LT: 1 and only
Belichick: Don’t compare Mack to Taylor
No matter how dominant Bears star pass rusher Khalil Mack is, Patriots coach Bill
Belichick wanted to make one thing clear. He’s no L.T. “Wait a minute, we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor now,” Belichick said Wednesday. “Yeah, I’m not putting anybody in Lawrence Taylor’s class. So, you can put everybody down below that. With a lot of respect to a lot of good players now, but we’re talking about Lawrence Taylor.”
The Patriots visit the Bears this week and that means Belichick will get an up-close look at one of the game’s top outside linebackers, assuming Mack is ready to play after injuring his ankle last week.
Belichick knows the Patriots could have their hands full with a two-time All-Pro and havoc-wreaking edge rusher who has energized a struggling franchise. He’s just not ready to place Mack — or anyone else — on Taylor’s level.
“He’s already had a huge impact on the Bears’ defense in the first five games,” said Belichick who was Taylor’s position coach and then defensive coordinator with the Giants.
“So, I’m not taking anything away from him. You’re talking about Lawrence Taylor, you’re talking about probably the greatest defensive player in the history of the game. So, I think it’s a little early. I mean, look, I wouldn’t put anybody in Lawrence Taylor’s category. Not that I’ve seen. And I’ve seen a lot of great players.”
“What he said !!!! ,” Taylor tweeted in response to the press conference. KOBE DROPPED
Kobe Bryant has been dropped from the jury of an animated film festival after calls for the former NBA star’s ouster over a 2003 rape allegation.
Eric Beckman is the CEO of the organization behind the Animation Is Film Festival.
He wrote in a statement Wednesday that the festival’s stakeholders decided to drop Bryant to keep its focus on films.
An online petition had been circulating demanding Bryant be dropped.
Bryant released a statement saying he was honored to be invited and disappointed to be excluded.
He won an Academy Award in March for his part in making the animated short, “Dear Basketball.”