FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Gonzo's voice: Early in his rookie season with the Patriots, cornerback Christian Gonzalez summed up his soft-spoken style: "I don't feel the need to express what I can do with my words. Just let your actions speak. I get a little more juice on game days, but that's kind of who I am."
This was the Gonzalez way. One teammate even nicknamed him "Silent Assassin."
All of which makes what has unfolded through the Patriots' 12 training camp practices this summer stand out that much more. The loudest and most demonstrative defender on the field? It's Gonzalez. And it probably isn't even close.
Things hit their peak Thursday when Gonzalez seemed to be making a concerted effort to rattle receiver A.J. Brown and raise the overall intensity level of practice. After covering Brown tightly down the field and forcing an incomplete pass from quarterback Drake Maye, he began to follow Brown back to the sideline and let him hear it.
Later, in a 2-on-2 red zone drill, he batted away a Maye pass to Brown and then turned toward a nearby camera to celebrate. Soon after, as players were transitioning to a new drill, Gonzalez seemed to be saying something to Brown and that led to a brief moment on the sideline where it looked like things could escalate as receiver Kayshon Boutte came over to pull Brown away.
🗜️ONZO. pic.twitter.com/1B2wXmr1uf
Brown's presence has brought out a different side of Gonzalez.
"He's going a little bit more, I'll say," Brown said. "With everyone else, he's real calm and relaxed; it's more fluid."
Overall, Gonzalez acknowledged his shift from just letting actions speak.
"Everybody thinks I don't talk at all. I talk a little, but I'm kind of quiet. It really depends on the day at practice," he said, adding that Brown brings it out of him from a competitiveness standpoint.
"I like to figure out how to attack a receiver. Not every receiver you can talk to; some receivers get more mad if you don't say anything to them. You're trying to figure out how you can get an edge on them."
Gonzalez's edge has been evident in other ways, too, such as the day he batted away a pass intended for tight end Hunter Henry and then gestured to the crowded bleachers to get a rise out of the thousands in attendance. Again, it was a different side of Gonzalez.