Christian Gonzalez’s trainer breaks down his film | Patriots Daily - video Dailymotion

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Taylor Kyles sits down with friend of the show and DB/LB trainer Coach Flight to break down longtime client Christian Gonzalez’s matchups through five weeks, how the corner has improved in his sophomore season, and more!  0:00 - Intro 3:41 - Training camp concerns 6:35 - Offseason training details 8:10 - Trusting teammates' roles 10:34 - Christian vs. Ja'Marr matchup 14:08 - Pass interference call 16:11 - DK vs. Christian 19:26 - Christian's deep coverage 20:57 - DK's route transition 25:05 - Tackling technique explained 27:14 - Jab technique in coverage 28:45 - Impressive awareness shown 30:51 - Almost an interception 33:01 - Coverage against Tyreek Hill 35:58 - Quarterback alignment 39:11 - Facing tough competition   ************************************************ Patriots Content Brought to you by....  Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS Download the app today and use Code CLNS at PrizePicks.com/CLNS & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!   Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime! Merch Store - https://shop.clnsmedia.com  Social Media!!!!  Patriots Twitter- https://twitter.com/patriotsclns  Patriots Instagram-  https://www.instagram.com/patriotsclns/  Facebook- https://facebook.com/clnsmedia  LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/clnsmedia/about/  Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clnsmedia *********************************************************  ABOUT PATRIOTS COVERAGE ON CLNS:   Welcome to the CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for New England Patriots  football.  CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the 6X Super Bowl Champions.  Get complete inside access to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and everywhere on the road. CLNS Patriots credentialed insiders Greg Bedard, Andrew Callahan, Tayler Kyles, John Zannis, Alex Barth and Mike Kadlick provide instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else inside Patriots Place.  If you enjoy CLNS’ Celtics  All Access and are craving more Boston sports content, you head over to CLNS’ Patriots  Press Pass at   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqX7G3pEDTseNxtoDU27PEg?sub_confirmations=1   __________________________________________________________________________  For Celtics Content:    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1    Celtics Twitter - https://twitter.com/CelticsCLNS   Celtics Instagram - https://instagram.com/celticsCLNS  Twitter Main- - https://twitter.com/clnsmediaCLNS  Main Instagram - https://instagram.com/clnsmedia

Transcript

00:00I am joined by Robert Griffin, the third James Whitefield. Yes, Nina Kimes. All right. So

00:09first play, we're going to look at second into one of the Patriots first offensive plays.

00:16What's going on everyone? Taylor Kyle's here for CLNS media coming at you with another

00:20episode of Pat's daily brought to you by our good friends at prize picks and game time

00:24today. I have a very special guest and friend of the show. He's the defensive back and

00:29linebackers trainer of the Stars. Coach flight is back on the program to break down Christian

00:35Gonzalez and what has been an outstanding start to the 2024 season continuing what was

00:41an impressive start to 2023 his rookie year coach. Welcome back. So glad to have you on.

00:47Thank you for the time before we get into all this good stuff. How are you doing man

00:51doing great man? You know, I've been enjoying the start of the season. Just checking out

00:55the guys seeing how they're how they're competing and making sure what we do in the offseason

00:59transitions over to the season, but so far so good. Yes, it has been so far. You had

01:04Marte Mapu back on the field last week. Not only on the field. He had the green dot. I'm

01:09looking down at the field like this dude looks like a 10-year vet and he hasn't even been

01:13on the field. Obviously outside of practice since the summer really impressive. We'll

01:17get to him. But first before we did this interview, I wanted to talk to Christian Gonzalez because

01:22I know you two are close and I know you've been big in his life and he had nothing but

01:27outstanding things to say about you. He called you a great man who yields in high regard

01:31said you are not just a mentor in football, but a person of significant influence for

01:35him beyond the game. So I'm just curious. What does it mean to hear that from somebody

01:39like Christian who works so hard obviously is reaping the benefits of his hard work,

01:43but to know that you've been such a big part of his life as you know, not just like he

01:47said as a football mentor, but as someone that he can talk to and confide in regularly

01:50outside of the game. Man. It means a lot man. I mean, we we we strive to make this

01:56program more family than business. So it's like I hope that all my guys kind of see that

02:01is a is a way for me, you know, like that. It's like, hey, I can go to this guy with

02:06anything. It's you know, it's more than just ball man ball is just what you know, we happen

02:10to be focusing on but at the end of the day man, those guys can call me for anything man

02:14in anything anytime. I'm picking up the phone middle of the night, you know, I'm saying

02:18early in the morning, you know, helping them problems problem-solve troubleshoot things.

02:23So I mean that means a lot man. I mean, I didn't know he said that so like, you know,

02:26that just that's the start the interview off. That's good stuff. That's awesome, man. I

02:30love to hear that and I will say he also threw it. I was like, is there like a fun question?

02:34I should ask coach. He said, nah, don't ask him tell him if I was still a receiver and

02:39he was still playing corner. He couldn't cover me. So what do you think about that? Oh man,

02:44look the receiver stuff. I'm so glad we put it to rest. I mean, he was he was a great receiver

02:51but man, it was he was just taller and faster, you know, I said if I was his height, he wouldn't

02:55be able to do nothing with me, but he's a pretty good athlete man. I mean, I knew he had offensive

03:03talent and then I saw this video one time they were like in football offseason like it was like

03:08his junior year going into senior year high school and they're in the basketball gym playing around

03:13and he just throws it up and takes off from like close to the free throw line and like pulls the

03:18ball all the way back and dunks it and I was like, yeah, no, I'm not letting this guy go play a

03:24play receiver man. Like this guy he's feeling himself too much. Like he's he's he's freaky

03:28on the court man. He can jump do all kinds of stuff. So like let's let's keep you over here

03:34on the dark side man. We need more athletes on the defensive side. I believe that I absolutely

03:39believe that. All right. So one thing that I saw you posted recently was the was like a thousand

03:44reps or ten thousand reps, right? And I know that in other shows we've talked about the work

03:48that Christians put in to come back from the shoulder injury, but you know now we're back

03:52in the season just for the people that didn't see those episodes maybe or just want to refresh

03:57her. Can you let us know what kind of work this who was putting in to get to the point where

04:01obviously a season-ending injury now this year whether or not he's dealing with anything still

04:05you can't tell because he's playing some fantastic ball. And also, what did you think when people

04:11were concerned during training camp saying, oh man, he's given up catches like what's going

04:15because I'll tell you right now. I was sitting back here like I'm not saying a word. I'm not

04:19I know better than that. I'm not freaking out over training camp practices. But again, the work

04:23he put in and also, you know, just the general sense and sometimes corners, you know, they're

04:28always put under such a microscope. So what was it like hearing people that were concerned just

04:31because he was giving us some catches in practice? Well, to be honest, I was one of those

04:37people for a minute where I'm texting him like yo, what's going on like walk me through it.

04:42But when I finally got the complete understanding me and Mike, we have a pretty good relationship

04:48where we reach out. Yes, sir. So we got on FaceTime and got on phone calls and discuss

04:55kind of what was taking place and what they were trying to do. And it made perfect sense, man.

05:00It was one of those things where it's like, hey, man, let's challenge ourselves during camp. Try

05:05not to use your hands as much just because of the rules of the league. You know, there's sometimes

05:10they let guys play. Sometimes they don't. You know, so we're working on trying to be able to

05:13do both, you know, have the physicality to match up with those big body guys that want to bang,

05:18but also have the finesse to be able to cover those smaller, shifty route guys who kind of

05:24draw more flags just because of their style of play. So, you know, it was kind of him just working

05:29things and then to like, man, this guy just, you know, sometimes he's like, I'm trying something

05:35new and I'm like, try something new on your own time. Like, like, like I'm just trying something

05:43new. I'm just testing some things out. So he was, he was kind of seeing things and just testing it

05:48out, seeing if it would work or not. And then, you know, that after that joint practice, I think

05:52that's what kind of the joint practice was good. Him going up against AJ Brown, Devontae Smith,

05:57seeing the best of both worlds and kind of seeing both of those styles of guys we're talking about

06:02at one time. Yeah. I know he mentioned that. I think he said AJ Brown was the toughest receiver

06:07he's faced and I'm glad that he mentioned the quickness with AJ Brown. Everybody talks about

06:10the size and the speed, but that dude can break and decelerate like not a lot of dudes I've ever

06:15seen at his size. Now with Christian, it's hard to tell exactly how someone who plays the way he

06:21plays has necessarily improved because it looks so flawless. The technique is always on point.

06:26I feel like it's like the 1% of the 1%. So what kind of work did he put in to improve and what

06:31growth have you seen from him in his sophomore season compared to when he was a rookie? So we

06:36had to take the off season in parts. Like there was a, the beginning part of off season, there

06:40was no ball drills, there was no contact. And we started the off season off with a, I think a lot

06:45of people saw the joint workout with Steve Smith. And people were like, Oh, he's getting cooked by

06:51Steve Smith. But I'm like, no, it's not, he's getting cooked. We're just doing like, we're

06:55literally going half speed, but the camera makes it look like we're going full speed. So like,

06:59Steve was kind of like showing us things that receivers like to do and like top receivers and

07:06like hand fighting and hand placements and like how they stem routes against press, how they stem

07:13routes against off. So like we worked on the football IQ side of things. And then we turned

07:18around and once we were able to actually use our hands and kind of test out how that shoulder was

07:24holding up, we focused more on the conditioning side and the mental side of, of how to cover

07:30certain routes, you know, three to four different ways. Like, you know, we'll cover the out route

07:34from the outside stem, from the inside stem, from a speed out from a drop your hips. And we

07:41understand just like why receivers run routes a certain way. So like, that's where his game is

07:46kind of really taken off tremendously is where it's like, he's understanding the why, like why

07:51guys give us certain looks, why guys run routes a certain way. And then it's also trusting your

07:56teammates, you know, so like every, every man coverage has helped in certain spots,

08:02every zone, you got to understand where your, your secondary help is coming from primary help

08:07and stuff like that. What are your reads? What is your job? So it's more so like him doing his job

08:11assignment and then also trusting his teammates to be in the right spot. Absolutely. You could

08:16see that even you see it every week. One of the things that stands out most with Gonzo is the fact

08:20that he plays to his leverage. He sticks to it. And obviously with the athleticism he has,

08:25he can obviously defend that leverage, but also he can even, you know, close and defend passes

08:29where it's thrown away from where he's at. Even last week, I know that like Marty had a rep or

08:34he covered three routes. Pretty much. He opened his hips to bracket. Then he went down to read

08:38the quarterback size, then buzzed under, I think it was an over route that Tyree kill, I think had

08:42with Christian and coverage. So I did touch on Marty really quickly. We don't have to get too

08:47deep because I know it was just his first game. Nothing crazy like that, but he did play a ton.

08:51He was making sure everybody was in the right places. He's gotten a ton of praise for his

08:55intelligence, his preparation, people calling him basically like a coach. So what did you see for

09:00Marty in his first game and how did it feel finally seeing him back out there, knowing how hard he's

09:04worked to get on the field? Well, I wasn't shocked at all that he was able to jump right back in and

09:09do things that he did because, uh, man, like Marty's probably like, like we talked about that

09:13top 1% and like Marty's a guy that's like, you're not going to outwork Marty. You're not going to

09:19out think Marty. Like Marty is, is a student of the game. He loves the game of football and he's

09:24all in on it. So it's like, we've had to actually tell Marty to stop. Like, Hey man, you gotta,

09:30you gotta chill out a little bit, man. And you know, and then, you know, that's part of the

09:33reason why this was his first game is like, he's so eager to learn and, and work towards being the

09:39best that, you know, he had like a little injury that came from just working, pushing himself to

09:43the limits and, you know, and he'll learn from that as well. But man, as a player, there's not

09:47many guys that actually have that versatility to line up at Mike and will, and then now you're at

09:53the free safety, the strong safety, the nickel, like Marty can play so many different spots.

09:58And it's often like just him just loving the game and just understanding and putting that

10:02time in to learn the playbook from so many different perspectives. Absolutely. And then

10:07we saw that the first time he really got significant snaps was against the dolphins

10:10last year, actually, ironically. And that was the first time I saw him like playing all three

10:14spots. He's in the slot. He's playing safety. He's playing linebacker. And I was like, yo,

10:18this gets different. Like, obviously it wasn't perfect because he was a rookie, but still the

10:22fact that they put so much on his plate and he was remotely functional was really impressive.

10:26I'm so excited to see how he grows and builds on that, but you are here to help me break down some

10:32Christian Gonzalez film. So we're going to get into that because every single week, the only

10:36exception I believe really is with the 49ers where he really played more to the boundary.

10:40I had a feeling that was going to happen because coaches were talking about how pretty doesn't

10:43really have a number one. He throws to everybody and I'm like, they got talented players. I feel

10:47like this is a boundary week for Christian, but every other week he's going against the clear

10:51number one receiver. So we're going to get into some of those matchups. I'm going to play them

10:55once just so everybody can kind of see how it went. Then we're going to replay it in slow motion

10:59and you are going to break down what you see. I'm really looking forward to this. And before we

11:04actually get into each matchup, I'm going to ask you what you thought about the matchup heading

11:08into the game. So first of all, and also after, of course, if you'd like. So this one, we got

11:12Christian Gonzalez first game of the year going up against Jamar Chase, another absolute freak

11:17athlete with size, speed and ball skills. Tell us about this matchup. So this is one we wanted.

11:24We wanted Christian and Jamar worked out at the same facility this off season. So they saw each

11:28other every day. And, you know, I was watching Jamar prepare and Jamar is a great player.

11:33He's a very, very good player. I think we kind of caught them at a time of like, we didn't know

11:38what to really expect coming into the game because it was rumors like Jamar wasn't going to play,

11:43T. Higgins wasn't going to play. So we were trying to figure out who to prep for. But the entire time

11:48we knew, like, we want this one out the gate. And it was it was big time. You know, Jamar's

11:52won the contract and it's like, hey, man, I mean, I hope you get it, but you ain't getting it this

11:57week. Like, you know, that's one of those type deals. So, you know, and like they spoke before

12:02and it's all in good competition. But Jamar, once again, really talented guy, super athletic. So it

12:07was a chance for Christian to show like, hey, you know, this guy's fast. You know, he ran for three

12:13and Christian's like, hey, I want to show you guys. And I'm also that kind of guy as well, too.

12:18Absolutely. Game recognized game. And this was a great way for him to get back in the fold and show

12:22like, yeah, I know it was just a brief step last year, but that's really what I'm about.

12:26And he showed it. So the reason I picked this clip was because I love the hip fluidity

12:31you see from Christian. Again, you see it from Jamar Chase, the way he can stop. But then

12:35Christian still right in his hip in a situation where some cornerbacks, that's a tough spot for

12:40him. So what did you see on this rep? So once again, once motion goes away, he only has one

12:46threat on his side. That's going to be Jamar. And then as you can see, as the play breaks down,

12:51we see where our post safety help is at. So there's no reason to like fear getting beat across the

12:56field or on overs and stuff. So it's controlled aggression by Christians like, OK, inside release,

13:03get my hands on. I'm getting to the low hip. So we go through this in the offseason as well.

13:07Receiver sits down in a chair position. That means we're in the way. If Jamar wants to dig,

13:13he to speed cut the dig. So he run out. He dropped his hips. Christian has some of the best hips in

13:18the game, drops his transit with Jamar easily. And then it's also staying in that position

13:24between him and the end zone. Like a lot of guys take that hip flip and they try to go undercut or

13:29they go wide. And it's like that turns to an easy catch or even worse, like a touchdown.

13:35So for him to like make that flip and keep Jamar in front of him and stay on the upfield shoulder

13:40so you can look at the quarterback through the wide receiver. And that's what made that rep to

13:44be like a very elite rep. That's teach tape. Absolutely. And one thing that always stands

13:49out about Christian is how well he uses his hands, like in this position, sometimes,

13:53especially against a guy like Jamar Chase, defensive backs can get grabby where they just

13:56want to make sure they don't get beat. So what do you do with Christian where he is so good at using

14:01his hands really just to get a feel for where the receiver is and keep himself in good position

14:06without getting grabby? I don't think he's gotten called for a pass interference or anything like

14:09that his entire career. Yeah, he got a holding call this game. Oh, oh, what's that? It's like

14:17a run or something. It was it wasn't even coming. It was it was a ticket tag. Like him and Jamar

14:22both were looking back for the ball. Quarterback got outside the pocket. It shouldn't have been

14:25called, but they called it. But it's just it's one of those things to where, like,

14:29that goes from Christian's background. Once again, him playing receiver, him being a basketball

14:34player like it's just a great job of mirroring. It's mirroring. It's having that ability to drop

14:40your hips just like them. Plant your foot in frame. You know, I'm saying slide and stay between.

14:45I use the term stay between them in the room at all sessions, because like if you watch any good

14:50basketball defender, these guys are like sliding their hips, but not being too handsy, but just

14:57handsy enough, you know, to what it's like, you know, if you watch some of the greats like

15:01Anthony Edwards and like, you know, like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, those two guys,

15:06both sides like they're just good enough at hand checking to not get called for like a blocking

15:11foul or something like that. So like we kind of watch guys like that and then take it over to the

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16:09And that kind of leads me into this matchup because this was one going in.

16:14DK is a lot like AJ Brown in terms of just big physical dudes were like you get like Christian

16:21is a big dude too. He's physical. One of the best press corners already in the NFL.

16:25But again, it's just such a rare skill type that DK has. And early on, it looked like Christian

16:30wanted to kind of be physical with him and see what he could get away with and press.

16:34And DK was like, nah bro, I'm built different and really felt like he was trying to assert

16:38his dominance early. And from my perspective, it looked like Christian was like, all right,

16:42bet I can out athlete you. And I remember going into this game. I asked him, you know,

16:46is this the kind of guy where you want to play press? You want to out athlete him? And he's like,

16:50hey, DK is a good athlete. I'm like, yeah, bro. So are you? And then we kind of saw a

16:54little bit of everything. So what was the idea going into this matchup?

16:58Well, we kind of knew you, you hit it right on the money. Like that's DK's game plan weekend

17:02and week out. He tries to assert his dominance. He's very physical in the run game as well.

17:08You can't stand around piles around the guy. He'll come clean you up. You can't try to be

17:14too aggressive with a mid route. He's going to throw that wing out there. He's going to push

17:19things like that. So it was nice to see him make that adjustment mid game to where he was able to

17:24be like, look, man, I'm going to just let this guy try to run routes and I'm going to see if

17:28he can out athlete me. And as you can see, DK had what, 10-3 verified speed or something

17:35while he's been in the league. So that just goes to show you once again, like how fast this guy

17:39really is. Like I was telling somebody earlier today, like, I don't think people realize that

17:43like Gonzo is a, I believe, I thought he was going to run sub four, three at the combine

17:50and leave that, you know, things happen nerves. You know, he was 20 years old.

17:54He was nervous. You know what I'm saying? He switched, switched cleats the day of, you know,

18:00we had no clue he was going to wear these other cleats and it was like things happen, but you

18:04know, once his nerves calmed down, he took over the combine, but he ran a, he ran a four, three

18:08while he was like tight leaning back and nervous. Like, I'm like, just think if he came in there

18:12and just was relaxed and, and was loose, you know, that's easy. Low four, three, high four,

18:16two kind of guy. So I'm like, people, people are slowly starting to see now after these past

18:21couple of games that he can run with anybody. Like that's, that's not even a question. So

18:26that he took on the challenge and follow DK everywhere he went.

18:30And I only say, I knew he was fast and you see it every week. Cause he's going up against the

18:34top guys. Like you're not an elite receiver. If you're not fast going up against Tyree kill only,

18:39I'll only bring this up. Cause he's not in the later part of the video, but watching somebody

18:44Christian size run with Tyree kill and be completely unbothered. He's impressed the

18:49entire game. I asked him, I was like, you know, what was the thinking like with that matchup?

18:53Cause I know you're fast, but Tyree kill is like the fastest dude in the NFL. And he's like, yeah,

18:58man, I come from a track family though. Like I've been running for a long time and I was like,

19:01all right, you're right. And Christian, Christian went to state in track the one year that he ran

19:07it. And then it was like, he was being silly. Like, I'm like, okay, what do you, how do you run

19:12the 200? Well, I jogged the curb and then I just go get everybody on the straights. Like, it's like,

19:17you can't make this stuff up, man. Like he's just, he's just super athletic, super talented. And uh,

19:22you know, that natural ability helps, but it's like, he he's unfazed when he's in coverage,

19:26man. I haven't seen anybody really just make them strain, you know, in coverage. I'm sure that,

19:31you know, we'll, we'll get to see Tyree again with two, you know, later on in the season.

19:37And I'm sure Tyree is going to want to make a, make a point. But like, I mean, y'all saw what

19:41we saw. And all of that is going to kind of into play right here. Cause once again, like I mentioned,

19:47this was the part of the game where Christian was like, you know what? I'm just going to be

19:50an athlete. I'm not trying to mess with you like hand-to-hand combat, but this is going to be

19:54a deep target where, like you said, he very rarely strains, he doesn't panic.

19:59And every time he gets targeted deep, he still hasn't given up a deep catch in his career.

20:03Whenever he's in those situations, you see how calm he is. And he always ends the play as the

20:08receiver. He's looking back to the ball. He's not interfering. He's just making sure he's got his

20:13position and he's trying to make a play on the ball, but lucky for quarterbacks, usually they

20:17end up overthrowing him and he doesn't have a really good shot. So coach break down this play

20:21for us, a deep target in off coverage. We're like, you said, DK is fast, but Gonzo wasn't

20:26scared of that. So if you see this in slow motion, once he realized that DK was not running a five

20:32yard route, look at the transition DK cross five yards, he's open. We already know now you're not

20:39running, you know, like, and it's no disrespect to anybody's game, but like, you're not, you're

20:44not a 10 yard curl kind of guy. So it's like, once you pass five and you're taking three yard,

20:50two yard strides, like we know where you're going. And, uh, you know, that's just, that's

20:58like the student of the game part of it, right? Where you just like, that's part of the preparation

21:05that the Patriots coaching staff has done a great job of understanding like tendencies and

21:09understanding when guys are actually running certain routes and what they've seen on film.

21:15So once, once DK is in this track stance, you know, like he's head down driving, it's like,

21:21okay, we get it, boom, open up. And then Gonzo cuts off the vertical to where now you have to

21:26start bending off of that scene. And then you got to take on contact from a guy that's six to,

21:32you know, two Oh five. And, uh, and look where they end up at the end of that rep.

21:36Like it's like, he started off at the bottom of the numbers and then he ends up,

21:40you know, between the numbers and the sideline, that's a good job of Gonzo forcing him

21:45off his path. And like you said, turning into the wide receiver. Now, these, these reps that

21:50we keep seeing like this, now they're in completions. They're going to start turning

21:54into interceptions. Yes, sir. And that's when we start talking about taking a side of the field

22:00away. And Christian always does one, the eyes on the hips, every single route, all the Patriots

22:06corners do a great job. But with Christian skillset, it almost makes it unfair. So

22:10disciplined it keep making sure he's watching the hips to know where the breaks come in

22:14and then squeezing the receiver. Like you said, cutting off that vertical, you very rarely see

22:19a goal ball in his direction where the receiver doesn't end up way close to the sideline.

22:24And they started off with some of that obviously is intentional and you're trying to get past that

22:28red line, but also Christian, just the presence that he is very rarely makes it easy on these

22:33guys to catch these kinds of passes. Yeah. Once he gets in the circle is he stays there. Like

22:38we've seen clips where receivers start there and then they work their way outside. Like you said,

22:44get to the red line and then they stack the DB. And then it's like on, you know, those turned

22:50into like, see there at the 20, 20, you know, 15, that'd have been like a 85 yard touchdown.

22:55If he doesn't stack. Yep. Like at this point, it's just those two guys have a chance to make

23:00the play on that ball. Like nobody else. If, if Gonzo is not there, DK is not stepping into the

23:05end zone. That's awesome. Such great technique. All right, now moving on, this is the first

23:10rematch that we've got for the show. I actually got a couple of clips from the jets game.

23:14These are going to seem, I feel like to, you know, maybe the person who doesn't watch football

23:18or study football as closely, like they're pretty casual plays. Like this one is going to be a slide

23:22route where Gonzo makes the tackle. But the reason I highlight this is because he does such a great

23:27job avoiding traffic. That's going to come up a couple times, but before we get into these clips

23:32and this one specifically, what did you think of this matchup specifically? Because it was the

23:36first time that Christian was actually seeing somebody for the second time. Well, you know,

23:40we know Garrett, uh, I've had the pleasure of knowing Garrett since he was in high school,

23:45you know, through the seven on seven circuit and us, you know, he's a Texas guy as well.

23:49Garrett's from the Austin area. So it's like, it's a familiar face. And we know that Garrett is

23:55again, one of those guys like Garrett was a four-star basketball player, as well as being a

24:00five-star football player. So like he could hoop, he could play, he's a freak. So it's like,

24:07don't come in taking this guy lightly, especially with Rogers back. Um, but it was a good test. You

24:12know, it was a good test. Those guys really challenged each other. I think there was some

24:15plays that they both left on the field. Uh, they could have made it a lot more of an intensive

24:20matchup. I mean, it was some missed throws by, you know, Garrett had a few back shoulder

24:24opportunities and, you know, Gonzo had a chance at the interception late in the game.

24:28And it's like, you know, I'm looking forward to the next one as well. You know, just,

24:31just to see how those guys, you know, for the third time go against you. And then I liked that

24:36it wasn't raining this year either. You know, last year it was, we threw the rain in there and like

24:40the quarterback, nobody thought that was going to play, you know, all that kind of stuff. So like

24:45he had his guy, they were at home, you know, it was a good challenge up in New York.

24:50Absolutely. Oh yeah. I forget too. It's okay. Everybody. So Garrett Wilson also dangerous with

24:56the ball in his hands. And every week teams try the same thing with Gonzo where they try

25:01the slide route or something where they try to pick him off, get their guys, the ball in space.

25:05So hopefully they can make somebody miss because they know they're going to get man coverage.

25:09Cause if Gonzalez misses in those opportunities, it's either a big play or it's a touchdown. So

25:14in this example, uh, we're going to run it through. Like I said, these guys right here,

25:18slide route, two guys could have picked Christian Gonzalez off. They don't.

25:22And he makes the tackle in space for a minimal gain. What did you see here?

25:28Oh, exactly that. Just like you said, good job of fighting over that linebacker and then getting

25:34back on track. See a lot of guys drift up field and then they keep drifting up field.

25:39Okay. Like that's what leads into him catching the ball. And then like, just see if he keeps

25:44taking that upfield angle and doesn't flatten back out, Garrett catches that ball can cut back

25:49to the middle of the field and then look, who's there to make a play. Nobody like,

25:53so it's like, you have to, you have to get back on track and you have to get back to that inside

25:58hill at best. It's a one yard game, you know what I'm saying? Like, and we have to live with those.

26:03That's a tough route to cover. You got to go between both lines and linebackers and, you know,

26:08and quarterback booting out. So, I mean, he's been seeing that same, that same play. It seems

26:13like once a game now, like, I mean, I feel like are in it. DK has like a variation of that. Garrett

26:19ran it. Samuels ran it. You know what I'm saying? Tyreek have had one similar. So it's like,

26:27that's one of those things where teams are trying to scheme their guy open, kind of catch a rhythm,

26:31you know, get a layup in there and see if we can get our guy rolling and,

26:34and build some momentum off of that. So it's a good job of him. Like you said,

26:37fighting through traffic, making that play, tackling those guys before they get downfield

26:42and gain some momentum on us. Absolutely. So I got one more against Garrett Wilson because

26:47this is a technique I'm always curious about and I'm curious like what the coaching point is and

26:51what the intention is exactly. So it looks like kind of like a pass rush. You throw the ghost

26:55move and then you kind of dip your shoulder around to get the other guy to bite. You're

26:58going to see here, he does something similar where he kind of throws his hand Christian

27:02right early on in the route, rose it. And then the redirection from him being able to stay on the

27:09hip. This is one that we have to go too deep into, but I'm curious from your perspective

27:13on what exactly the intention is with him throwing his hand like this.

27:18So when he does that, it's kind of like, it's like boxing, you know, like how they always tell

27:25the boxers establish the jab, you know, get the jab going. So by him throwing that hand,

27:30it makes the receiver have to react to it. And we don't want to spend our entire days playing

27:35corner, reacting to wide receiver. Sometimes we can dictate the route and more times than others,

27:40if we have good feet, good hands, good eyes, and we can do it. So it's like he's kind of mastered

27:46that like quick jab. He throws it out there. The receiver has to now stop what he's doing

27:51to counter that with either a hand swipe or like a one, two, it stops them from going vertical.

27:58You know, it's a good thing. Like I said, cause you never know the one time you might think he's

28:03throwing a fake, he's throwing a real jab. And then like we said, he's 200, you know,

28:07it's not a little dude playing corners. So, you know, getting hit, man, he's pretty strong.

28:11So getting hit by that jab is kind of, is what sets up for that fake to be effective.

28:16Yes, sir. And another example of the hands using those just to stay in phase, the smooth

28:21hips and the transition, another good rep. I just was, I really love those. Those are two of my

28:25favorites. All right. Now the 49ers, like I said, this was a game where he really more stuck to the

28:30boundary. So he wasn't shadowing anybody specific, but he went up against Debo and Brandon. I you

28:34could ton as usual, two of the best receivers in the NFL. This is another example of Christian,

28:40not only avoiding contact, but also getting his head back to the ball and trying to make a play

28:44on it. I thought this was crazy impressive because now you get the empty formation.

28:47It was like he had eyes in the back of his head. I don't know how he had the awareness to know

28:52to get out of the way. The receiver ends up really picking himself more than he even picks

28:56gone. So, so what do you see here? Cause I thought this was extremely impressive by him.

29:01So see two things he did. Well, the patients at the line did not retreat hands, get on the guy

29:08guy goes wide. And then the first one, right. He just shoves it before he does the two hand jam.

29:13Yup. And then, and then contact. Like, so then we're forcing this guy outside. So look where

29:18they end up. So then now of course, yeah, we got the pick attempt, uh, didn't work.

29:23And then look where that look at that window. Like there's nowhere to really,

29:26you have to throw a perfect ball to, to beat that. And like, that's the goal of like closing

29:31space. It's like making the receiver declare. And then I got to close space and that's it.

29:36Like, so that's the, that's the part of like the footwork at the line started all day by him being

29:41as patient as he was being patient, getting hands on forcing guys to get right into their routes.

29:47Because what would have happened is if he kept motoring, he would have ran into his other guy.

29:53Right. You know, like, so there would have been, there would have been confusion and discord just

29:57because of that. We're retreating. We can't strike and retreat at the same time. Now I'm panicking.

30:03Then I run into my own guy, like, you know, things like that start happening. So it's like

30:07search of dominance right there. And like, like you said, man, these are good receivers. Like,

30:11you know, both of those guys are a hundred million or over a hundred million dollar contract guys.

30:16So, uh, between him and Debo and they're two of the most physical receivers in the game. So

30:21I felt like coming into the game, we knew they like, you know, you had to play once again,

30:25like the DK Metcalf situation, you have to rise to the occasion and play physical with those guys.

30:31They're good run blockers. Uh, they're good blocking for each other after the catch. Like,

30:36like I'm a, I'm a fan. I'm a fan of both of those dudes.

30:39And you hear that Christian, like, Hey, give me a little something. He's trying to stop me

30:42from being the receiver. That's not fair. I mean, that leads us perfectly.

30:47That's another one that they could have turned into a interception by closing that space,

30:52getting your eyes around that ball goes into a spot to where Christian was almost the only

30:56person in bounds. If you want to make a memory, you got to go to game time. All right. Game time

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32:42for $20 off download game time today. What time is it? Game time. All right, coach last one. So

32:49this was almost a pick, but it didn't take long down. So finally got himself an interception.

32:54Ironically, like his first career interception, a home game against the dolphins. Now he had a ton

33:01of great matchups against Tyree kill and man coverage where, like we said, he's running with

33:05them stride for stride. I don't think I've ever seen someone cover Tyree kill and look as unbothered

33:09as he did. But I had to highlight the interception because the biggest thing for me was I was looking

33:14back at the other game because something about this felt familiar. When he first played the

33:17dolphins in week two last year, one of the only catches he gave up was on a slant. It was similar

33:23formation three by one. He was on the backside and he turned his hips up field. It was a different

33:28technique. He was in cover three and then he gave it up underneath them. And then obviously this is

33:33different because he's in cover two. So he's a cloud corner, but you can tell he knows exactly

33:37what's coming. He waits on it and he attacks the ball. So before we actually do this, what did you

33:42think about the matchup heading into the Dolphins game? It was exciting because it's one of those

33:47things to where it's like I actually the Odell news him playing was was late for me, you know,

33:53but I you know, like I said, Waddle coached him in seven on seven real familiar with Waddles game.

33:59Tyree, you know, just voted the number one player in the NFL by the players and the coaches. Whoever

34:06does the top 100 voting. So it's like, hey, like this was one that is on the calendar twice and

34:12it's circled twice because, you know, these games matter, you know, it matters, you know, to so let

34:17people know exactly who you are, what type of cover guy you are. Me personally, I text him early

34:22in the week and I was like, hey, you know, we've been watching film. I think this is a multi

34:26interception game. And then he's like, yeah. So we had a little joke going and he was like, well,

34:31who leads the league in picks? And I'm like, Xavier McKinney. And he was like, bet. And I was

34:36like, but the top corner has to play every day. You know, all the top corners were tied for two.

34:40I was like, so you can come out of this game to leader, you know, if you do what you're

34:43supposed to be doing. And, you know, we had a chance to go get three. And, you know, they

34:48Tyree made a good, crazy play right there in the end zone. And then Marty jumped in front of them

34:54on one. And I thought Marty got a pick. I was screaming at the TV and that close, you know,

34:59that close. So it was like, you know, those plays there, which I mean, I saw some fans tweet like,

35:03well, we need those plays. I'm like, yeah. And they're going to come. You got two second year

35:07guys, including my guy that's wreaking havoc on that D line, Keon White. So you got these second

35:12year guys that are, that are balling, man. They're just, they're just this close. They're this close.

35:16Like if they stick in there just long enough, man, that's, it's going to be one of the top

35:20defenses in football. And I'm glad you set the record straight on the one that Christian almost

35:25had in the end zone where people are like, oh, he blew past him. And you're like, there's not

35:28that much field left where like, he knows exactly where he's going. And Christian said the same

35:32thing. He said, he knew he was running out of room, basically tried to undercut it. And then

35:37once the play got extended, he really was just looking for the ball. I feel stupid. I should

35:40have put this one at that one in here, but we do have an INT. So we're going to run this through

35:45first real quick. So people can see it square eyes on the quarterback, the whole time begging him to

35:51make this throw and he gets it done. So coach, what did you see on this rep? So once again,

35:56alignment assignment is key alignment. Quarterback. Look, probably thought they

36:01were bailing. You know, he squares up. We understand where our help is at. So any

36:07in breaking route, he knew I can go. And, and he went, as you look over the top, my safety has

36:13gotten to the deep half. He got me over the top. I'm going to go get me one. And you know, like,

36:17it was just a great, great play ball thrown a little bit behind and Hey, that's what we're

36:23there for. If he didn't trigger on it, he wouldn't have made the play, you know? So it was

36:26one of those things where like physical forcing to run his route and probably a little bit shorter

36:31than he wanted to. And, uh, and, and made a play. And that's one thing about Christian this year.

36:37I know last year, like he had his interception, but it feels like he's starting to try to bait

36:42guys. Like the play before this, they threw it. I think it was, yeah, it was played before this.

36:45They threw it out. I think it was to Wadler, somebody, he undercut that. And I was like,

36:50Huntley, don't throw to this man. I know, you know, you trust your guys do not throw to this

36:55man. And then one play later, I'm like, I told you it's like, it's, it's the body control, man.

37:00And it's deception. Like if you see him in person, you're going to be like, okay, he's smooth, but

37:08you can't tell how fast he's running. And you can't tell how hard he's trying either. So like,

37:13he has this effortless face thing that he does where it's like, I'm not really trying, but I am.

37:19And then it's like, so they probably looked over there and was like, ah, we're going to catch him

37:23loafing, you know? Cause it's, it's Odell. It's not Tyreek or it's not Waddle. And then,

37:29you know, it's like, nah, he can, he can flip that switch whenever. Like he's got one of the

37:32quickest steps out of his breaks, guys like him, Sertain, you know, Tariq Will and Witherspoon.

37:38Like there's some guys that have like that sneaky, like trigger step coming out of that break. And

37:43like, that's him. Like they understand how to break and they're, they understand the fluidity

37:47counts. So he's moving so fluid that like, he's not taking many false steps. So, you know, you

37:53don't have much room for error, you know, like, and just like you said, that same slant, I can go

37:57back to preseason, preseason game versus the Eagles. And it was like, we gave up that slant.

38:03The Jets, you know, Gary Wilson caught that slant, you know? So it's like, it's one of those

38:07things where it's like learning and adapting as the season goes on. Like, look, I got to play

38:12this slant a little different. You know what I'm saying? I gotta, we gotta, we gotta have a

38:14different look, different mindset when it comes to these backside slants and those opportunities

38:19that you get to press, press. Like, you know, that's, that's the strength of your game. If it's

38:22third and short, press, you know, if it's third and five, press. Like matter of fact, if you're

38:27running stride for stride with these guys, press whenever you can, you know? So I think he's getting

38:32that freedom with him being a second year guy that's starting to trust him more and be like,

38:35hey, we see. And so I think too, getting past that week, you know, like what last year was week four?

38:41Yeah, week four, yeah.

38:43Got past week four and we're like, all right, you know, like still holding up. We're feeling good.

38:48So, and it's, he doesn't get an off week, man. You know, you look at that schedule. It's like

38:52every week there's a guy that you want, like, I wanted Nikko Collins. Nikko Collins gave him

38:57that welcome to the, welcome to the league, rookie moment, the first preseason game last year.

39:03So I'm like, man, you got to get Nikko back. Nikko drove you to the sideline, man. We got,

39:07we got to get Nikko back, but, you know, still has a matchup against Stephon Diggs, you know,

39:12one of the best receivers in the game. And then once again, you got to go back through

39:16on guys like Wilson, guys like Tyreek, Waddle, you know, Odell have his legs about in and then

39:23Buffalo faced a good quarterback in Josh Allen twice late in the season.

39:28So it's, there's, there's no off weeks, man. Like this league is full of athletes,

39:32it's full of great competition. So hopefully he stays locked in for, for every game, man,

39:37and just shows the fans and, and, and, and the other teams like, Hey, like this is, this is serious

39:42over here. People are starting to take notice. I know a Stephon Gilmore gave him a little shout

39:47out and then he said, he appreciated that. But like you said, it's a gauntlet this year. I know

39:53the Patriots are very glad they got someone like Christian Gonzalez. Obviously that's, that's just

39:58a position where you're not going to win the battle every week. It's just so hard, but frankly,

40:03I haven't seen him lose a battle quite yet. And I am very okay with that. He has been killing it,

40:07but coach, I've already taken up so much of your time. Thank you so much for coming back on.

40:11Appreciate your insights. As always, please let the people know where they can find you

40:15and more of your excellent insights. So I'm at flight skills, the same way it's

40:20spelled at the bottom of the screen there, no space on Instagram and Twitter, you know, so we,

40:27we, we share a lot of free game. I post a lot of videos. You can keep up with these guys working

40:31out and stuff like that throughout the off season. We're going to like YouTube docuseries,

40:35this stuff. So guys can see what goes on behind the scenes with pre-draft not dropping any hints.

40:41You know, I found out these offensive guys are watching, you know, podcasts and learning secrets

40:47and stuff. So, you know, you'll, you'll get a little, little glimpses of what we do, but we

40:50won't drop any sauce like that. So, but I appreciate your time as always, man. It's a

40:55pleasure coming on here, talking ball with you and just, man, hopefully these guys can, can,

41:00can get one this weekend and kind of turn it around a little bit, man.

41:04Feel it's mutual. We got Drake Mayweek this week. We're going to see what the kid can do. Actually,

41:09before I let you go, what do you think about Drake finally being named QB one?

41:14Uh, I have, I have some thoughts just as far as like, I think he's super talented. You know,

41:21I think, uh, through the pre-draft process, I saw some tape on him, saw some film, you know,

41:25I watched him throughout college and stuff like that. I think he does bring some stuff to the

41:30offense that the offense might not have right now, but the old line is a concern, but I mean,

41:35it's like the run game does so well that I don't think it's like a, like, like a big time old line

41:41issue. I think it's just more so of like just processing and getting the ball out. You know

41:46what I'm saying? So, I mean, Drake's going to take some shots. I think there's some guys itching to

41:50get some, some deep ball opportunities and stuff like that. So hopefully that line can hold up.

41:55Uh, Ramondre has been running well, you know, besides the fumbles and, but like, you know,

41:59he, he turned around this past weekend and played pretty good and Gibson's a good guy to spell them,

42:04you know? So it's one of those things like this team has a lot of weapons and there's weapons,

42:09but then they just have to be, I feel like just put in the right place, you know? So

42:13I'm looking forward to seeing what Polk can do this week, you know, Pop, you know,

42:18Bourne is back, you know, the, the tight ends have been playing great. So it's like every week

42:23they're competing though. It's like, they're not just not in any of these games. They're competing

42:28in these games. It's just the finish turnover margin. So that's where like our guys got to

42:32come in, in clutch and make those interceptions and you take away one or two field goals,

42:37you know, Patriots win, you know what I'm saying? You know, we get a couple of short fields and,

42:42you know, have some things go, go the opposite way. But, you know, I feel like if may can kind

42:47of get a tempo and, and, and move the ball down the field and keep the defense honest,

42:51then these guys got a chance. I feel like we're very much on the same page. I feel validated.

42:56That's why I love having you on coach. Once again, I already played a bunch of your time.

43:00Thank you so much again for stopping by and thank you all as always for watching. Now,

43:05take care of yourselves, take care of each other. We will see you next time. Peace y'all.

43:09Support us and sign up at prize picks, go to prizepicks.com slash CLNS or download the app

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Christian Gonzalez’s trainer breaks down his film | Patriots Daily

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