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Bill Belichick: Khalil Mack is no Lawrence Taylor

By Bill Zimmerman

FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 14: Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots watches the clock in the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 14: Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots watches the clock in the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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Bill Belichick does not want to compare Khalil Mack to Lawrence Taylor.

Bill Belichick has made a habit of saying nothing in his weekly press conferences. He’s so lifeless and void of opinions that his dull statements have become entertaining.

Belichick, before he became arguably the greatest head coach in the history of the NFL, started off as a defensive assistant under Bill Parcells in the 1980s. So while Belichick doesn’t give many opinions, he was asked if Khalil Mack compared to Lawrence Taylor, and suddenly, Belichick came to life.

"“Wait a minute, we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor now. I’m not putting anybody in Lawrence Taylor’s class. Put everybody below that. I have a lot of respect for a lot of good players, but we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor.”"

Chicago Bears fans may see that an insult to Mack, but it really isn’t. As dominant as Mack can be, Belichick is simply stating what he thinks of Taylor and that nobody in the history of the NFL prior to and since has equaled the presence that Taylor had on the field.

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For younger fans that never saw LT play, Taylor’s stats don’t jump off the page. While they are excellent, they aren’t eye-popping. That’s because teams were that focused on trying to contain him at all costs. At the same time, Mack’s stats don’t jump off the page either for that exact same reason.

Many times with these types of defensive players, it’s not just about their stats, but it’s about how much focus offenses have to direct at them, which helps the rest of the defense play at another level higher.

Mack’s career is young. He has another five or so years to continue to dominate and if he does that, perhaps one day he can be compared to Lawrence Taylor but truthfully, he has a long way to go to reach that point.

At this point, Mack just needs to worry about getting healthy and terrorizing Tom Brady much like has other quarterbacks this year, if he keeps doing that for half a decade, perhaps the LT comparisons will come.

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