Kyle Van Noy: Time with Patriots under Bill Belichick was ‘like going to football school’

The veteran linebacker discussed his time in New England and its influence on his game.

Kyle Van Noy and Bill Belichick traded compliments: While he’s no longer a coach in the NFL, Bill Belichick’s legacy is certainly alive and well. In some cases, it’s represented in players who have backgrounds in New England and continue to thrive in 2024.

One of the best examples of this is Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who at 33 years old is among the league leaders with six sacks in four games. Acquired by the Patriots in a 2016 trade, Van Noy grew into a versatile role in New England, helping the late-stage dynasty era defense to accomplish great things (including multiple Super Bowl wins). Both Belichick and Van Noy were recent guests on “The Pat McAfee Show,” trading compliments about each other.

“He’s very aware, instinctive, and crafty out there,” said Belichick, comparing him to fellow former Patriot Rob Ninkovich in terms of their multifaceted skillset.

“Kyle’s got a ton of experience. He’s a really smart guy. It’s hard to fool him on those kind of plays,” Belichick said after McAfee mentioned Van Noy’s success in stopping an attempted Bills trick play on Sunday night. “He really does a good job of sniffing those out.”

McAfee, knowing he was hosting Van Noy later in the show, mentioned to Belichick that the former Patriot “will feel very good” hearing praise from his former coach.

“You know, Bill, [I] appreciate him,” Van Noy said later during his appearance. “When you go to New England with Bill, it was like going to football school. It’s like football 101 school, and just being able to learn all of the things that I’ve learned from him and be able to put that in my game.”

As for attempted Bills trick play — which Van Noy ended by stripping the ball away from Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen as he tried to make a pass — the veteran linebacker cited Belichick’s influence before sharing his thoughts on what he saw.

“Honestly that play that you guys showed, I almost felt disrespected that they were trying my IQ out there a little bit,” he admitted.

“That situation there right there where they’re going wildcat with Josh Allen out there in no-man’s land — you know something’s up. So I just wanted to wreck s***, and that’ what I was able to do and made a play on the ball.”

Trivia: Kyle Van Noy was originally drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Who was the No. 1 overall pick that year?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: South Carolina

Scores and schedules:

Tonight, the Connecticut Sun face the Lynx in Minnesota for Game 2 of the WNBA semi-final matchup at 9:30 p.m. Connecticut leads the best-of-five series 1-0.

Also tonight, the Bruins host the Flyers in a preseason game at 7 p.m.

Tomorrow, the Revolution will face Houston on the road at 8:30 p.m. in a critical late-season clash as New England tries to keep its playoff hopes alive.

More from Boston.com:

• Kenley Jansen explained early Red Sox departure, Alex Cora confirmed it was a ‘manager’s decision’

Bill O’Brien explained the decision to draft Julian Edelman: The former Patriots coordinator shared some background on the team’s scouting work and rationale behind selecting the (eventual) wide receiver.

On this day: In 2000, the Patriots defeated the Broncos 28-19 to get the first win of the Bill Belichick era. Drew Bledsoe threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns, and Troy Brown caught five passes for 105 yards and two scores. Having started 0-4 under the new coach, the Patriots achieved what would be a rare feat during the ensuing two decades, getting a win in Denver.

Daily highlight: Running backs made plays all night during the entertaining Lions-Seahawks Monday night game. David Montgomery displayed incredible strength and balance to bounce off (and elude) tackles for Detroit:

And Kenneth Walker showed multiple levels of impressive coordination to avoid being tackled:

Trivia answer: Jadeveon Clowney