of these guys are now beating him on the PCS with a good skate. More and more guys have level 4 spins and level 3 footwork. It is hard for him to find any advantage anymore in the points, especialy one that could negate his jump deficit.

I still enjoy watching him skate and I hope he does skate until 2010 as I do enjoy watching his performances. However competitively speaking, his best was 2005-2006 IMO. Buttle will remain a top 10 skater whose skating you can appreciate and enjoy for its finer qualities, particularly if it not marred by too many major jump miscues, even though he will no longer be seriously considered for major medals.

 

[Ladskater]

Slutskayafan21 obviously did not read the new rules about bashing a skater. Anyway, I for one am not worried about Jeff nor think he is finished as a competitor. Yes, the quad is not under his belt at the moment, but really does he need it? He is head and shoulders above the field when it comes to moves- in-the-field, and quality edges, line and attention to detail - not to mention musicality. Someone mentioned Patrick Chan being a threat at Canadians, but really Jeff has the experience over Patrick at this point. Patrick still has some refinements to work on.

I was a little disappointed he did not go with a new long program for the new season, but I am sure he has a reason. I always look forward to seeing new material from Jeff. I love his short program.

Anyway, it is early in the season. The other guys mentioned may have already peaked - Jeff can come on strong for the rest of the season.


Go Jeff. I believe in you.

 

[Bennett]

It seems that he had really a good summer training in California. I suspect that some inconsistency in his GP series could be due to psychological pressures. But he is so experienced that I trust that he could eventually manage it.
I am glad that he kept his LP because it is really a masterpiece and I wanted to see a clean one again.

Does Canada have only one spot for the Worlds?

 

[laceup]

I'm not sure the judging panel here in Canada is ready for a change but I think Patrick is knocking on Jeff's door and so is Fedor Andreev who is back after a few years off and while he didn't attempt a quad at the Challenge, he certainly had the rest of the package. I think the mens event is going to be very interesting .... I can't wait

 

[npa]

wether he trys a quad or not at Nats will depend on wether or not he's jumping better. His jumps at his 2 GPs were really tight and he was having trouble with his 3F-3T which has been a consistant jump for him.

I must say, that in training he did really greate 3 ax, combos 3+3, he did greate 3 ax before LP - its all nerves. In traning he skated really good (i talk about CoR)

 

[slutskayafan21]

Slutskayafan21 obviously did not read the new rules about bashing a skater. Anyway, I for one am not worried about Jeff nor think he is finished as a competitor. Yes, the quad is not under his belt at the moment, but really does he need it? He is head and shoulders above the field when it comes to moves- in-the-field, and quality edges, line and attention to detail - not to mention musicality. Someone mentioned Patrick Chan being a threat at Canadians, but really Jeff has the experience over Patrick at this point. Patrick still has some refinements to work on.

I was a little disappointed he did not go with a new long program for the new season, but I am sure he has a reason. I always look forward to seeing new material from Jeff. I love his short program.

Anyway, it is early in the season. The other guys mentioned may have already peaked - Jeff can come on strong for the rest of the season.


Go Jeff. I believe in you.

ROTFL!!! Nothing I said in my post was bashing. It was a realistic accessment of his situation. You are obviously a Buttle fan so irked by my very honest and accurate evaluation of his current situation, while you live in a fantasy world. To each their own.

 

[Tinymavy15]

trying a quad is really nothing new for him, he has tried quite a few in the past. He has yet to land one (i think). I would not be surprised if he tried a quad somtime and fell on it.

 

[debdelilah]

trying a quad is really nothing new for him, he has tried quite a few in the past. He has yet to land one (i think). I would not be surprised if he tried a quad somtime and fell on it.

Just like with Johnny, there have been practice reports of Jeff landing quads and even 4-2 combos. The thing is, with both of them, it's not every practice and every quad that's clean--it's not consistent. If they can't do it very consistently in practice, when it's the only thing to focus on (no music and choreo and pressure), it's something they'll fall on/two foot/etc. in competition.

Jeff has actually landed a quad-triple combo in the short program, back when he was younger and before the back injury:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqawddIXws8

 

[chuckm]

Not quite the same as Weir. Weir has landed two-footed quads in competition in the last two years. Buttle attempted some in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, but hasn't actually landed one during those two seasons; he rotated a few and fell, that's about it.

 

[debdelilah]

Not quite the same as Weir. Weir has landed two-footed quads in competition in the last two years. Buttle attempted some in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, but hasn't actually landed one during those two seasons; he rotated a few and fell, that's about it.

In practice before the sp at 2007 Worlds, Jeff landed a 4-2 combo, and went on to skate a clean, though quadless, sp. Then in the lp practice, he was struggling even on 3As and we know what happened.

Johnny has said that he doesn't train quads all the time, because if he did, it would do too much damage to his body. You can see in the GPF warmup video that he kept trying quads, but they were underrotated(pretty severely) and he fell.
He also had a stress fracture from training quads when he was younger.

 

[Bennett]

Johnny indeed has had really a lot of injuries. I hope that Johnny recovers from the foot injury soon and that Jeff remains injury free throughout this season.

 

[chuckm]

Weir was falling on quads at the GPF practice sessions because he was skating with bursitis in his landing foot.

 

[laceup]

I know someone that has had it in both ankles for about 5 years - you live with the pain or get out, but don't use it as an excuse !!!

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Jeff at his age is now an old trouper. He knows what scoring big is all about. He is a very musical skater, and sometimes that gets in the way of the Technical. He seemed to me, even at SC, that he was tired of the whole game.

He does have a good arsenal of tricks and if he has to let down on his presentation, he should do just that. No reason why he can not compete with the Quad Gang of Four. His PCS should be up there with them.

Joe

 

[chuckm]

I know someone that has had it in both ankles for about 5 years - you live with the pain or get out, but don't use it as an excuse !!!

Weir did NOT use it as an excuse. He didn't even want anyone to know about it---his coach let the info slip.

 

[Mafke]

No reason why he can not compete with the Quad Gang of Four. His PCS should be up there with them.

"should" is the operative word here as male skaters' PCS tend to track closely with whether or not they can land a quad.