ALLEN PARK, Mich. — One of the best trades Bill Belichick has made as general manager of the New England Patriots was plundering linebacker Kyle Van Noy from the Detroit Lions.
The Patriots sent a sixth-round pick to the Lions for Van Noy and a seventh-round pick at the 2016 deadline. He almost immediately became an impact player in New England and has gone on to become a starting fixture in a Patriots defense that’s gathered two more Super Bowl rings since he came aboard.
We bring this up because the Patriots are in Detroit this week to hold joint practices with the Lions.
“Feels good to come back a winner and say ‘Hi’ to people I haven’t seen in a while,” Van Noy said Monday.
“I’m happy to get to work and get to hang out with my teammates and see old faces, the behind-the-scenes people that don’t get enough credit. The Elton Moores, the cafeteria people, Gina (Newell), there are so many I could just name behind-the-scenes people that have been so good to me and my family that I gotta show them love when I come back. They’ve been amazing to me and always have and always will be.”
Belichick — somewhat surprisingly — gave his theory on why Van Noy was a better fit in New England than he was in Detroit before Matt Patricia took over for Jim Caldwell as head coach.
“Kyle’s done a good job for us,” Belichick said. “He fits well into our scheme. The scheme that he was in before I think was maybe not as good of a fit for him, similar to when we got [Roosevelt] Colvin from the Bears.
“Sometimes, some players just fit into one situation and one scheme better than another. Kyle’s done a great job for us. He’s smart, he’s very instinctive, he does a good job with communication, he can call signals. We have multiple signal-callers on our defense, and that’s a good thing that helps us with communication and adjustments. He’s made a lot of big plays for us since we got him. I’m glad we have him. He’s done a great job.”
Van Noy didn’t exactly want to echo his head coach’s sentiment. He is in a contract year, after all.
“I don’t want to sit here and tailor my skills and sit here — that would be like I’m only good for a certain scheme,” Van Noy said. “I’m not going to go that route. Bill and when Matty P (Matt Patricia) was there and Flo (Brian Flores) and (Jerod) Mayo and all of these coaches I’ve played with in New England have put me in a spot to succeed, play to my strengths and put me in a position to succeed. I respect that and I’m happy to be a part of it. I would just leave it at that.
“I don’t want to take away from my talent and my skill and my capabilities if I said that was the reason if that makes sense.”
