Deon Butler's Rookie Diary

Deon Butler is a rookie comfortable enough to give the veterans a hard time. Earlier this week, when defensive end Darryl Tapp asked him to sign two footballs, Butler jokingly gave Tapp veteran-like grief.

After laughing at a couple of Butler's jokes, Tapp looked at the skinny wide receiver and barked, "Sign the ball, rook!"

And the rook signed the ball.

Being a rookie is knowing when to obey.

In this week's installment of his rookie diary, Butler talks about his basketball skills, his team's resolve to be a winner again and his fashion faux pas last Sunday in Dallas.

'I won't be going on Match.com anytime soon'

"I've just been chillin' this week. On my day off, on Tuesday, I washed some clothes and paid some bills. I still feel like such a grown up when I pay those bills. That feeling hasn't left me yet. It's kind of cool, even though I get a little lighter in the wallet, in the bank account. I also went down to the front lobby of my condo and talked to the concierge a little. I'm used to going home and locking myself up after practice, so I don't get down there very much. I ran into a woman who was on Match.com, and I was like, "Match.com? What's that all about?' I made fun of her a little bit and looked over her shoulder for a while. It was nice just to be a resident and not someone who just kind of comes and goes. Don't get it wrong, though: I won't be going on Match.com anytime soon. I just wanted her to show me what it was all about."

'Are you going to quit?'

"After the game Sunday, I had — we all had — that same feeling of disappointment. I felt we could've played a lot better. I know we're a better team than our 2-5 record shows. Now, with what we're going through, it's just something that tests your character as a player, as a person. Are you going to quit? No, we're not going to quit.

"The one thing the veteran guys on the team keep saying is, as crazy as it seems, as crazy as it is to me, we're not too far behind as far as getting a chance to get back in our division race is concerned. No one in our division is really pulling away. Arizona is leading the NFC West, and they're — what? — two games in front of us? It's not impossible to come back from that if we get back to the basics, take it game by game and play the way we know we're capable of playing. We've got our backs up against the wall, and we're prepared to do something about it. So, we're going to try to get one (victory) under our belt, and get it going from there."

'Lawyer Milloy came through like a true veteran'

"One funny thing about the Dallas trip was that I didn't have any cuff links for my shirt. I need cuff links. I've never had cuff links. So I had my suit all laid out. I put on my shirt, and I realized there were no buttons. I was like, 'Am I going to ask somebody for help? Or am I going to go out with my sleeves hanging loose and have everybody making jokes? I asked around, and Lawyer Milloy came through like a true veteran and lent me some cuff links. First I went to fashion expert Nate Burleson, and then I asked our equipment guy, and he pointed me to Lawyer. Thank God he had an extra pair for me to use.

"So I've got to go buy me some cuff links now. It never dawned on me that these new suits would have shirts that needed cuff links. Now that I'm in a new tax bracket and all, I guess I have to step up my clothing game. I understand now. I'm ready now. I'm ready."

'Now, I can play a little basketball, too'

"My brother, Lee, came out to Dallas for the game. It was really good to see him. He played college basketball at Miami. He played one year of football growing up, but even though he says he could've been really good at it, football wasn't his thing. He was a finesse guard.

"Now, I can play a little basketball, too. I've got to get out and show the guys how much game I've got. I wasn't the deadliest scorer, but I was an assist machine. I was a good shooter until I started lifting weights for football. For me, gaining five pounds is like a miracle, so I really had to hit the weights hard. I got stronger, but it messed up my jumper. But I can play.

"In college, Daryll Clark, the current Penn State quarterback, didn't think I could dunk. And you know how it is when somebody challenges you to dunk. You tell them to stand under the rim, and then you run up there and try to dunk on them. And I clearly dunked on Daryll Clark in front of the whole team. I dunked on him with two hands. So if the guys on our team don't think I can dunk, watch out! I may have to get my jumper back though, because these guys in here are kind of tall and might abuse me if I try to dunk on them."

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com, Twitter: @Jerry_Brewer