Tag: Stephon Gilmore

Stephon Gilmore has sound advice for Cam Newton heading into 2020

Gilmore gave sound advice to Newton heading into the 2020 season

Heading into Cam Newton’s first season with New England, the team’s star cornerback has advice for the former NFL MVP.

Stephon Gilmore appeared on the Bakari Sellers Podcast last week and in addition to other topics, he gave advice to Newton about how to handle the pressure of playing in New England. It’s safe to say that playing for the Patriots isn’t for everyone.

Newton is being thrusted into a competition of sorts, as he and Jarrett Stidham will fight for the starting job. Not only that, Newton will have to reacclimate himself to the NFL after missing a majority of last season. As Gilmore told Sellers, the ‘Patriot Way’ has its own set of rules.

“There’s one thing I know about playing in New England. You have to be mentally strong… You have to be very hungry,” Gilmore said. “Everyone gets treated the same there. It’s no superstars, no nothing. So, if something don’t go right, someone’s gonna get on you, and we’re gonna correct it. So, no egos. It’s a team. The one common goal is to win and I feel like the Patriots [do] that well.”

Gilmore certainly has thrived under the ‘Patriot Way’ and getting named Defensive Player of the Year was perhaps his biggest individual accomplishment to date. He’s firmly established himself as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks.

It will be interesting to see if Newton can get back to peak form in 2020. That is just one of many storylines heading into a new-look season for New England.

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Michael Thomas earns a spot on exclusive 99 Club for ‘Madden NFL 21’

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas joined an elite group of other superstars in the 99 Club for EA Sports’ Madden NFL 21.

Don’t look now, but New Orleans Saints superstar wide receiver Michael Thomas has added another honor to his growing list of accolades. Thomas was selected as the fifth — and so far, final — member of the elite “99 Club” in EA Sports’ Madden NFL 21, reflecting his status as one of the highest-rated players in the game.

Thomas joins a select group of other NFL superstars including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, and New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

It’s a fitting reward for Thomas after his historic 2019 campaign, in which he earned recognition as the NFL Offensive Player of the Year after setting a new single-season record for receptions (149). Thomas was also named a first-team All-Pro and was voted into his third consecutive Pro Bowl trip.

Fans who want to test Thomas’s skills for themselves will have to wait for Madden NFL 21 to be released on Aug. 25.

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4 reasons for optimism as Patriots prepare for training camp

Fans have several reasons to be optimistic about the Patriots in 2020.

Heading into the 2020 season, the winds of change are prevalent at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots will begin to embark on a season unlike any other. With new faces on both sides of the ball, this will be a season of excitement and unknowns.

This will also be a challenging season for the Patriots coaching staff as they look to fit these new pieces into the organization. It will probably lead to a style of football that Patriots fans haven’t seen before. In this case, that may be a good thing, with the AFC running through Kansas City. The rest of the conference will have to think outside the box in order to dethrone Patrick  Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

I take a look at four reasons for optimism for New England in 2020.

The signing of Cam Newton

Cam Newton is undoubtedly a major reason for optimism as the Patriots head into training camp. After being signed by the team at the end of June,  Newton has created a quarterback competition for the Patriots.

Newton has battled some injuries throughout his career. Particularly last year, he struggled with foot injuries that prevented him from playing past Week 2. Judging from his social media posts, he’s ready to prove people wrong and show he’s healthy.

A healthy Cam Newton gives New England a player with a strong arm and tremendous mobility. That’s not something the Patriots have had in a quarterback for the last couple of decades. If Newton can get back to even 70 percent of what he was at his peak, he would give the Patriots a jolt offensively, in what would otherwise be a rebuilding year. He certainly offers a reason for optimism as he looks to navigate the toughest schedule in all of football.

N’Keal Harry should be healthy

A healthy N’Keal Harry is a reason for optimism as well. The 2019 first-round draft pick was bothered by injuries throughout the entire season last year. Now, he appears to be healthy and ready to go.

He showed spurts of his ability last year. In limited action, he recorded 12 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Harry displayed his freakish ability to leap and translate his athleticism against the Chiefs last year. Overall, it never seemed like Harry and quarterback Tom Brady were on the same page, but that may change this year.

A healthy Harry he should be able to help New England stretch the field. A reliable downfield weapon is not something New England has had in quite some time. They always have receivers that have shown great ability after the catch, but fail to do it consistently. Harry is a reason for optimism as he figures to be a major part of the New England wide receiving corps not only now, but in the future.

A youth movement at linebacker

A new group of young linebackers is certainly a reason to be optimistic. Led by second-year linebacker Chase Winovich, this group should definitely pave the way for the future. Winovich recorded 26 tackles and 5.5 sacks last season. The Michigan product showed that he was certainly worthy of generating buzz for his sophomore season.

These days, athletic and fast linebackers are what teams need in order to stop pass-happy offenses. Starting with the likes of Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, New England is seeing a change of the guard at the position. Gone are the likes of Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts and Jamie Collins. In are new linebackers that will be tasked with firming up the defense for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps the most impressive resume out of the rookies belongs to Jennings. He recorded 193 tackles and 14.5 sacks in four years at Alabama. Now, he will be tasked with helping New England get decent production from the linebacker spot.

No matter which way you slice it, this young linebacking group certainly is a reason for optimism.

A secondary of returning veterans

The New England Patriots secondary still has a ton of talent. Led by 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, the unit should be in for a good season in 2020.

Aside from Gilmore, there are several other players in the unit that played well last year. Jason McCourty is one of them, after recording 40 tackles and an interception in 12 games. Although his numbers were a bit down from last season, he still should be able to provide an impact on a defensive unit that is undergoing a youth movement.

With some of the passing offenses New England has to face this year, the cornerbacks will have to be on the toes.

Having Gilmore on the field takes away that side of the field. With McCourty showing consistency over the past couple of seasons in New England, he is a player that can be counted on to help stabilize the unit. Add in the likes of J.C .Jackson for example and New England has viable starters and depth to keep offenses like Kansas City at bay.

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Eagles’ Darius Slay lands in the top-5 of ESPN’s top-10 CB Rankings for 2020

Darius Slay is No. 4 in ESPN.com ranking of the top-10 CB’s in the NFL

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Darius Slay is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and yet he’s spent the bulk of the 2020 offseason battling disrespect from analysts and pundits who feel his game has slipped some.

On various cornerback rankings from multiple sites around the web, Slay has been outright omitted or slighted when it comes to acknowledging the top cover guys in the NFL.
ESPN.com finally got it right and in Jeremy Fowler’s ranking of the top-10 cornerbacks in the NFL, Slay rightfully landed in the top-5 at No. 4 on the list.

4. Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
Age: 29 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: 12

Slay isn’t coming off his best season in Detroit, but unrest existed between Slay and the Lions organization. Plus, Lions corners played consistent man despite the defense ranking next to last in sacks with 28, applying more pressure on downfield routes.

“Slay is a guy you’ll go into Sunday with all day,” said one NFL coordinator. “He’ll play man coverage all day — he’ll battle, not afraid to get in spaces, match up with anyone, and he can run.”

Over the last three seasons, Slay allowed the league’s third-lowest completion percentage as the nearest defender, at 51.8.

That’s why the Eagles are elated to get Slay, who signed a $50 million extension with the team after Philadelphia swung a trade with Detroit. The Eagles held out for a lead corner for the last two years and got the deal they wanted.

“He’s got natural ball skills and awareness in the open field, which will help him age well,” said an NFC defensive assistant coach.

Slay is one of the most valuable cornerbacks in the NFL since 2014 and his 74 forced incompletions over that stretch were the most in the NFL as well. Expect to see Slay have a huge 2020 season as he works to silence the haters.

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Tom Brady has a message for Stephon Gilmore after his 99 ‘Madden 21’ rating reveal

Tom Brady chimed in on Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore being revealed as one of four NFL players to receive a 99 rating in “Madden 21.”

Don’t think Tom Brady isn’t keeping a watchful eye on his former coaches and teammates with the New England Patriots. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was quick to give a shout-out to Patriots All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore for being one of four players to earn a 99 rating in the upcoming “Madden 21” video game.

“Lock em up Steph!!! 💯,” Brady posted.

That line of thinking might change if the two somehow managed to meet on the football field.

It would make for quite the compelling story to see Brady and his new offense going head-to-head with Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s defense, spearheaded by Gilmore.

Brady was rated 99 in “Madden 19,” but the 42-year-old legend has dropped to 90 overall in the newest version of the game, putting him behind Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson and Drew Brees. Even with six Super Bowl rings and four Super Bowl MVPs on his mantle, you can rest assured Brady will use this for motivation.

But he’s also fortunate not to be matching wits with a ferocious Patriots secondary that knows him better than any other team.

For all of the talk surrounding the ongoing quarterback situation for the Patriots, there is no questioning that Gilmore is the heart and soul of the defense. NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner even went as far as comparing his overall approach to the game as Deion Sanders-like.

Gilmore could be well on his way to wearing a green jacket himself, following a season where he was awarded NFL Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Pro honors for a second consecutive season.

He leads a defense that no team, much less Brady, wants to see in 2020.

Whoops: Did Stephon Gilmore forget John Brown exists?

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore does not mention Bills wide receiver John Brown.

Former Bills and current Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has continued to grow upon his productive career in the NFL. While an ex-Bills player, you’ll have to tip your cap that he’s probably the best cornerback in the league, or at least among the best.

But having said that, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year unfortunately forget to tip his cap in a respective manner himself. And it was specifically in regard one Bills player which beckons the question, did Gilmore forget wide receiver John Brown exists?

Gilmore recently named some of the toughest and most difficult receivers he’s faced in the NFL. While we know Brown maybe isn’t at the top of the list nationwide, but Gilmore seemed to forget about one moment last season because when answering that question.

“[Antonio Brown], you got Tyreek Hill just because of his speed, you got Odell Beckham’s pretty tough… Julio Jones, I would say he’s in my top five too, probably one or two, but I haven’t played against him… Michael Thomas… he’s a monster,” Gilmore said on The Bakari Sellers Podcast via Patriots Wire.

Gilmore continued: “Calvin Johnson… He didn’t cook me, but he was very tough. He’s huge. I’m like ‘this dude is huge and he can move like this. This is crazy.”

Not to suggest Brown’s a Megatron-type guy, but while the current Defensive Player of the Year was covering him, the Bills wide receiver smoked him for a touchdown. While some Patriots faithful will call it a zone coverage by Gilmore, in fact, according to Pro Football Focus, it was the only time Gilmore was beat for a score in his award-winning season.

Maybe that’s why it was so convenient for Gilmore to forget to mention Brown?

Just at the chance Gilmore stumbles upon this article, here’s that TD:

 

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Stephon Gilmore joins elite group with a 99 rating on ‘Madden 21’

Stephon Gilmore joined some elite company, per usual.

The past two years have been full of praise and recognition for New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl and earned First-Team All-Pro honors in the past two seasons, along with the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019. Gilmore has now collected another accolade by joining the ‘Madden 99’ club.

Gilmore is among four players to earn this elite recognition — Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Donald and Christian McCaffrey are the other three. All four players are at the top of their position groups and have proven themselves entirely.

This video from ‘Madden’ shows Gilmore unboxing a custom version of the game with his wife and daughter.

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Stephon Gilmore shares who he thinks are the most difficult wide receivers to cover

Gilmore’s personal top-five WRs and the hardest he’s ever covered.

After winning Defensive Player of the Year last season, Stephon Gilmore has earned the respect from a lot of his peers.

When it comes to the wide receivers he goes up against, Gilmore praises who he believes to be the best at the position.

On The Bakari Sellers Podcast, the former South Carolina corner gave a top-five list of wide receivers that are the most difficult to match up against in the game today.

“[Antonio Brown], you got Tyreek Hill just because of his speed, you got Odell Beckham’s pretty tough… Julio Jones, I would say he’s in my top five too, probably one or two, but I haven’t played against him… Michael Thomas… he’s a monster.”

It’s interesting that Gilmore didn’t include DeAndre Hopkins, who he had a disagreement with on Twitter last season. However, with the level of talent at the position in the league today, it’s tough to argue with a top-five that includes those superstars.

Sellers also asked Gilmore who the toughest wide receiver he ever had to cover was.

“Calvin Johnson,” Gilmore replied. “He didn’t cook me, but he was very tough. He’s huge. I’m like ‘this dude is huge and he can move like this. This is crazy.’”

Gilmore is showing a great amount of respect for one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play the game. Johnson’s combination of size, speed and jumping ability made him incredibly difficult for anyone to cover.

Consistently playing against some of the best in the game has allowed Gilmore to climb to new heights and put him among the best cornerbacks in the league today.

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Eagles’ Darius Slay left off a ranking of the NFL’s 11 best outside cornerbacks

Philadelphia Eagles star Darius Slay left off a ranking of the NFL’s 11 best outside CB’s

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The 2020 offseason has seen a myriad of cornerback rankings from different NFL outlets with the one consistent being the snubbing of the Eagles star cornerback.

Slay is among the top-5 cornerbacks in football and yet has suffered countless disrespect this offseason when it comes to where he stands among the NFL’s elite cornerbacks. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire just released their rankings for the top-11 outside cornerbacks in the NFL and Slay was once again omitted.

11. Bashaud Breeland

10. Steven Nelson

9. Troy Hill

8. Marcus Peters

7.Ross Cockrel

6. Denzel Ward

5. Quinton Dunbar

4. J.C. Jackson

3. Richard Sherman

2. Tre’Davious White

1. Stephon Gilmore

While many of the teams in the NFL primarily play zone coverage, Slay is one of the few players in the NFL that were asked to play bump and run on the majority of their snaps.

Take this tidbit from Packers star DeVante Adams on Slay and the Lions defense last season.

Slay was impressive last year despite some down statistics on a bad team and yet his performance against some of the NFL’s best would be highlight-reel performances for some other cornerbacks.

Slay’s 85 forced incompletions since 2014 are the most in the NFL over that span as well.

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Stephon Gilmore seems excited to have Cam Newton in New England

The defensive player of the year likes having a former MVP.

Stephon Gilmore is a man of few words.

He doesn’t say a lot, so when he does, people listen. Whether it was last year when he went back at DeAndre Hopkins or his praise of Jarrett Stidham, it’s newsworthy whenever Gilmore speaks.

On The Bakari Sellers Podcast, the cornerback had a lot of great things to say about his newest quarterback, Cam Newton.

“It was a great signing,” Gilmore said. “I think Cam’s very hungry. I’ve always been a Cam fan. I think he’s hard to prepare against, and he has a great opportunity to, you know, compete for a starting job. I’m looking forward to seeing him on our team.”

Sellers also asked Gilmore if there are any other quarterbacks like Newton in the league.

“I don’t think as big as him [or] as strong,” Gilmore replied. “I just think he’s his own unique player. Obviously, you know he can run the ball, he can throw it. Anytime you can do both of those things it’s hard to get ready for a certain thing. He always keeps you on guard. He’s very hungry this year. He’s healthy now, so I’m just looking forward to him helping our team out.”

With the current state of the NFL due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to get big groups together to practice, so it’s unlikely Newton and Gilmore will share a field until they’re back for training camp. However, they have spoken a few times and Gilmore is ready for a new challenge.

“Yeah, I talked to him. He hit me up, and we’ve been texting. I’m just looking forward to the battles in practice and all that. I can’t wait.”

Having a former MVP test your defense in different ways than they’ve been tested in the past can only make the team better. And, if Gilmore wants to see more team success in his near future, Newton will have to be at his very best.

It sounds like Newton’s best is exactly what Gilmore expects to see.

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