It might be an awkward time to cite the eight-time Super Bowl winner and current North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick after his bizarre CBS Sunday Morning interview, but I feel this Belichick sound byte is apropos to lead off this story.
When Khalil Mack was in the middle of his peak, as an elite EDGE rusher, the comparison quickly went to New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor as the measuring stick.
Belichick quickly shot that notion down.
“We’re talking about Lawrence Taylor now,” Belichick said. “I am not putting anyone in Lawrence Taylor’s class.”
That’s a reverence from a guy who didn’t even give Tom Brady that kind of laurels—see Apple TV’s “The Dynasty” for reference— but goes to show where Taylor is in the immortals of pro football. When the Giants retired his No. 56, Phil Simms said during the presentation of Taylor’s number, “the greatest Giant of them all.”
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith is correct that Abdul Carter was blissfully ignorant or unaware with the request he was making to Lawrence Taylor.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.By all accounts, the intent wasn’t malicious by any stretch. Carter had been paying respect the Taylor leading up to the Draft. Carter comes from a place of respect, and Carter paid respect by living up to the high standard No. 11 is at Penn State. Carter’s mistake was like Dorothy’s from the Wizard of Oz realizing quickly she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. For Carter, New York City is a different animal than State College.
The retirement of a number is the ultimate tribute to a player and the fans alike. The last memories of seeing a New York Giant wearing No. 56 will be of Taylor.
The standard one would have to live up to would be nearly insurmountable.
Taylor’s resume reads of why he is arguably the greatest player in NFL history or at minimum the greatest defensive player of all time. Taylor is only one of two defensive players (Alan Page 1971) to win league MVP honors, along with being the first player to be NFL Defensive Player of the Year a record three times (JJ Watt and Aaron Donald have matched that distinction). Taylor was a 10-time All Pro and was a unanimous selection to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Where I feel Carter was ignorant was in his situational awareness. I get his euphoria, being the top primary defensive player selected and going to New York. I get his life has potentially changed forever. I feel Carter’s intentions, though pure, again at Penn State with the legacy of No. 11, there isn’t a finality to the number it is a legacy. He read the room wrong.
On the same segment, Smith’s counterpart, Dominique Foxworth attempted to defend Carter by analogizing Dallas Cowboys use of the No. 88 how it has been passed down from Drew Pearson to Michael Irvin to Dez Bryant and now with CeeDee Lamb. I get Dallas does that, but New York doesn’t. No one isn’t going to play in Pinstripes and wearing a single digit, or being a Met and wearing No. 41 (Tom Seaver), skating for the Blueshirts in MSG and wearing No. 11 (Mark Messier).
Cam Ward got No. 1 from Warren Moon in Tennessee. But in New York numbers don’t get unretired because those who earned that tribute earn the reward for having that for eternity. Carter has to earn his. New Yorkers don’t need a living tribute of Taylor or to be reminded because they already know how great he is. Carter hasn’t earned the right in New York to have immortality bestowed upon him. Carter is a Penn State immortal. His 2024 season is amongst the greatest in Penn State history. That’s what he has earned. New York doesn’t recognize Penn State or anywhere else, that is its nature. As Sinatra once sang, “if you can make it here, you can make anywhere.”
Just a friendly tip for Carter as he looks to pick his next number: No. 11 is retired too, and I doubt Phil Simms will be giving it up anytime soon.
