Bill Belichick Pumps Brakes On Micah Parsons-Lawrence Taylor Comparisons

Earlier this week, Bill Belichick brought up Lawrence Taylor on his own while talking about Michah Parsons.

“Very athletic and quick,” the Patriots head coach said of Parsons during a WEEI appearance. “Along the lines of a Taylor. That kind of athlete.”

But that’s about as far as he’ll go.

It’s no secret that Belichick believes Taylor, whom he coached while with the New York Giants, is the greatest defensive player in NFL history. As such, many wonder how Belichick feels about an increasing tendency toward comparing Parsons, perhaps the NFL’s current best defender, to Taylor.

Belichick dodged the question last season. But he took it head-on Wednesday morning with his team preparing to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

“I think comparing players like that is not really — I would just say, I wouldn’t put anybody ahead of Lawrence Taylor,” New England’s head coach said during a news conference. “Period. Now, maybe I’m prejudiced, but I saw that guy every day for over a decade, and he tilted the field for a decade.

“So, until somebody does that — and there’s a lot of great players; I’m not taking anything away from anybody else. There’s a lot of great players that have been in this league, that are in this league. But personally, I’m not putting anybody ahead of Lawrence Taylor. Not yet.”

Parsons is off to another fantastic start in 2023. After racking up 13 and 13 1/2 sacks in his first two campaigns, respectively, the superstar edge rusher posted four sacks in his first three games this season.

Barring injury, Parsons likely is a shoo-in to earn his third straight first-team All-Pro nod.

Containing Parsons will be priority No. 1 for the Patriots this weekend. Keeping him out of the backfield would go a long way toward New England upsetting the Cowboys and improving to 2-2 on the season.