New England Patriots Christian Gonzalez as the Patriots take practice. Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
New England Patriots Christian Gonzalez as the Patriots take practice. Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald
FOXBORO — Sunday’s loss to the Packers brought an uncharacteristically terrible performance from Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez gave up a career-high 192 passing yards and two touchdowns, per PFF’s charting.
The highest-paid cornerback in the NFL and player on the Patriots’ roster, Gonzalez hasn’t looked like the same player since missing two weeks with a shoulder injury.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked Monday morning what’s changed.
“You can’t take a nap in this league,” Vrabel said. “And you have to be — whoever the receivers are, especially the good ones, you have to play with great technique. You have to challenge when you can. Same things that happens with all DBs, right? When you look back at the quarterback sometimes — and they’re going to catch passes — it’s just they have to earn it. …
“Christian had a few plays I’m sure that he’d like to have back, and I said this: We have high expectations for him, and he certainly does too. So, I think it’s about answering the challenge in this week and then coming back. To play corner in this league, you got to have a short memory, whether that’s on the good plays or the negative ones, and I’m confident that he will.”
Vrabel has used the “nap” analogy before. He was asked to clarify exactly what he meant by that in this instance with Gonzalez’s performance.
“I mean, you just can’t take a play off or think that they’re not going to challenge you or throw the ball at you,” Vrabel said. “That’s it. You think that you’re going to not draw attention, I mean, the quarterbacks in this league, the skill players in this league, they run a route and they have a read, and if it’s open or they like the look, they’re gonna take it.
“I think: confident with where he’ll be and how he’ll improve and look at things, and he studies it. But obviously, it’s the entire pass defense last night, which really was ineffective at times and frustrating going into the game, and whether that’s in the man or zone, some good plays, some well-executed defenses, some impactful plays on the quarterback, and then certainly a lot that left a lot to be desired.”
The Patriots allowed Packers QB Jordan Love to complete 23-of-29 passes for 372 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. Wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both had over 160 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Gonzalez gave up multiple explosive plays, but safety Kevin Byard and cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Marcus Jones also gave up receptions of 20-plus yards.