Bill Belichick is one of the best head coaches in the history of the NFL. He is also apparently one of the most gracious, either praising his opponents or not saying anything at all. That's exactly what he did as he talked about New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.

The New England Patriots will be playing the Giants for their final preseason game, so the team will be looking to ensure that they are at their best. However, he also spared some praise for his opponents.

Per John Fennelly in USA Today Sports' Giants Wire:

“Always a good opportunity for us against the Giants. This is a good organization, a good football team. I think competing against them at the end of the preseason is always a good way to finish up the preseason, get ready to go and start the season,” Belichick said. “I think Coach Shurmur’s done a great job down there, really returning to fundamentals, basics, and you can certainly see that in their play in all three phases of the game.”

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It's important to note that the Pats and Giants will play each other in Week 6, too. One can think that Belichick's comments are careful. It's also likely that both teams will not display their full playbook for their opponents to see.

However, it is true that there aren't any off-the-field drama distracting the team. Shurmur was able to lead a training camp where all 90 players wanted to be there.

Moreover, the Patriots head coach has a history with the Giants. He was a Giants' assistant under Ray Perkins and Bill Parcells from 1979-90. He won two Super Bowls with the team (XXI and XXV) as the defensive coordinator.

This matchup will be an interesting watch for football fans. Seeing how the Giants will perform against the defending Super Bowl champs will help fans gauge the current state of the team.