Christian Gonzalez explains his role against Rams WRs after Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua torch Patriots
Gonzalez was deployed in a scheme similar to what the Patriots ran last Sunday against the Bears.
One head-scratcher from the Patriots’ loss to the Rams on Sunday was the role of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was largely used to defend the boundary while Los Angeles shredded the rest of the New England secondary en route to a 28-22 win.
Gonzalez largely shadowed Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp on the opening drive, but he didn’t travel much after that — either with Kupp or Puka Nacua — as he was deployed in a scheme similar to what the Patriots ran last Sunday against the Bears.
“I saw them whenever they were on my side. … I was on the boundary this game,” Gonzalez said. “I can’t really focus on the other side; I’ve got to focus on the person in front of me and make the plays I’ve got to make.”
The result was Gonzalez often playing to contain secondary Rams targets such as Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell while Kupp (6 catches, 106 yards, 2 TDs) and Nacua (7 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD) torched the remainder of the Patriots’ back end.
Gonzalez passed on an opportunity to complain about his usage after the loss.
“The coaches came in, told me what the gameplan was,” Gonzalez said. “I never look at it as, surprised, upset, or anything. I’m doing whatever they want me to do. Whatever they tell me to do, I’m going to do my best to do.”
Coach Jerod Mayo was fairly non-specific in defense of the game plan after Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
“I mean, look, Kupp had the one reception [a 69-yard TD early in the third] that was a huge chunk of those yards,” Mayo said. “Look, going into the game we have a plan, and we’re always willing to change that plan. Like I said earlier, I felt like we were going to be okay, thought we could outlast them.
“We just thought that was the best thing to do. It’s a mix of man and zone, so we thought that was the best thing to do.”
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