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Lawrence Taylor is considered by many to be the greatest defensive player to ever play in the NFL, including one of his former coaches with the New York Giants: Bill Belichick.
Belichick has always praised “LT” and how great he was to coach. But during an appearance on “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” Belichick revealed that the two-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time All-Pro linebacker’s instincts are what set him apart from the rest.
In fact, Taylor’s instincts were so good that he could tell who had him on any play just by looking across the line of scrimmage.
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New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor enters the field before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 8, 2024. (John Jones/Image Images)
“Taylor had instincts beyond instincts,” Belichick explained. “He was tremendously talented, but he also knew the game very well instinctively. He could tell who was going to block him, Sean, by how scared they were. If they weren’t nervous, they weren’t blocking him. If they were nervous, that’s who was going to block him.
“If the quarterback was nervous, it was a pass. If the quarterback wasn’t nervous, he was handing off the ball. You just noticed it.”
Taylor’s fear factor has been well documented, but simply looking at the expression of a player on the other side of the line and knowing where the ball was going is something else.
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Belichick began to see this from Taylor when he was the Giants’ second overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. At the time, Belichick was serving as the team’s linebacker and special teams coach under head coach Bill Parcells.
Belichick would eventually be promoted to defensive coordinator in 1985, a position he held through the 1990 season before his first opportunity as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
While he has coached great players (he said Tom Brady was his best player during his coaching career), Belichick simply couldn’t teach how Taylor would analyze an offense.
New York Giants players Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson celebrate with defensive coach Bill Belichick using a bucket of water during an NFC playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on January 4, 1987. (Jerry Wachter/Sports Illustrated)
“After two or three plays at the beginning of the game, I had a good idea of how they were trying to deal with him and what their game plan was for him,” he told Hannity. “Sometimes, it was what we had planned. Sometimes, he would come to the sideline and say, ‘Coach, they’re not doing what you said they were going to do. This is what they were doing.’ I trusted him because he could really see where they were looking, what their stance was, etc. Then he never came off the field. When I was a special teams coach, I had him out there. He covered punts, he rushed punts, he was on kickoff returns, he was in coverage. on kickoffs, he was in field goal protection and blocked field goals. He didn’t leave the field, but he made plays.
“He wasn’t a play-making guy. He picked his spots a little bit, but every time it was a big play, he did his best.”
Belichick even said he believed Taylor could have played multiple positions on the offensive side of the ball if he wanted to, showing respect for his talent during his days on the field.
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Taylor was instrumental in the Giants’ Super Bowl victories in 1986 and 1990, while on track to be named NFL MVP in 1986. He was also a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner.
In his 13-year career, all of them with the Giants, Taylor racked up 142 sacks, including a league-high 20.5 in that MVP season, 41 forced fumbles and nine interceptions in 184 games.
