I see defenses focusing more of their attention on the run with the breakout of maroney and the good play of dillon. Gabriel will be in single coverage often, and with his atheltic ability and size, Brady is more often than not find a wat to get him the ball. There is little to no argument that Gabriel is the No. 1 receiver on the team. Deion Branch was the 22nd best WR last year as Brady's No. 1 target, and i see the running game as stronger than last year. People saying it is an extreme longshot for Gabriel to finish top 20 WR should take the situation into perspective. Plus, he has wonderboy Tom Brady throwing to him.
Doug Gabriel/ 40 year old DB Troy Brown/ injured Reche Caldwell/ injured rookie Chad Jackson/ bunch of TEs
It's a good thing you didn't make that sound biased to your side at all....
Can you debate that this is the thinest and least talented WR corps the Pat's have had in years? Seriosly, I think not.
When has anyone ever speculated that Daniel Graham is the most talented pass catcher on the team, like many were speculating that Ben Watson was the most talented pass catcher this preseason? The WR talent is just thin.
Troy Brown is still playing DB and was CUT before the season. They brought him back and this guy got thrust into a starting WR role. His last effective year as a starter was more than 5 years ago... that is a lifetime in NFL years.
Likewise Reche Caldwell was CUT before the season and the Pat's picked him up. Caldwell has been dealing with injuries for multiple weeks and took a massive hit this weekend that I think will see lingering effects. He was expected to step in and become the deep threat that the Pat's game relies on. Except, Caldwell was never really that good, and he hasn't even been able to step into David Patten and/or Tim Dwight's shoes.
Chad Jackson hasn't been healthy since the start of training camp and is a rookie. Childress might or has been called up from the practice squad. There is nothing there! Going into the Cincy game there were FOUR WRs on the 53 man roster. They couldn't run a true 5 WR set if they wanted to.
Bottomline, the Pat's had to make the Gabriel trade with Branch out, and now that Branch is gone, Gabriel is all they have.
Doug Gabriel/ 40 year old DB Troy Brown/ injured Reche Caldwell/ injured rookie Chad Jackson/ bunch of TEs
It's a good thing you didn't make that sound biased to your side at all....
Can you debate that this is the thinest and least talented WR corps the Pat's have had in years? Seriosly, I think not.
When has anyone ever speculated that Daniel Graham is the most talented pass catcher on the team, like many were speculating that Ben Watson was the most talented pass catcher this preseason? The WR talent is just thin.
Troy Brown is still playing DB and was CUT before the season. They brought him back and this guy got thrust into a starting WR role. His last effective year as a starter was more than 5 years ago... that is a lifetime in NFL years.
Likewise Reche Caldwell was CUT before the season and the Pat's picked him up. Caldwell has been dealing with injuries for multiple weeks and took a massive hit this weekend that I think will see lingering effects. He was expected to step in and become the deep threat that the Pat's game relies on. Except, Caldwell was never really that good, and he hasn't even been able to step into David Patten and/or Tim Dwight's shoes.
Chad Jackson hasn't been healthy since the start of training camp and is a rookie. Childress might or has been called up from the practice squad. There is nothing there! Going into the Cincy game there were FOUR WRs on the 53 man roster. They couldn't run a true 5 WR set if they wanted to.
Bottomline, the Pat's had to make the Gabriel trade with Branch out, and now that Branch is gone, Gabriel is all they have.
First off, it was a joke. Secondly, Brady has said that his #1 WR is whoever is open. Yes he said that when he had Branch and Givens at WR, but I don't think his general philosophy will change. He'll throw to the open player, it may be Gabriel more this year, it may not be. Another thing to keep in mind is that if Gabriel is indeed "all they have", defenses will be focusing heavily on defending him in the passing game because if he is all they have, all they have to do is stop him to stop the passing game....this is where Brady is a good QB and wont try to force it in there, he'll throw to the open guy, which may not be Gabriel if defenses start to pay more attention to him.
On the one hand, it's hard to dispute that the Pats' receiving core is as thin (or thinner) as it's been since Brady took over.
On the other hand, Brady has always spread the ball around. If Gabriel continues to produce it stands to reason that defenses will focus on him more, which should leave other receivers open.
Do I think Gabriel will be (or is) a viable fantasy receiver? He'd be a decent WR3. Top 20 is a bit of a stretch in my opinion though.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." -- Voltaire
Brady is obvioulsy trying to implement a new system in NE.
I live in Mass, so I see all the games. He is looking almost exclusively to Gabriel on long balls.
Reche Caldwell is a possession type receiver and will not be the focal point of Brady's passes.
Gabriel was always talented in Oakland with no QB to throw to him. He is a monster, hes big and fast and there have been a couple of plays where he will just break tackles by smashing into people.
Last year Givens and Branch were a big reason there was so much spreading the ball around.
In terms of talent, Gabriel is above any WR on the team by a good margin. Brady is starting to throw to him more and more.
I think that top #20 is a good approximation. With a higher upside.
Brady is immensely talented. Gabriel has a lot to gain in the NE offense.
Brady is obvioulsy trying to implement a new system in NE.
I live in Mass, so I see all the games. He is looking almost exclusively to Gabriel on long balls.
Reche Caldwell is a possession type receiver and will not be the focal point of Brady's passes.
Gabriel was always talented in Oakland with no QB to throw to him. He is a monster, hes big and fast and there have been a couple of plays where he will just break tackles by smashing into people.
Last year Givens and Branch were a big reason there was so much spreading the ball around.
In terms of talent, Gabriel is above any WR on the team by a good margin. Brady is starting to throw to him more and more.
I think that top #20 is a good approximation. With a higher upside.
Brady is immensely talented. Gabriel has a lot to gain in the NE offense.
Now if they could only trade for Moss.
Moss would be a monster in New England. I shudder thinking about what it would be like right now if they had gotten Randy instead of Doug.
youve gotta admit, gabriel is the go to guy and the other wr's arent worth much...i picked up gabriel after his first game he scored with them, it was obvious who brady was looking towards more, and its obvious he's the most talented guy they have....
saying he's all they have so teams will key on him and shut him down is a horrible argument, if there were the case you would never see roy williams or andre johnson in the pro bowl...
gabriel will very well be a top WR this year whether it be because of him or brady but i can see alot of td's going his way, im still upset i dropped him before his 2nd game
LS2throwed wrote:youve gotta admit, gabriel is the go to guy and the other wr's arent worth much...i picked up gabriel after his first game he scored with them, it was obvious who brady was looking towards more, and its obvious he's the most talented guy they have....
saying he's all they have so teams will key on him and shut him down is a horrible argument, if there were the case you would never see roy williams or andre johnson in the pro bowl...
gabriel will very well be a top WR this year whether it be because of him or brady but i can see alot of td's going his way, im still upset i dropped him before his 2nd game
Did you see the game today? Why are you posting this after Gabriel had a terrible game where he only had 2 catches for 7 yards?
It's not a terrible argument to say that when someone is all a team has teams will concentrate on him more....it's called defensive strategy. Look at Steve Smith in the game they lost to the Seahawks in the playoffs, he was all they had and they shut him down with extra attention.
Gabriel's production will be inconsistent because of the system he plays in, and being the most talented WR on that team, just makes sure that he'll receive more attention from opposing defenses and see the best CB from the opposing team. I still think he'll end up with a solid year, but like I said, I don't see him finishing in the top 20.
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by superslugger616 » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:55 pm 
