Michael Irvin: "Bill Belichick changed the course of the NFL"
Michael Irvin, who is one of the Patriots biggest supporters, doesn't miss a chance to get under Faulk's skin by bringing up the Patriots.
CSNEE
I mess with him all the time,” said Irvin. “I say, ‘It’s because of [the Rams] that all of these new coaches got an opportunity to come into this league. The league was old-fashioned and trying to build dynasties. The next dynasty was supposed to [St. Louis’] Greatest Show on Turf. But they didn’t win that Super Bowl and here comes Bill Belichick with a system, a system beating all those great players. ‘We’re gonna have a system in place and we’re gonna beat you.’ Now everybody has been looking for that system. That’s why Chip Kelly and all these guys get a chance to get in the league now. Because of the great Belichick. And he stomped out that dynasty role. It was SF, we had our dynasty, the Rams were supposed to be the next. They had that kind of team and won one Super Bowl because of what the great Bill Belichick did. That’s why I say he’s one of the greats, Altered the course of the NFL, man. Now everybody’s trying to get a head coach with some kind of system. Do you see what I’m saying? That’s incredible to me. I kill Marshall with that. I kill him all the time.
Irvin has a great point here. The NFL is a win now league and if a new coach can't turn a program around in a couple of years they are fired and the team moves onto the next coach. Resulting in many of these franchises getting stuck in a viscous cycle of rebuilding.
When Belichick took over the Patriots, he implemented his system. The "Patriots Way" was all about getting players to buy into a team first mentality, essentially saying a team playing together is better than a team loaded with talent. Talent is nice, but the problem with just relying on talent is eventually that talent dries up or hits the free agency market and goes to another team. What Belichick has created is a system that is sustainable. That's evident by the Patriots being one of the premier teams for well over a decade. Of course, having Tom Brady has definitely helped.
Irvin also had this to say about the Patriots early season woes.
No. No. No. Is it incredible? Yes. Am I surprised? Noooo,” Irvin said. “I wasn’t jumping off that wagon. And I was throwing life rafts to everyone that was. Y’all get these rafts and get back on this boat and stop tripping. Get back on this boat.
And about Peyton Manning.
I’m done with it. I am absolutely done with thinking that Peyton Manning can beat Belichick and Tom Brady. I refuse to think it ever again.
Its nice to see someone in the national media saying what we've all known for years.
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