FOXBORO — Since returning to game action in Week 4, Christian Gonzalez’s play has matched his personality.
Quiet.
Gonzalez has made 19 tackles and just one pass breakup, albeit an important one on third down that forced the Bills to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ biggest win of the season. Since then, Gonzalez failed to get his hands on the ball and allowed a few catches in man-to-man coverage. But his position coach, Justin Hamilton, believes he’ll turn the corner soon.
“It, to me, feels like he’s starting to settle into having his game legs,” Hamilton said this week. “He’s out there in the first game, and I talked to him afterwards, and he was just like, ‘I gotta my legs back.’ And well, that’s to be expected. But he’s a competitive guy.
“Each day, when he goes about his business, he doesn’t say much, and he’s not gonna make a big scene. But he shows up when he needs to show up. But it’s fun to be able to coach those guys and to continue to build our relationship.”
Gonzalez has been listed on the team’s practice reports the last three weeks with a hamstring injury, which made him questionable for the Patriots’ trip to New Orleans in Week 6. He was cleared last week before playing the Titans and removed from the team’s latest injury report Friday.