New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick brought up the Pittsburgh Steelers while making a point about New England's success as an NFL "outlier" of sorts.
Speaking as a guest at the Salesforce World Tour event in Boston, Belichick discussed the Patriots' sustained success. He reached back to 2000, when two NFL teams ran a 3-4 defense, he says -- the Patriots and Steelers.
Pittsburgh, of course, ran Dick LeBeau's 3-4 scheme, the principles of which still remain in the Steelers' defensive sets under new coordinator Keith Butler.
As ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss reports, Belichick told the crowd that half the league played a 3-4 defense by 2005.