The boisterous and exciting weekend was punctuated by Belichick’s comments, which were incredibly complimentary of the former Lions star.
Sanders Humbled, Honored by NFL Draft Comments
Belichick took the floor and spoke with candor, honor and grace as Sanders listened intently. According to Belichick, the New York Giants had to adopt an entirely new gameplans to contain Sanders, one that included listing every single defender as the “point of attack” on the field, even ‘left side cornerbacks’ on a running play to the right side of the field. Belichick and the Giants’ gameplans were a testament to Sanders’ ability to run from one side of the field to the other without breaking a sweat, leaving defenders at every level of the defense gasping for air.
Belichick thanked his lucky stars that the G-Men had Lawrence Taylor to help put the fear of God into Sanders. Sanders certainly made fools out of the Giants, Patriots and other NFL teams, which is why Belichick called him the most challenging player he ever had to game-plan for in his life as an NFL coach.
Sanders, Belichick’s Contributions
Sanders retired ‘early’ in most NFL fans’ minds after ten seasons of incredible performances for Wayne Fontes, Bobby Ross and other Lions’ coaches. Sanders finished with over 15,000 yards and 99 touchdowns for the Lions after joining the team fresh off of winning a Heisman Trophy with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Belichick’s career win-loss record is 333-178. He finished his career second NFL in overall wins and first in NFL history in playoff wins. Don Shula is number one all-time with 347 wins. Belichick had two Super Bowl winning seasons with the New York Giants and is widely credited for being the man who developed Tom Brady into arguably the best NFL QB of all-time.