New England Patriots: 3 Bold predictions vs Saints in Week 2
By Ryan Disdier
2. Stephon Gilmore bounces back
The Patriots poached Gilmore from the rival Buffalo Bills in the offseason. At the time, the move appeared to give the Patriots one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. But after roasting his former team in the offseason, Stephon Gilmore had a rough Thursday night against the Chiefs. Gilmore now rather infamously cited primetime games as a reason he was excited to join the Patriots.
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However, in New England’s primetime game against the Chiefs, Gilmore had a very forgettable performance. On Tyreek Hill’s 75-yard touchdown against the Patriots, Gilmore was caught slipping. While he was in a cover 2 technique, and expecting safety help, Gilmore still erred by not staying with Hill, as the No. 2 was covered on the underneath route by the linebacker.
Despite his rough night, Gilmore remains a very talented cornerback. Another week in the Patriots system will likely help him improve on his week one performance.
As previously mentioned, the Saints will be without Willie Snead. What that means is Gilmore will likely be seeing a fair amount of Ted Ginn Jr. What bodes will for Gilmore is Ginn is more or less a one-trick pony. He has the deep ball, and that’s about it. If Gilmore can stay confident in his technique.