New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick seems to be a big fan of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and paid him the ultimate compliment this week.
When asked about Allen ahead of the Patriots’ Week 17 matchup with the Bills, Belichick said that Allen reminded him of a certain signal-caller he used to coach.
“Just kind of like Brady,” Belichick told reporters, via the Patriots’ official team website. “Once Brady got to a certain point there in 2003, that’s pretty much the way it was the rest of his career. It wasn’t really like that in 2002. It wasn’t like that in 2001. It certainly wasn’t like that in 2000.”
Brady’s NFL career began in 2000, but he didn’t get a chance to start until 2001. That season, he led New England to a Super Bowl championship, the first of six titles that Brady would ultimately bring to Foxborough. The Pats then failed to make the playoffs in 2002, but in 2003, Brady proceeded to guide the Patriots to another Super Bowl victory in what had been his most dominant campaign up until that point.
“Once he got to a certain point there about the midseason of the 2003 season and then the playoffs. From then on, it was his level of performance and play and consistency was at the very top of the league,” added Belichick.
Apparently, Belichick sees something similar in Allen, who is now in his sixth season as Buffalo’s starting quarterback.
Of course, by this point of Allen’s career, Brady had already won three Super Bowls, so it’s not an exact parallel, but Belichick was obviously referring more to Allen’s progression.
This season, Josh Allen has thrown for 3,778 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while completing 66.5 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 93.7. He has also rushed for 413 yards and 13 scores while averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
The Bills have won three games in a row and are now 9-6 on the year. They currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the AFC.
Meanwhile, Bill Belichick and the Patriots are 4-11 and will miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
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