In their first meeting, the Wildcat ran wild. Miami's star running back and New England's head coach tackle the unorthodox formation. Plus, news and notes from Wednesday's practice.
The Patriots head into Sunday's game at Miami tied with the Dolphins for second place in a highly competitive AFC East. The winner of the contest will answer a few questions heading down the stretch toward the postseason. For all the other questions surrounding the Patriots we bring another wide-ranging edition of Ask PFW.
After seeing the Dolphins' Wildcat formation rip it to shreds in Week 3, New England is doing everything it can to prevent a repeat performance this weekend.
Joey Porter's running his mouth again. Read all about that and the other news and notes leading up to this weekend's Patriots-Dolphins game in today's Patriots.com News Blitz.
10 Jabar Gaffney WR
Height: 6-1 Weight: 205 Year: 6 Yrs/Pat: 2 Acquired: FA-06 School: Florida Major: Recreation Born: Dec 1, 1980 San Antonio Texas
Personal
Derrick Jabar Gaffney was born on December 1, 1980 in Jacksonville, Fla. ... Two-year starter for Raines High School in Jacksonville ... Caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the championship game ... Is the cousin of Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard ... Gaffney and Sheppard won a championship in their first year together at Raines High School ... Lists his favorite movie as "Troy" and his favorite TV show as "Family Guy" ... Married to Terin, and lives in South Jersey ... Majored in recreation program delivery at Florida.
Career Transactions
Jabar Gaffney was signed by the Patriots on October 9, 2006 ... Originally drafted by the Houston Texans with the first pick in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft ... Signed by the Philadelphia Eagles (3/6/06) ... Released by the Eagles (9/2/06).
Gaffney caught a career-high 55 passes for 492 yards and two touchdowns in his final season in Houston in 2005.
Gaffney snagged a career-high 10 receptions against Seattle on October 16, 2005.
Gaffney hauled in four passes for a career-high 109 yards in a victory against Chicago on December 12, 2004, including a career-long 69-yard pass from David Carr.
Gaffney threw his first career touchdown pass on October 20, 2002 against Cleveland, a 39-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Corey Bradford.
2006 Season
2006 (11/6/0/0): Signed as a free agent on Oct. 9, 2006.
at Buffalo (10/22): Saw limited action at wide receiver in the Patriots' 28-6 road victory over the Bills. at Minnesota (10/30): Saw limited action at wide receiver in the Patriots' commanding 31-7 road win against the Vikings ... Hauled in a 4-yard pass from Tom Brady along the sideline in the second quarter. Indianapolis (11/5): Saw limited action at wide receiver but did not collect a reception. vs. N.Y. Jets (11/12): Saw extensive action in a reserve role at wide receiver and grabbed three receptions for 65 yards ... Extended the Patriots' second scoring drive with a 13-yard catch on a fourth-and-three play in the second quarter ... Set up the Patriots' touchdown with a 33-yard catch along the left sideline in the fourth quarter. at Green Bay (11/19): Started at wide receiver and collected one reception for four yards in the Patriots' 35-0 road victory over the Packers. vs. Chicago (11/26): Started at wide receiver but did not record a reception in the Patriots' 17-13 victory over the Bears. vs. Detroit (12/3): Played as a reserve at wide receiver in the Patriots' 28-21 comeback victory over the Lions ... Helped set up the Patriots' first touchdown of the afternoon with a 28-yard reception down the left sideline in the second quarter. at Miami (12/10): Played in a reserve role at wide receiver. vs. Houston (12/17): Started at wide receiver and snared his first touchdown with the club in the Patriots' commanding 40-7 victory over the Texans ... Got open in the corner of the end zone and hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter. at Jacksonville (12/24): Started at wide receiver as the team opened the game in a four-wide receiver formation ... Grabbed three receptions for 26 yards in the Patriots' 24-21 division-clinching win over the Jaguars ... Extended the Patriots' first touchdown drive by snaring 5-yard reception on third-and-one in the second quarter ... Kept the Patriots' third-quarter touchdown drive alive with a 9-yard catch on third-and-four in the third quarter. at Tennessee (12/31): Started at wide receiver and snared one reception for nine yards in the Patriots' 40-23 victory over the Titans ... Extended a Patriots' touchdown drive with a 9-yard reception down the Titans' 1-yard line on a third-and-six play in the second quarter.
2006 Postseason (3/3/0/0): vs. N.Y. Jets (1/7): Started at wide receiver in his first career playoff contest ... Led the team with eight receptions and 104 receiving yards in the Patriots' 37-16 AFC Wild Card victory over the N.Y. Jets ... Snared three receptions for 34 yards on the Patriots' opening touchdown drive in the first quarter ... Kept the Patriots' first scoring drive alive with a 15-yard catch on third-and-eight ... Got open over the middle and hauled in a 31-yard catchand- run reception during a Patriots' third-quarter scoring drive. at San Diego (1/14): Started at wide receiver ... Led the team and tied a career-high with 10 receptions for 103 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' 24-21 AFC Divisional playoff victory over the Chargers ... Snared four receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown during the Patriots' two-minute touchdown drive just before halftime ... Got open in the back of the end zone and hauled in a 6-yard touchdown strike from Tom Brady, cutting the Chargers lead to 14-10 at the intermission ... Kept the Patriots game-tying touchdown drive alive with a 12-yard reception on third-and-three in the fourth quarter. at Indianapolis (1/21): Started at wide receiver ... Grabbed three receptions for 37 yards ... Set up a Patriots touchdown by hauling in a 17-yard reception over the middle down to the Patriots 5-yard line in the third quarter ... Gave the Patriots a 28-21 lead by tightroping the back of the end zone and snaring a 6-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 remaining in the third quarter.
2005 Season
2005 (16/13 - Houston): Caught a career-high 55 passes for 492 yards and two touchdowns in his final season in Houston ... Played in all 16 games, starting 13. Cincinnati (10/2): Caught six passes for 88 yards against the Bengals. Seattle (10/16): Had a career-high 10 receptions for 87 yards in a loss to the Seahawks. Cleveland (10/30): Had five grabs for 64 yards. Kansas City (11/20): Posted five catches for 35 yards against the Chiefs. St. Louis (11/27): Followed up a five-catch game with another against St. Louis, totaling 38 yards. Baltimore (12/4): Had six catches for 40 yards to make it three consecutive five-plus reception games. Arizona (12/18): Tallied five receptions for 39 yards.
2004 Season
2004 (16/12 - Houston): Grabbed 41 passes for a career-high 632 yards and two touchdowns in 2004 ... Also averaged a career-best 15.4 yards per reception. San Diego (9/12): Posted four catches for 40 yards. Kansas City (9/26): Caught a nine-yard touchdown pass. Oakland (10/3): Had four catches for 38 yards, including a 29-yard reception. Tennessee (10/17): Posted five catches for 85 yards and one touchdown. Jacksonville (10/31): Again had five catches, totaling 88 yards with a long reception of 30 yards. Denver (11/7): Posted six catches for 86 yards against the Broncos. Chicago (12/19): Hauled in four passes for a career-high 109 yards in a victory at Chicago, including a career-long 69-yard pass from David Carr.
2003 Season
2003 (16/11 - Houston): Totaled 34 catches for 402 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games with 11 starts in his second season with the Texans. Miami (9/7): Had three catches for 70 yards with a long catch of 33 yards. New Orleans (9/14): Five catches for 61 yards. Kansas City (9/21): Hauled in five catches for 42 yards. Jacksonville (9/28): Posted three catches for 38 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. Indianapolis (10/26): Posted four catches for 58 yards, with a long reception of 21 yards.
2002 Season
2002 (16/14 - Houston): Started 14 of 16 games played as a rookie, posting 41 catches for 483 yards and a touchdown. Dallas (9/8): Made his NFL debut as a starter in a season-opening win against the Cowboys. Philadelphia (9/29): Hauled in five passes for 49 yards against the Eagles. Buffalo (10/13): Recorded three catches for 48 yards and his first career touchdown, a 26-yard score from Davis Carr. Cleveland (10/20): Threw his first career touchdown pass, taking a pitch from Carr and running right before lobbing a 39-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Corey Bradford ... Also hauled in four passes for 47 yards. New York Giants (11/24): Registered two catches for 14 yards, both during a game-winning field goal drive.
Honors and Awards
2006 Peter King's SI.com Offensive Player of the Week - Wild Card Playoff
College
Played two years at Florida after redshirting in 1999 ... A two-time All-SEC selection, he was also a consensus All- America first-team selection and finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award as a sophomore in 2001. ... Ranked second in the conference and eighth in the nation with an average of 108.3 receiving yards per game (67 catches for 1,191 yards and 13 touchdowns) in 2001 ... Holds NCAA I-A record for single-season touchdown receptions (14) and single-season receiving yards (1,184) by a freshman in 2000 ... Named National Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News and was voted SEC Freshman Player of the Year by coaches and the Associated Press ... As a freshman received the Ray Graves Award as the team's MVP in 2000 and was voted the squad's most outstanding receiver.
MORE ONLINE NEWS:
Patriots pay respects to Hill An on-scene account of the New England Patriots paying their respects to Marquise Hill at his wake in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Patriots re-sign CB Antwain SpannThe New England Patriots re-signed exclusive rights free agent cornerback Antwain Spann today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
