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Belichick, along with the Patriots front office do an immense job finding players that fit their scheme. I still question the decision to send Seymour to the Raiders, but at 10 - 2 who am I to argue?! Allthe more incredible when you look at their defensive rankings!

A word on Danny Woodhead, I was living in Nebraska when he was at Chadron State and went undrafted to the Jets. The kid is a humble being, two time NCAA DIV 2 Heisman equivalent winner. All time leading NCAA rusher, but got overlooked because of his size. The boy hs passion and heart and it shines through. Tremendous article on him on si.com yesterday, well worth a read.

You would have to rate Belichick as one of the greatest coaches ever to grace the NFL, in a similar bracket to Lombardi et al. in my book at least.

His biggest achievement is simply making the Pats greater than one single player. Anyone doesn't toe the line, and he is gone. See Randy Moss. The team spirit he creates from this and the desire it gives players to player for him is superb. No-one player is bigger then the team ethos means they can cope with losing anyone, just look at the season they had with Cassell at QB. Could anyother team in the NFL afford to lose a QB of Tom's calibre? Nope. The Colts would be broke without Manning. BB puts the team above any player, a true great.

Come to think of it, yes Bill Belichick does remind me of Alex Ferguson, not just in the way he seems to troop off the field as quickly as possible straight after defeats but also by the number of mentees he has raised having managed them in his playing or coaching teams - Keane, Bruce, Robson, Queiroz, Maclaren, Hughes for Ferguson; McDaniels (recently sacked by the Broncos), Mangini for Bellichick. And no mentee has really yet to live up to their mentor's name. Anyway, as long as Bill is at the Patriots, cannot see the Patriots falling off the top of their perch in the AFC East - just as Man United is now Ferguson's team, the Patriots are Bill's team and even when Brady retires, I'm sure they'll find someone who can replace him - Matt Cassel comes to mind.. Remember Drew Bledsoe anyone?

Really didn't expect the Patriots to be able to do it this year but the fact they have is testimont to Belichick's ability, and it doesn't hurt to have Brady pinging the ball around!

He's also known for skirting the rules- Remember the infamous "Spygate" scandal a couple of years back? Belichick got a $500,000 fine for that, and he'll probably be tainted somewhat because of it.

wilsonatmd.. To be honest, Alex Ferguson is not much of a saint either especially with the referees.. People will choose to remember what they want though. Being a Pats fan, I like to remember him as a coach who got the best out of everyone and one who put the me back in team.

Great article, but when will you stop ignoring the Atlanta Falcons? They are currently tied with New England with the best record and have a great coach, QB, and offense.

And who do you think will get to the Super Bowl?

Neil,

"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"

OK, so you get to go all Paxman and I get to go all Terry Jones. I don't dispute that Big Bill is as good as it gets or has ever got, but the methods are questionable and the fine was huge.

Even the geniuses get it wrong too, case in point the defeat to the Browns, where they were woeful. The Browns won by monstering Brady at every opportunity.

Julius Peppers has already put paid to one QB this season in Matt Stafford and will be coming at Brady like a freight train on Sunday. You still think the Pats are all that, or do you want to hedge your bets on that big road win?

Good article and it points out his greatness as a head coach. Just to add that he was also a great defensive coordinator when he designed the defensive scheme to thwart the offensive power of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 25 when the Bills outscored their playoff opponents something in the area of 85-10 or something like that in 1990-91. Immense.

But, remember, this is not his first coaching gig. He failed miserably his first time around in Cleveland. It's all about the personnel you build around you and having players that buy what your selling. And he's got that.

Bill is a fine product of an even great coach- Bill Parcells who turned out the likes of Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis who are leading the Chiefs renaissance, Sean Payton who changed the fortunes of the Saints, Tom Coughlin who led the Giants to the improbable 2007 run, and Tony Sparano who took a 1-15 Dolphins team a few years back to playoffs the next year and has made them competitive ever since.

Yes, he is a great coach. And I think the Patriots are one of the best organized franchises which reflects well on him but also on the owner of the Patriots. They consistently get the best out of their players.

I think it is a fair point that Belichick is from the great Parcells stable, but he's far and away the best of that group, and has quite possibly now eclipsed his mentor.

I've seen the argument bandied around that this year is BB's finest, and that's a pretty big call. 2001, when BB benched Bledsoe for Brady, and went and stifled the greatest show on turf was utterly against the odds (how much did last night's win reopen old wounds for Mike Martz). 2007 would have ended in the perfect season if not for David Tyree's still ridiculous catch with Rodney Harrison on his back. Is 2010 better than either of those years?

Statistically, the defense is not good - 2nd worse passing defense, 14th against the run, and 27th overall in ypg - and especially given this is supposed to be a QB-centric league, you'd think that would spell disaster... Offensively, 32 points per game speaks for itself, and obviously not turning the ball over is critical.

One thing that has helped is that because there is no obviously dominant team in the league, the extra coaching and management ability of Belichick is probably going to make a bigger difference than usual. And where it has really come to fruition is that BB - a defensive guru originally - has ruthlessly picked apart pretty much every opposing defense. Against the Steelers, Jets and Bears, three of the best defenses in the league, we've put up 39, 45 and 36 points respectively. (the 36 was worth double given the weather).

If any side in the play-offs figures how to keep Brady off the field, we might have troubles - and I fear that could happen against a team like the Saints with their own outstanding QB and a very bright head-coach. But unless that happens, and we win in North Texas next year, I'll probably buy it that this is BB's finest year. Even more than usual, he has bucked NFL conventional wisdom over what you need to win in this league.