Is Jason Taylor (above, left) the finest, bravest, most loveable man Bill Belichick has ever met? Or is this just a bit of cheap-ass psychological war fare prior to an AFC East clash the Patriots ought to win easily? From the Miami Herald’s Jeff Darlington.
”I can’t imagine [Taylor] not being the Defensive Player of the Year this year,” Belichick said. “There’s nobody I’ve seen that has played anywhere close to the level that he’s at. He ruins a lot of games offensively for teams.”
Genuine praise? Or just hyping up his next opponent? Coach Nick Saban, one of Belichick’s closest friends, had mixed opinions about the compliment.
”I think that Bill has a lot of honesty and integrity, but I also think that anything he says or does is always to try to give his team some type of advantage,” Saban said. “That’s about as diplomatic a statement as I can make about a good friend.”
Taylor, who has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, said he certainly appreciated the compliment — even if Belichick might have had ulterior motives.
”It’s a compliment, but it’s probably a little bit of a mind game, too,” Taylor said. “He probably does a little bit of that, but that’s all right. I think I am tough enough to deal with it.”