FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore is spending his playoff bye week, like many of his teammates, working on technique.
“Technique” can sometimes feel like a catch-all term used to drive away reporters with its implied complexity in the Patriots’ locker room. But Gilmore legitimately seems to be working on his technique during this playoff bye week, his first. He wants to improve his footwork, his hand placement, his formation recognition.
“Just work on my own game because I know if I perfect my game no matter who I go against, I’ll be OK,” Gilmore said.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a first season in Foxboro for Gilmore. Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s been a rollercoaster for Patriots fans watching Gilmore, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract this offseason as a free agent, coming over from the Buffalo Bills, who made the playoffs themselves for the first time since 1999. Gilmore has stayed composed throughout it.
Gilmore’s name filled Boston sports talk radio waves early in the season, when he was blamed for much of the Patriots’ defensive struggles as they began the season 2-2 with losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. He improved in Week 5, but then a concussion knocked him out of action for three games. He came back stronger than before but dipped in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, allowing five catches on seven targets for 76 yards with a touchdown in New England’s 27-24 come-from-behind victory. Gilmore was among the happiest Patriots players in the road locker room that Sunday night, however, as he spoke to the media wearing his first AFC East champs hat and T-shirt.
So, with his first regular season as a member of the Patriots under his belt and some time to reflect, has Gilmore looked back at the past 17 weeks?
“I don’t really try to do that,” Gilmore said. “I just try to get better and just try to focus on what this next game. It’s an important game.”
With that topic in mind, however, how did Gilmore get over those early-season inconsistencies?
“I don’t know,” Gilmore said. “Sometimes it don’t go the way you want it to go. Just kind of put your head down and work hard and work on your game and talk more to your teammates and get used to each other. Coaches put us in position to make plays, and you just try to get better and better each game. Nobody’s playing their best game early, so just try to get better and peak later and keep going.”
Gilmore had a strong performance in the Patriots’ Week 17 win over the New York Jets. Granted, it was going against Bryce Petty, but the Jets quarterback rarely even looked Gilmore’s way. One of the elements that seemed to help Gilmore improve was when Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and head coach Bill Belichick did put him in the best position to make plays by having him key in on one receiver.
Gilmore can’t focus his attention on one target this week, but he can continue to work on his own skills: footwork, hand placement and formation recognition.
