TRUTH & RUMORS: Raiders make WR choice

[broadwayjoe]

Why did the Raiders trade Doug Gabriel? Don't assume it's because Jerry Porter is back in good graces with the Raiders' organization. The Raiders realized Gabriel was a player who was inconsistent on the field, dropping more passes than he caught, and someone who was a little more self-important than he deserved to be. Meanwhile, the team saw more upside with a healthy Ronald Curry.
-- San Francisco Chronicle


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scorecard/09/06/truth.rumors.nfl/index.html

I guess we will soon see how consistent Gabriel is in the Patriots offense.

 

[Born_a_Patriot]

Ah! dude don't ruin my day with Facts.

 

[Johnny Z]

I think the guy is mediocre. He flashes, and then he fizzles.

Anybody who thinks Tom Brady will make this guy passable as a WR needs to check on big WRs like David Terrell, Donald Hayes, and Andre Davis.

It's amazing how often big WRs come up short, and yet...people still believe in the nonsense.

It's also amazing how many small WRs come up huge.

 

[BelichickFan]

Anybody who thinks Tom Brady will make this guy passable as a WR needs to check on big WRs like David Terrell, Donald Hayes, and Andre Davis.

They're proof that Brady can't make steak out of mincemeat. However he will make the WR as good as he can be, certainly a lot better than Kerry Collins could.

 

[Slagathor]

For a supposed 5th round pick, It's worth the gamble.

As of right now, he is statistically and sadly our best WR.

I also have a feeling that being on the Raiders for any length of time can make anyone an inconsistant douchebag.

He had a good pre-season, and with more playing time with Tom Brady, you could see increased consistancy.

 

[363839]

I'd rate The Troy ahead of him.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

I think the guy is mediocre. He flashes, and then he fizzles.

Anybody who thinks Tom Brady will make this guy passable as a WR needs to check on big WRs like David Terrell, Donald Hayes, and Andre Davis.

It's amazing how often big WRs come up short, and yet...people still believe in the nonsense.

It's also amazing how many small WRs come up huge.

It's too early to judge Gabriel.

Big WRs tend to come up short because media and fans overrate them and teams draft them too high. Davis was more tall than big. He couldn't run routes other than deep fly patterns.

Hayes couldn't digest the playbook.

Terrell was slow.

Antics aside Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are great WRs when they want to be.

 

[mgcolby]

Well considering that every Raider fan that posted on their site was pissed that he was traded and then got irrate after finding out it was only for a 5th, I say this is just a little PR from the Raiders camp. I don't buy it.

 

[p8ryts]

How can you tell if a WR is inconsistent on the Oakland roster with the QBs they had and have throwing to them. Inconsistentcy applies to their QBs

 

[Ungeheuer]

The super in my building is a die-hard Raider fan and he was absolutely apoplectic about the trade. Couldn't believe that it had happened. I would say this kind of thing... you always see this kind of stuff when a team gets rid of a popular player, or when something bad happens. Someone from the team will whisper something off the record to a reporter. It's standard procedure.

 

[Willie55]

I think the guy is mediocre. He flashes, and then he fizzles.

Anybody who thinks Tom Brady will make this guy passable as a WR needs to check on big WRs like David Terrell, Donald Hayes, and Andre Davis.

It's amazing how often big WRs come up short, and yet...people still believe in the nonsense.

It's also amazing how many small WRs come up huge.

Last year he had 37 catches, for 450 or some odd yards and 2 TD's as a #4 WR, on a crappy Raiders team (other than WR where they were loaded) where he had Kerry Collins throwing to him.

What do you think having Tom Brady, Corey Dillon, Lawrence Maroney, Ben Watson, Daniel Graham and Kevin Faulk as teammates will do for Gabriel?

 

[usmcmgb]

Last year he had 37 catches, for 450 or some odd yards and 2 TD's as a #4 WR, on a crappy Raiders team (other than WR where they were loaded) where he had Kerry Collins throwing to him.

What do you think having Tom Brady, Corey Dillon, Lawrence Maroney, Ben Watson, Daniel Graham and Kevin Faulk as teammates will do for Gabriel?

As a case in point, look what it MAY be doing for Johnathan Sullivan:

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=155953

let's see what the guy can do in a game or two for the Pats before declaring him a bust. For a 5th rounder, it was well worth the gamble.

 

[PlattsFan]

So I'm supposed to believe post-trade spin from the Raiders camp ... why?

It's like hearing a campaign manager say his candidate had a great debate. It could be true, it could be false, but the statement itself is completely meaningless.

Gabriel has good production considering the situation he was in, his measurables are all good, and his scouting reports have made no mention of inconsistency in his hands. And he's at the perfect point in his career, the moment when WRs usually break out (if they are going to).

I remain optimistic.

 

[PonyExpress]

Here's a quick two year analysis of Doug Gabriel.

In 2004, Gabriel had the lowest completion percentage (39.5%) of any receiver in the league who had 50 passes or more thrown to him. He dropped 6 passes out of the 83 thrown at him, had 10 bad passes thrown at him, a very high number for his number of attempts. Also, Kerry Collins had the lowest comp % of any QB in the league (52.6%)except Michael Vick, and the only Qbs who threw a higher percentage of bad passes were Harrington, Boller, and Volek. Collins was also bottom tier as far a general accuracy. Part of this was the result of the Oakland O-line, part the result of Collins' historical inaccuracy. So we can say that Gabriel, who was thrust unexpectedly into the starting lineup that year, his second in the league, was unprepared and also had a putrid passer throwing to him in a terrible offense.

In 2005, Gabriel made great improvements, his completion percentage rising to 56.1% from 39.5%, performing better across the board in his limited opportunities, surprisingly, than either Moss or Porter. This is especially apparent when you consider that Collins only completed 53.6% of his passes. To compare Gabriel with Givens from last year, Brady completed 62.8% of his passes, and Givens caught at a 65.2% rate. Also, Kerry Collins had a 6.5 YPA and Gabriel caught to an 8.8 YPA; Brady had a 7.7 YPA and Givens an 8.1 YPA.

My conclusion is that Givens and Gabriel are comparable, with Gabriel perhaps offering a better deep threat but still an unknown quantity in the clutch in competitive situations. To me, an excellent pick-up.

 

[PatsFan37]

Pony, that was a great analysis. Thanks!

 

[patsox23]

I second that. Thanks, pony.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I think it is worth mentioning that we have traditionally had very pedestrian WRs in our superbowl runs. Givens was very average, and actually messed up several 'clutch' situations by fumbling around or dropping passes. Yeah, he also played good in playoff games at times as well. My point being that Givens is just another WR, and Titans will soon find out that they have a crap QB and very pedestrian #1 WR. Those boneheads!

Then there was Dave Patten. Injury prone, not tough at all, dropped a lot of passes if he felt he would take a hit (witness Eagles superbowl), low percentages, ect.

Troy Brown had a couple outstanding years, and Deion had one 900+ yard season so far, with #2/#3 production the rest of the time.

I think Gabriel can match the production of anyone on our WR roster this year. Period. Only Troy Brown appears ready to give him a run for his money.

We are kind of used to anemic offense and pedestrian WRs. We win superbowls that way. I think we have more offensive weapons this year than ever before.

 

[deeds]

Ah! dude don't ruin my day with Facts.

This is an awesome quote! You are right, who needs to bring facts into the mix.... What i don't get is all those Raiders fans freaking out over Gabriel getting traded if he was truly a problem.....

 

[deeds]

Here's a quick two year analysis of Doug Gabriel.

In 2004, Gabriel had the lowest completion percentage (39.5%) of any receiver in the league who had 50 passes or more thrown to him. He dropped 6 passes out of the 83 thrown at him, had 10 bad passes thrown at him, a very high number for his number of attempts. Also, Kerry Collins had the lowest comp % of any QB in the league (52.6%)except Michael Vick, and the only Qbs who threw a higher percentage of bad passes were Harrington, Boller, and Volek. Collins was also bottom tier as far a general accuracy. Part of this was the result of the Oakland O-line, part the result of Collins' historical inaccuracy. So we can say that Gabriel, who was thrust unexpectedly into the starting lineup that year, his second in the league, was unprepared and also had a putrid passer throwing to him in a terrible offense.

In 2005, Gabriel made great improvements, his completion percentage rising to 56.1% from 39.5%, performing better across the board in his limited opportunities, surprisingly, than either Moss or Porter. This is especially apparent when you consider that Collins only completed 53.6% of his passes. To compare Gabriel with Givens from last year, Brady completed 62.8% of his passes, and Givens caught at a 65.2% rate. Also, Kerry Collins had a 6.5 YPA and Gabriel caught to an 8.8 YPA; Brady had a 7.7 YPA and Givens an 8.1 YPA.

My conclusion is that Givens and Gabriel are comparable, with Gabriel perhaps offering a better deep threat but still an unknown quantity in the clutch in competitive situations. To me, an excellent pick-up.

Outstanding analysis and factual to boot!!!

 

[NE39]

Keep in mind Gabriel is a young WR and is trending towards getting better.

Also, he has surgery on his hand at the start of the 2005 season that caused him to miss 2 games (he missed the game against the Patriots). That set him back.