ATLANTA — Amid the craziness of Super Bowl Opening Night, Aqib Talib was asked what he liked most about the season-and-a-half he spent with the New England Patriots.
His answer was simple.
“I really liked winning,” the Los Angeles Rams cornerback said Monday. “We won a lot. Definitely, coming from Tampa to New England, I really liked the winning that was going on over there. I could really hang it up on that. I really liked to win, and we were winning when I was over there.”
Talib reached the AFC Championship Game as a member of the Patriots in 2012 and 2013 but failed to advance to the Super Bowl. He did so in 2015 after signing with the Denver Broncos and is back in the big game this year, this time against his old club.
Talib also was asked for his take on two current Patriots: wide receiver Julian Edelman, his former teammate; and fellow cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
“A lot of people forget about Jules, but man, he’s a great route-runner and a super-gritty guy,” Talib said. “He’s grimy on that field. You rarely see a receiver who played like a defensive player but played like that. That’s how Jules is.”
Gilmore, Talib said, is one of the NFL’s best at his position. Gilmore earned first-team All-Pro honors this season for the first time in his career.
“Steph is a really good DB, man,” Talib said. “He can plan man, he can play zone, he can play the ball in the air. Once you get to that top level, there’s a lot of guys you could put right there, and Steph is definitely one of them.”
He added: “He’s playing with a lot of confidence, man. He’s definitely playing with a bunch of confidence, and he’s executing the game plan. Whatever they ask him to do. Whether it’s guarding the No. 1 guy, No. 2 guy, tight end, whatever they’re asking him to do, he’s getting it done.”
