Mike Vrabel gives blunt assessment of Christian Gonzalez's struggles
After the game, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was clear that Gonzalez's level of play didn't meet the team's standard.
Key points
- The Patriots had a number of problems in their 45-27 loss to the Packers on Sunday, but Christian Gonzalez was one of the most glaring.
- "When your best players don’t play good, you don’t have much of a chance in this league," Vrabel said.
- I’ll move on and be ready next week." Gonzalez signed a four-year, $135 million extension in September, after negotiations were one of the dominant storylines of Patriots training camp; the deal made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
It wasn’t just him." Vrabel took some responsibility, saying a lack of preparedness by the defense "starts with me," but he certainly didn't disagree with the assessment that Gonzalez struggled mightily.
Both Christian Watson and Matthew Golden finished with more than 160 yards on Sunday, with 105 of Golden's yards coming while covered by Gonzalez.
Additional details
- The fourth-year cornerback, fresh off a contract extension that made him the position's highest-paid player, struggled mightily as the Packers burned New England's secondary.
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- Jordan Love was 10-of-11 for 187 yards and a touchdown when targeting Gonzalez, shattering the cornerback's previous career-worst mark of 74 yards allowed.
- Here's a look at Vrabel's comments and how Gonzalez explained his difficult day.
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