Gilmore at Super Bowl LII. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- The first two preseason games haven't been perfect for Stephon Gilmore, and the Patriots cornerback certainly took a while to get acclimated in his first year in Foxborough last season, but the seventh-year vet is New England's undisputed top corner with Malcolm Butler gone, and he's feeling good about where he stands.
"I got better this year, and just used to the culture and the way we do things around here," Gilmore said. "You still gotta take it one day at a time. I'm better now than I was last year at this time, so I'm just trying to put everything together and have a good year."
Part of that comes from stability. Gilmore's had a different head coach and defensive coordinator combination every year of his career, and that'll continue now with D-C Matt Patricia off to the Lions and Brian Flores helping Bill Belichick run the defense. But, the system won't change.
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Gilmore knows he can't take anything for granted, which he's shown through a consistent training camp.
"One year here, it helps me out a lot--but I've still got to go out and prove myself every day, work on my game, and get better."
Next preseason game is Friday, this time on the road in Carolina.
"It's our first time this year, so it's going to be a little different, because we had two home games," Gilmore said. "We're going against a good team, the Panthers, they got good players, so it's going to be a good test for it."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports