Doug Gabriel

[PatsMyBoyz!]

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]

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!]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[JoeSixPat]

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!!]

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.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Hard to see on TV but I don't believe we ran a 3 WR set all game. Caldwell looks the best out there...Troy has the short stuff down to a science. Gabriel/Jackson need to beat out Caldwell and have not done it.

Personally...I like it this way. The TE's protecting Brady is a good move...every team blitzes the crap out of us when we go to 3-wide...like I said, I like it this way.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

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.[/QUOTE]



Gee Gaffney has been so good, that he has caught what 1 pass in the last 2 weeks??? He was careless with the ball , and probably careless in practice.. Maybee Gaffney will contribute, but I have not seen it yet..

 

[shirtsleeve]

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.

Thanks for this post. I saw that last night too, but didn't know who the receiver that was being blatently being held (completely wrapped up with both arms just as Brady was looking at him) behind Brown was. I thought then that Brady was trying to throw at the foul, and Brown thought it was meant for him. Wouldn't have helped anyway. There was only one team capable of PI last night. The other was just playing good defense. If you dont believe me, ask the ref's.....again!

 

[rabthepat]

I am disappointed Doug is not making better strides with our team. I had seen him play several times with the Raiders and thought he was going to be a good addition to our team. I guess there was a reason why the Raiders let him go. Underachiever?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I don't think Gabe has been written off, I think the game plan has had another receiver running the deep sideline and seam routes they were using him on earlier. Caldwell, Watson, Graham, and Jackson all turned up on those type of routes, three of them have better chemistry with Tommy, and one or two are faster.

He sat out the first half of the Green Bay game, then was in for the second half - I'm wondering if they are working him on different routes to try and expand his utility?

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

I'm wondering if they are working him on different routes to try and expand his utility?[/QUOTE]


This could be! It's happier than thinking he's a bust

We did get him on the cheap so even if he's a bust it's not such a bad loss but he did well with Oakland so I have hopes he's working out here too. He's got talent so you sorta wonder where he's been but as someone pointed out,we have no way of knowing if his practices have been off or what the real story is. By the same token they could be grooming some routes and plays for him down the road,keeping him somewhat under wraps for now? Maybe the same could be said for Gaffney?
BB usually comes up with something different for January;maybe we'll see something awesome involving these guys then.
I like this scenario

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

I'm wondering if they are working him on different routes to try and expand his utility?[/QUOTE]


This could be! It's happier than thinking he's a bust

We did get him on the cheap so even if he's a bust it's not such a bad loss but he did well with Oakland so I have hopes he's working out here too. He's got talent so you sorta wonder where he's been but as someone pointed out,we have no way of knowing if his practices have been off or what the real story is. By the same token they could be grooming some routes and plays for him down the road,keeping him somewhat under wraps for now? Maybe the same could be said for Gaffney?
BB usually comes up with something different for January;maybe we'll see something awesome involving these guys then.
I like this scenario

 

[smg93]

No way that Gabriel is in any way a bust. So he may be in the doghouse a little bit but I think he has shown a lot of capability as a WR this year and I look forward to seeing him suit up in many more games in the future. He has got a lot going for him like size and speed. All he needs now is to make his QB believe in him and I think he'll do very well.

 

[Patjew]

Anyone have any stats on how many plays Gabriel was actually in there. I was at the game and noticed him as the left WR several times (or so I thought), just no balls went his way.

 

[Mack Herron]

I was at the game and Gabriel was out there plenty on Sunday, about as much as anyone else (without counting). He looks skilled in warm-ups, though Gaffney looks quickest. Problem: Gabriel, Jackson, Gaffney had ZERO catches, and Brown only had one. Caldwell had the other three of the FOUR catches by WRs on the day.