Articulate Athletes, More Adjective/Adverb Confusion

Lindsay Soto, a normally well-spoken sports journalist in Los Angeles, introduced an addition to her broadcasting team, Brandon Hancock, a brainy, former fullback on a University of Southern California football team that won a national championship. Soto introduced her new colleague as an academic All-American, graduating with a grade point average of 3.91. At that point Soto made her gaffe:

"He'll (Hancock) be able to articulate his thoughts perfect for us."

Soto meant to say perfectly. The word being modified is the verb articulate. "How will Hancock convey his thoughts?" Perfectly. The adverb is required.

However, because Hancock is so smart, he might be able to utter perfect thoughts. That would be demanding a lot, even of an academic All-American.