As Sam Ehlinger prepares for his first start in the rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots, he’s getting advice from the perfect person.
Sam Ehlinger officially has his first career start out of the way. In Week 8, he and the Indianapolis Colts lost a close game to the Washington Commanders. Now, it’s time for a couple more firsts for Ehlinger. In Week 9, Ehlinger will be starting his first rivalry game against the New England Patriots and simultaneously playing his first game against Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest NFL coach ever.
Belichick is also notorious for his teams’ performances against young quarterbacks. Him being a defensive-minded coach, his defenses are usually at their best when they’re able to confuse and frustrate a quarterback with limited experience. In Week 9, Belichick and the Patriots are hoping that Sam Ehlinger, in his second career start, will become their latest victim.
However, luckily for Sam, he’s been able to turn to someone for advice that knows Belichick and New England really well, especially what they like to do defensively. That someone is Ehlinger’s current teammate, and former Patriot, Stephon Gilmore. Sam revealed to the media on Wednesday that he sat down with the corner to have an in-depth conversation about how the Patriots may plan to attack Ehlinger and the Colts’ offense.
First thing this morning, Colts QB Sam Ehlinger sat down with former Patriot Stephon Gilmore. Why? To discuss the details of the New England defense and Bill Belichick's tactics. Ehlinger is preparing for his 2nd start, but young QBs have historically struggled against the Pats.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) November 2, 2022
Stephon Gilmore helping Sam Ehlinger and Colts prepare for Patriots
Gilmore played with the New England Patriots for four seasons from 2017 to 2020. In those four years, Gilmore won a Super Bowl, won Defensive Player of the Year, went to three straight Pro Bowls, and established himself as the best shutdown corner in football. He was the Patriots’ best defensive player and knew everything about the defense. Obviously, it’s been a couple of seasons since he’s been there but surely he still knows a thing or two since Belichick is still running the show.
Gilmore is sharing all that information with Ehlinger as the second-year quarterback prepares for the challenge. Whether Sam is able to retain the knowledge and benefit from it or not will be tested on Sunday during the actual game. One of the biggest battles for young quarterbacks is protecting the football and that will especially be the case on Sunday.
The Patriots have forced the most turnovers this season with 16 takeaways through eight games and Indianapolis has committed the most turnovers with 16. In Sam’s first start, he didn’t throw any interceptions but he did lose a fumble. If the Colts want to win on Sunday, they can’t turn the ball over. That’s something that Ehlinger must keep in mind along with all of the tips that he picks up from Stephon Gilmore.
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