Ty Law has high praise for Patriots All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore

When someone pulls this off as a double-digit underdog against the Greatest Show on Turf™ to break the scoring open for a team that’d never won anything, you get to say whatever you want on the state of the position for the rest of your years on this planet, that’s how this works.

So while we wait to find out whether Ty will earn his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year or whether we’ll have to wait until 20-freaking-20, a full 5 years after the events of Back to the Future II, please enjoy his assessment of the man who was once written off as arguably THE biggest personnel mistake that Bill the GM ever made, and newly crowned All-Pro, Stephon Gilmore.

Spoiler alert: He good, and Law knows it too.

From ESPN’s phone interview:

“I love the way he approaches things,” Law said of Gilmore in a telephone interview. “The stats don’t always tell the tale, as far as what he’s being asked to do, man or zone. If Bill says, ‘We’re going to match you up,’ he’s willing to do that and he’ll challenge guys. If it’s something else, he just goes out and plays the game and you don’t hear too much from him. He has a quiet demeanor.”

On Gilmore being able to hang with the best in the game, with a not-quite-subtle shoutout to Law’s own preference for ruining elite wideouts’ afternoons:

“I was one of those types of guys who would get pissed off if they didn’t put me on the best guy. I’d be like, ‘That’s B.S.!’ Stephon isn’t that way,” Law said. “But there’s no doubt in my mind, he’s a top cover guy, whether it’s Antonio Brown or Julio Jones or someone like that.”

“I applaud him for coming in and accepting the challenge of being the No. 1 guy and putting that 24 on -- it’s a hard act to follow,” he said, noting that Revis also wore the number in the team’s Super Bowl 2014 championship season. “One of the other things I’ve heard about him is how much he watches film and asks questions, which is a testament to him. He’s never too big to ask.

That whole “never too big to ask” becomes kind of important when you’re part of a Patriots defense that at one point was on track to set an NFL record for most consecutive 300-yard passing games allowed.

“When I was playing, I’d call Rod Woodson. Or Deion [Sanders]. I’d ask them, ‘What do you see on this guy?’ I love that he’s willing to open up and at least inquire. It shows respect. And to ask for the number [24], I look at that as a compliment and confidence in itself.”

Glad to see the #24 magic is back after a certain someone took #24 and ended up...not great.

Gilmore, being the All-Pro man of few words that he is, was appreciative and then quick to remind everyone that this week is “Beat LA” week, not “All-Pro Stephon Gilmore” week.

(FYI, I’m going to keep referring to him as “All-Pro” as many times as possible before this season is over, like when a girl gets engaged and every other word is “my fiancée”)

“That’s big coming from [Brady]. He’s played with a lot of corners, so it’s a big honor,” he said. “Those guys were great corners here and made a lot of plays in the National Football League. Anytime someone puts you in that category, it’s a good feeling. But you can’t be complacent and have to keep working.

“We have a big game this week, so that’s the main thing I’m focused on. This is what you play for.”

And if last year’s AFC Championship Game is any indication, there’s one other thing Law and Gilmore may have in common:

Shining the brightest when the stage is the biggest.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports