In the backend, Harrison Smith looks destined for the Hall of Fame. Joshua Metellus is effective wherever he lines up, and Camryn Bynum is quick to diagnose plays. At cornerback, original plans included pairing Byron Murphy, Jr., with free-agent signing Griffin, who was injured early in training camp.
Camp signing Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, has been a staple of Minnesota’s success. His familiarity with Flores – both were essential to New England’s Super Bowl LIII win over Los Angeles – can’t be understated.
“It just allows us to be as creative [as possible] and opens up the playbook, really across the board, as far as the things we would like to do,” Flores commented on Gilmore being able to follow designated receivers across formations. “I think Steph’ is playing well. I think he’s been tight in coverage. They made some tough contested catches the other day, whether it was Deebo [Samuel, Jr.] or [Brandon] Aiyuk or [George] Kittle, which, you know, that’s what you expect from good players, and we expect that this week coming up from Houston. … He allows us to really have the entire playbook – you want to play man, we’ll play man, [you want zone], we’ll play zone.
“He’s got instincts. He’s got smarts, experience, you know, some things you really can’t measure,” Flores added in his review of Gilmore’s impact. “And he’s brought a lot to the group already, just from that standpoint [of] ‘Hey, this is how we game plan. We’ve got to be alert for X, Y, Z,’ and he’s been great.”
All eyes will be on how Gilmore and Co. contain Diggs, Dell, Collins and the rest of the Texans passing game.
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