George Kittle Refers To Bill Belichick As 'Senator Palpatine' During Patriots-49ers Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- George Kittle may be the best tight end on earth. He's also one excitable young man.
That much was evident during a clip tweeted out by NFL Films on Thursday, featuring more than 5 minutes of mic'd up footage from Kittle during his game against the Patriots last weekend.
When Kittle wasn't catching passes or delivering blocks, he was talking. A lot. And at one point, he tapped into his Star Wars fandom to identify the Patriots as the bad guy, with Bill Belichick serving as Emperor Palpatine.
"This is literally the good guys vs. the bad guys in 'Star Wars,'" Kittle said during a break in the action to teammate Laken Tomlinson. "You got Senator Palpatine on the sidelines. Kyle [Shanahan] is Obi-Wan. We're the [bleeping] resistance, baby. This is the Death Star. [Hocks a giant loogie.] Bully it up."
(The Star Wars clip comes around 3:30.)
Belichick's trademark hooded look has drawn such comparisons before, of course, but likely never from an opposing player during a game.
In the week leading up to that game, Belichick issued the highest praise for Kittle as a player.
"I would just say Kittle is very impressive. He does everything well," Belichick said. "He's very good at everything – passing game, running game, run after catch, blocking, effort, big-play ability, you name it. He pretty much excels in every area. I think when you look at complete tight ends, he certainly stacks up there to this point from what he's been able to do with just about anybody. ... Certainly Kittle looks like he could do everything that you would want a tight end to do."
That includes tapping into science fiction comparisons mid-game, too.
At the end of the 33-6 victory for the 49ers, Kittle said it was something he had envisioned for quite some time.
"I've had dreams about beating the Patriots here like this for years," Kittle said to Jimmy Garoppolo. "No like -- years."
