HOUSTON — While many fans have been unable to forgive, forget or pardon the New England Patriots for their cheating scandal early this century, the greatest Steelers player of all has done just that.
Joe Greene says it’s time to recognize the Patriots for their accomplishments as coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady prepare to eclipse the Super Bowl record of four victories by Chuck Noll and quarterbacks Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana.
“Well, you know you have to have respect for what they do and what they’ve done,’’ said Greene, who lives in his native Texas after a long career with the Steelers as Hall of Famer, assistant coach and scout.
“I was dismayed about the buzz about them in the past, the cheating, the supposedly cheating and that’s unfortunate because they probably didn’t have to do any of that. I don’t know if they did, but they probably didn’t have to.”
Greene takes a practical approach to the possibility that Noll’s 37-year-old record of four Super Bowl victories will be snapped by Belichick, who won his fourth when the Patriots beat Seattle two years ago.
“They always say about records and accomplishments, they’re meant to be broken or surpassed. I must say that probably over the last two or three years, I’ve gained a different perspective about the Patriots and Belichick because of what goes on around the league.”
Sunday will be New England’s seventh Super Bowl in the past 16 years, all with Belichick as coach and Brady as quarterback. They will never go unbeaten as Noll and Bradshaw did, but if they beat Atlanta, it will make Belichick/Brady an impressive 5-2 and certainly the team of the 21st century.
The Steelers provided the initial push for that Patriots dynasty when they were upset in the 2001 AFC championship by New England at Heinz Field. The Patriots went on to win their first Super Bowl, added a second in the 2002 season and then claimed a third Lombardi Trophy in four years in the 2004 season.
That third title came after yet another AFC championship victory at Heinz Field. That one was tainted by the Spygate charges, and while Greene said he does not know if they did cheat, the NFL punished Belichick and the Patriots franchise severely with fines and loss of draft picks for doing so.
But Greene over the years has come to admire how Belichick, Brady and company do things.
“You don’t see that quality anywhere,’’ Greene said of the overall Patriots operation. “And I emphasis that — anywhere. They have a plan and execute their plan regardless of who they’re playing.
“It reminds me of the days when we played ... I would guess that coach Belichick not only coaches the football team, but he is probably more involved in all sides of the ball — offense, defense and special teams. He runs the show, and everybody knows it.”
Greene played and coached with the Steelers before free agency, but marvels at the way Belichick can take other teams’ sometimes troubled castoffs and incorporate them into his system.
“The running back they got from Cincinnati, Corey Dillon, was supposed to have all kinds of issues, but when he got to New England all you heard about him was running and scoring touchdowns and getting yards. Same thing they said about Randy Moss.”
The Steelers released LeGarrette Blount in the 2014 season after he walked out on the team in a game at Tennessee. New England quickly welcomed him, and he helped them win a Super Bowl that season. He ran for 18 touchdowns this season.
“Blount, all he’s been doing is running and scoring touchdowns,’’ Greene said. “That’s another one.
“I have a lot of respect for them. You don’t see these guys bucking their system, you don’t see that lunacy on the field with the Patriots. That’s a plus for me.”
Without mentioning Antonio Brown by name, Greene referenced the wide receiver’s stunning Facebook Live video in the Steelers locker room while Mike Tomlin talked to his team right after a playoff victory in Kansas City.
Greene said that kind of thing never would happen in New England.
“I could probably bet every little penny I got that there’s no way — no way — you would ever, ever, ever get one of those players to do some of the dumb stuff that one of our guys did a couple of weeks ago.”
Watching from afar, Greene believes the Patriots accomplished their success in similar ways to how Noll’s Steelers did it in the 1970s.
“I really do have a higher sense of appreciation for what they’ve done and what they’re doing. No doubt about it, they have a quarterback and you have to have one of those. You have to have the organization who stands behind the decisions from the people who make the football decisions, and it appears that is the case and they do a good job.
“And they have a system they’re going to run and if you find some kind of way to shut it down, it’s going to lead to deficits elsewhere and that’s how you play — you attack, you attack, you attack and when that gets defended, you go somewhere else.
“I’m familiar with that philosophy, that’s how Chuck was, whether on offense or defense — [opponents] have to stop what you do. And if they do stop it, you expose somewhere else. That’s how we played the game. And the Patriots do it very well.
“It’s not a mistake when you’ve had the consistency they’ve had over this decade and beyond.”
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com and Twitter @EdBouchette.
First Published: January 31, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
