Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn't buying Khalil Mack-Lawrence Taylor comparison

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick batted down a reporter's question that compared Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack to Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.

"Wait a minute -- we're talking about Lawrence Taylor now," Belichick told reporters Wednesday, per ESPN. "I'm not putting anybody in Lawrence Taylor's class. Put everybody down below that. With a lot of respect to a lot of good players, we're talking about Lawrence Taylor."

Belichick coached Taylor during his days as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator in the 1980s. Taylor, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999, had 132.5 sacks during his 13-season career and was named an All-Pro in nine of them. 

The Patriots play the Bears at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Mack is listed as day-to-day after suffering an ankle injury in Chicago's 31-28 loss to the Dolphins last week. 

Mack, a three-time Pro Bowler, has sparked the Bears (3-2) this season with five sacks, four forced fumbles and one interception. While Belichick said Mack is out of Taylor's league, he was still complimentary. 

"He's big, strong and fast," Belichick said. "He's got a lot of power. He does a good job of power-rushing and he's fast enough to get the edge. He has good ball-awareness, so he does a good job of tackling the quarterback when he has to tackle him, but if he has a chance to get the ball out, he's got good ball-awareness and can strip it out."

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