Bill Belichick on the late Dick Butkus: "A Chicago Bear if there ever was one"

FOXBORO -- The football world lost a legend on Thursday with the passing of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus. Tributes have poured in for Butkus, and on Friday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reflected on a player he called the "prototype middle linebacker."

And though the Bears franchise has had its share of all-time greats, Belichick has Butkus right at the top.

"He was a Chicago Bear if there ever was one," Belichick said Friday in Foxboro. "I got to spend a little time with him at the NFL 100, at the Super Bowl in Miami when they introduced us. That was great to get to meet him and talk to him. A ton of respect for Dick and his playing style, what he did for the game."

Butkus is considered one of the best defensive players in NFL history, an absolute behemoth in the middle of a vaunted Chicago defense for nine seasons from 1965-73. He played with a speed and agility the position had never seen before, and set the standard for middle linebackers for years to come. 

"At that time, the way he played, he was the ultimate middle linebacker," Belichick said Friday. "Tall, long too. He had a lot of length and it was hard to throw around, [and on the] inside."

Butkus, who was 80 at the time of his death, was a five-time First-Team All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.