Doug Gabriel - New England Patriots Forums

PatsMyBoyz! · 11-27-2006, 07:55 AM

My apologies if this was addressed within another thread (I'm not even close to caught up) but where is he? I know he was benched for that nasty fumble during the Jets game but he hasn't been seen since? I find it hard to believe he's STILL in BB's doghouse,there must be another reason he's MIA. Any thoughts?

jaj18 · 11-27-2006, 08:13 AM

I believe he was out there on a couple plays yesterday. Wasn't he in on Brady's second INT? I believe the ball was actually thrown to gabriel and thats why it was thrown over browns head. Gabriel was like 5-10 yards downfield from brown.

PatsMyBoyz! · 11-27-2006, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaj18

I believe he was out there on a couple plays yesterday. Wasn't he in on Brady's second INT? I believe the ball was actually thrown to gabriel and thats why it was thrown over browns head. Gabriel was like 5-10 yards downfield from brown.

Oh good,thanks! That must have been one of the INT's I was peeking at through my hands lol.

OsloRhino · 11-27-2006, 10:36 AM

If only BB let Gabriel show what he's made of.

I mean... from what I saw at Oakland and the runs he makes in a Pats uniform, the guy is an absolute steal. Especially now that we need him with Troy playing a lot of Nickel Corner.

BostonBullit · 11-27-2006, 10:58 AM

I saw him clearly on the sidelines a few times when the camera was focusing on other players.....past few games seeing him is kind of like hunting for the sasquach or loche ness monster. don't know what he did to get that deep in the dog house but he needs to start showing up early and staying late or something...maybe bring some donuts too

unoriginal · 11-27-2006, 10:58 AM

BB gives Gabriel plenty of chances to show what he's made of. They are called practices. Evidently Gaffney has been outpracticing Gabriel, and Gabriel's playing time has dropped as a result.

Willie55 · 11-27-2006, 11:12 AM

Since the fumble he has only been in on a handful of plays. I'm wondering if he came off the field after the fumble and mouthed off to one of the coaches when they were trying to make him aware of the error of his ways.

lobster · 11-27-2006, 11:13 AM

I noticed Gabriel in there as a WR on Brady's left with the outside route.

JoeSixPat · 11-27-2006, 01:09 PM

No one really knows the reasons for sure - but one thing is certain...
he's not in the doghouse for one simple fumble.

It could really be anything... and from a fan's perspective its nearly impossible for us to tell

For example - Gabriel is physically gifted - has speed and reasonably good hands one presumes, even given the fumble...

But is he running the right routes? We don't know where he's supposed to be on any given play... and balls that look like they were over or underthrown can simply be a situation where a receiver isn't where they are supposed to be.

That will definately get you benched until you show you can run the correct routes in practice. There are plenty of guys in the NFL who have incredible speed, great hands, but just can't run routes - and we've had more than a handful on the team... so that at least is one theory, and would explain why the Raiders gave him up for a 5th rounder - but ultimately we'll probably never know for sure.

5 Rings for Brady!! · 11-27-2006, 01:46 PM

The Pats already knew going into the Jets game what their back up plan would be for Gabriel. They benched him after observing him in several games and in practice, and also observing Gaffney and the other players. They made a quick and efficient swap after giving Gabriel half the game to earn his keep. If he hadn't been benched for the fumble, he might have been benched for not running routes correctly. Clearly, it was a 'last straw' situation and they had a pre-meditated back up plan.

It is really simple, they like Gaffney better at this point. Gabriel blew his initial opportunity for reasons we are not fully aware of, but perhaps his declining stats starting in the Colts game indicated that Brady wasn't comfortable with him.