The New England Patriots have not really been known for their defense in recent years, but this past season, the Patriots' defensive unit put on a clinic in the team's run to a sixth Super Bowl title.
A big part of that defense is cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who is entering his third season with the club.
Gilmore says that the Patriots' defensive backs all make one another better, which helps make the coaches' jobs easier:
“We’ve got a lot of good players in the secondary, so we all coach each other up, and we all make each other better,” Gilmore said, according to Andrew Callahan of MassLive.com. “We push each other, so no matter who’s coaching us, they’re going to put us in the position to make plays.”
Gilmore was speaking in reference to the fact that New England is pretty thin on defensive coaches at the moment, as safeties coach Steve Belichick—the son of Bill Belichick—is the only defensive coach currently on the staff.
The 28-year-old is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and finished with 45 tackles, a sack, two interceptions, a couple of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 20 passes defended en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
Gilmore, who played his collegiate football at the University of South Carolina, was originally selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 10th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He spent the first five years of his career with the Bills before signing with the Patriots in March 2017.
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