Gilmore true cornerstone
His play outshines Butler’s
The complaints from Patriot Nation were loud, and started early last season. Some decisions in free agency didn’t sit well especially when it came to the Patriots top cornerback.
Why did the team give newcomer Stephon Gilmore big money and ignore Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, who was looking for an extension as a restricted free agent?
Let’s just say the move wasn’t met with overwhelming applause from the fandom, especially when Gilmore struggled early on.
The former Buffalo Bills Pro Bowler had his problems. He didn’t play like a top corner, certainly not like someone worthy of the fiveyear, $65 million contract the Patriots handed over the minute free agency opened.
Seeing how it’s all played out more than a year later, the Patriots look pretty shrewd right now. Don’t they always? They may have lost Butler in free agency, as he signed a five-year, $61 million deal with Tennessee, but the Patriots have a shutdown corner.
The Titans don’t. Butler, who the Pats will see Sunday in Nashville, has had a tough year. He hasn’t played like an elite corner.
Pro Football Focus has Gilmore ranked the fifthbest cornerback in the league. Butler is No. 82.
Monday night’s game against the Cowboys couldn’t have been much worse for Butler, who was in coverage for both of Dallas’ scores in the Titans’ 28-14 win. He just can’t shake the touchdown bug as teams have been taking advantage of his aggressiveness. He jammed Amari Cooper at the line, but couldn’t stay with him on the receiver’s 11yard touchdown. Allen Hurns also beat him on a double move.
The numbers weren’t pretty. Butler allowed eight completions on 11 targets for 108 yards and two TDs. Is that a No. 1 corner? Overall, he’s allowed 39 catches for 618 yards and seven touchdowns this season. All three marks are league highs among cornerbacks according to Pro Football Focus.
Gilmore hasn’t had quite the same issues when playing in man coverage. He’s been a stud.
In the last four games, Gilmore has allowed just seven catches on 20 targets for 86 yards and no touchdowns with four pass breakups. He’s largely neutralized Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson and Kelvin Benjamin before silencing Davante Adams Sunday night.
He didn’t shadow Adams on every snap, with several Pats defenders joining in, but the Green Bay receiver, who basically boasted that he was “unguardable” heading into the game, learned right away Gilmore was up to the challenge.
On the Packers first drive, Gilmore broke up a pass intended for Adams in the end zone. That set the tone and sent a message.
“I didn’t like what he said earlier in the week,” Gilmore said. “I kind of took it personal a little bit.”
The best players tend to make others eat their words.
Former NFL coach Rex Ryan also took note. He was impressed with Gilmore Sunday night.
“Now that’s what a No. 1 corner looks like. And Bill Belichick took advantage of it, he matched him up, like I used to match up (Darrelle) Revis, against the best receiver, Davante Adams,” Ryan gushed on ESPN Monday. “He was able to roll his coverage to the second or third option of Aaron Rodgers, and say, ‘Go ahead, you got one-on-one out there if you want it.’ But that’s how good Stephon Gilmore’s playing.”
After surpassing 130 receiving yards in each of the Packers’ previous three games, Adams was held to just 40 yards on six catches in the 31-17 loss to the Pats.
SiriusXM NFL commentator Solomon Wilcots believes it was just a matter of Gilmore adjusting. Now he’s taken off.
“This is the player we all thought he could be. This is the player he was in Buffalo, he just wasn’t in as meaningful games, or meaningful moments, like what you’re seeing now. I think people kind of over-blew the slow start he got off to last year,” Wilcots said. “Clearly, when you come into that organization, there’s going to be some growing pains. But what you see now, he’s more comfortable, he’s very certain in the things he’s doing, not just technique, but the communication as well.”
Butler? He hasn’t been the same since the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, when Belichick inexplicably kept him on the sideline the entire game for reasons known only to the Hoodie.
Sure, the Pats were right for paying Gilmore over Butler. It still doesn’t excuse the Super Bowl decision.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel said during his press conference yesterday Butler was working through “technique” issues. He also stressed Butler wasn’t in danger of losing his starting job. He won’t be benched for the Patriots game.
“Look, I’ve seen bad cornerback play,” Wilcots said. “That wasn’t bad cornerback play by Malcolm (Monday) night. That was just a guy who was overaggressive, and they got the book on him, and they used it. The book is, he’s overaggressive, and double moves work on him . . . he doesn’t have guys just running by him. Now, (the Rams) Marcus Peters, that’s playing horrible. He gave up 211 yards to (the Saints’) Mike Thomas the other day. That’s bad cornerback play right there.”
In Foxboro, with Gilmore, there are no worries. He’s simply the definition of good cornerback play.