Patriots Legend Shuts Down Bill Belichick Criticism

The New England Patriots dynasty produced a lot of heroes and icons throughout the Bill Belichick era. One of the most underrated players of the last two decades for the Patriots has been Vince Wilfork. The defensive tackle who spent 11 seasons in New England, winning two Super Bowls in the process, was a key contributor to consistently elite defenses the Patriots were able to put together during their title runs.

After being drafted in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Patriots, Wilfork became one of the best defensive linemen in the league, becoming a five-time Pro Bowler. He had a rare combination of elite physical tools, size, and athleticism that the Patriots saw early on and targeted in the draft.

Wilfork seems to realize the impact Belichick and the Patriots had on his NFL career. In an interview he gave to Jordy McElroy from PatriotsWire, he went out of his way to defend his former head coach.

"I think Bill deserves a lot more credit than what was portrayed in there. So I just stay away from it. I’m going to tell you like I tell everybody else. Bill Belichick is the best head coach that ever coached the game of football."

- Vince Wilfork on Belichick

Addressing the negative portrayal Belichick had in the documentary, The Dynasty: New England Patriots, Wilfork called him the best head coach ever. He even compared him to other all-time greats and defended his position.

"People can sit down and talk about Lombardi and Andy Reid and all of that good stuff, but let me tell you something: Lombardi didn’t have to deal with salary cap. And Bill did that with the salary cap and the way the game changed."

- Pats legend Vince Wilfork

Wilfork is the latest Patriots legend to come out publicly against the documentary. Rob Gronkowski, Rodney Harrison, and Devin McCourty had previously come to the defense of the iconic head coach. The main criticism was that there was too much emphasis on the later years of the dynasty when Belichick was perhaps not at his best, and not on the earlier years when the Patriots dominated the league.

Patriots fans are now eagerly waiting for what the future holds for Belichick. In the meantime, they are hoping that the post-Belichick era is off to a smooth start with first-time head coach Jerod Mayo at the helm.

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