FOXBORO — No one in Foxboro knows Bill Parcells any better than Bill Belchick.

So when the Patriots coach said on Wednesday that no one could do a better job of turning a 1-15 team around than Parcells, the comments and praise carried more weight than normal.

“All the defensive linemen are big, they’re all strong,” Belichick said. “All the linebackers are big. All the outside linebackers can rush. Their corners are big. Running backs are big. Tackles are big. They’re a big, powerful team. I’m sure that’s the way Tony [Sparano] wants it, the way Bill wants it. It’s the way Jeff [Ireland] wants it. They trade for a guy like McDaniel, they get a big defensive lineman, that’s what they want and that’s what they got with him. They sign a guy like [Cameron] Wake from [CFL] who can rush the edge. That’s why they signed him. Another big guy who can run and rush the quarterback.”

Belichick coached with Parcells in the Giants’ Super Bowl wins in 1986 and 1990 and for New England in 1996.

“This is Bill Parcells stamped all over it, no question about it,” Belichick said of the Dolphins.

In other words, Belichick realizes the Big Tuna likes his teams, well… BIG.

Belichick said no one should be surprised at the way the Dolphins have built their roster under their football vice president.

Last year, the Dolphins surprised the Patriots by taking a different approach. It was the Wildcat formation that was all abuzz. And it was another aspect of Parcells’ background that was the difference — he hired a coaching staff that could come up with a specific game plan that would catch the opponent off-guard.

Head coach Tony Sparano and assistants Paul Pasqualoni and Dan Henning — all with Parcells in Dallas — came up with a plan that resulted in a 38-13 rout at Gillette Stadium.

“I think everything Bill believes in is evident in this team,” Belichick said. “I think that starts with the coaching staff. He hired Sparano there, who was with him in Dallas, Pasqualoni was with him in Dallas. Henning, they’ve been together since ‘72 at Florida State. And a lot of other coaches on that staff. You can go right on down the line, a lot of those guys have connections to Bill. Players they bring are all the kind of players he likes.

“That’s what Bill believes in and I think he has a great philosophy and it works for him and it should work. Look at Dallas, it’s the same thing. He goes down there and he gets the DeMarcus Wares and big defensive linemen they’ve had down there.

With Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown heading a powerful backfield, the Dolphins have proven they can score with anyone, putting 30 points on the board in their last four games. It’s a formula Belichick has seen before.

“[They have] big offensive line in Dallas, good running backs,” Belichick said. “They had [Julius] Jones, they had [Marion] Barber, they had good tight ends. Tight ends are a part of the game with Witten and those guys. Defensively, same thing with good corners like [Terence] Neuman. It’s the Giants, New England, Dallas, Miami, the Jets. It’s a lot of the same guys or same type of guys. It’s worked for him every place he’s been. There’s no way he’s going to change and no way he should change it.”

But perhaps most impressive is how quickly Parcells has righted the ship everywhere he’s been. In New England, he took a team that won one game in 1991 to the playoffs three years later. In New York, he took a Jets team to the playoffs just two seasons after winning only one game. And last year, in his crowning moment, he helped move a one-win team in 2007 to 11 wins in 2008 and the AFC East title.

“He does this in a hurry, too,” Belichick said. “He gets somewhere and then pretty soon they’re pretty competitive and he gets the team shaped up the way he wants it to look. I know he’s always working it and trying to get it better and working the bottom half of the roster as much as the top half of the roster. He brings in guys for reasons and roles and that’s what they do. And he does a great job of it. I don’t think you could do much better than he’s done in his coaching career or general managing career, whatever you want to call it.”

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