By kickoff Sunday, we usually learn what injured players didn’t make the team flight for a road game, confirming their status for the weekend.
Patriots wide receiver Joey Galloway was one such player who stayed home this week, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder.
Except that he isn’t injured.
Galloway “did not accompany” the Patriots to Denver because he was going to be a healthy scratch for the second straight week.
This seems like curious behavior, but perhaps wiser members of PFT Planet can let us know if it’s common to leave healthy veterans behind occasionally if they aren’t suiting up.
Werder points out that Galloway is a vested veteran with a guaranteed contract, so the Patriots don’t want to release him unless it’s necessary.
Werder’s source says,”I think [Galloway] will be okay. This is just part of the Patriot maturation process.”
We’ll see. Galloway hasn’t struggled to get open when he’s played, but he’s suffered from a number of drops and mental errors that have cost his team points.
One of the receivers ahead of Galloway in the Patriots rotation is Julian Edelman, who was playing quarterback last year at Kent State. (And looks like a keeper.) Another receiver in front of Galloway is Sam Aiken, who has only 28 career catches, but is a core special teams player.
The fact that Galloway didn’t accompany the Patriots this week doesn’t mean that he’s going to be cut necessarily, but it’s safe to say the 38-year-old’s stint in New England is hardly going as planned.
The last player with drops like Galloway on the Pats was Doug Gabriel, and he was dumped by them mid-season. Galloway is not long for the Pats roster. Unless he has a total 180 and suddenly syncs with Brady in practice its all over for him.
Only common to leave injured players behind who are not suiting up. First time I have heard of this.
Hardly notice him on the field lately anyways, unless he is dropping a ball.
Edelman is a Welker clone, aside from number on the jersey hard to tell the two apart.
No Patriots receiver has ever comeback from this “Patriot maturation process”…whatever that is (Thanks Peter).
Look at all the mistakes Maroney Baloney has made and they keep handing him the ball.
Something must have happened between Galloway and Brady. If Brady trusted him, he’d be dressed. Don’t forget, this is the QB who wasn’t afraid to throw the ball often to likes of Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell.
Gallaway is clearly on the Doug Gabriel and Chad Jackson plan.
not too often that the front office in NE completely whiffs on a player..
put a fork in him, Joey is done
Greg Lewis has played one play of one game…and its been more impactful than anything Galloway will do all year long. Belicheat made a mistake on that move….
That’s just it though. Galloway HAS practiced well, from what I hear. However when it counts, in games, he has stunk. He is out of sync with Brady BIG TIME. He has been out of position many times, and when the ball and he do meet, he has dropped it. Now being out of position happens with new receivers. Routes are adjusted. Receivers have to find ways to get open. By now though you would think he and Brady would have gotten to the point where Brady can predict where he is going to go at these times. Either that or the guy simply doesn’t know the routes. The drops are simply inexcusable. You can’t drop points out there, not as a vested veteran who you brought in to score points as a receiver in single coverage to help pull coverage off of Moss. The idea was that Galloway would be fast enough and good enough so that teams would have to stop doubling Moss. However with Galloway being ineffective that just isn’t happening.
So Galloway sits at home, and we bring in Edelman and Aiken. Galloway MAY have another shot with the team, but it isn’t certain. Tate should be coming off of Pup soon, and could be starting as soon as week nine. With Tate’s speed and ability (if it is all still there after the injury) Galloway could be just an extra cog.
Aiken looked better than Galloway in his appearance last week.
Hell, Gaffney looks much better in Denver than Galloway in New England. Should’ve kept him.
Belicheat made a mistake on that move.
Doubt it, Belitroll.
You think NE would want Lewis back, based on his once in a career play in Minnesota?
..Tate should be coming off of Pup soon, and could be starting as soon as week nine….
Tate won’t be starting at anytime soon, but he may be off of PUP soon. And Tate, when healthy, is supposed to be able to contribute on special teams unlike Galloway. So, if Tate can play this season, that might officially spell the end of Galloway’s fine career. I am sorry to see that Galloway’s career may end on a down note.
not too often that the front office in NE completely whiffs on a player..
All Pats fans can give you a memorable list of roster players, especially WRs, that Belichick has whiffed on. For WRs we have Donald Hayes, Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson, Doug Gabriel and, apparently, Galloway. Other players include the likes, or dislikes, of Monty Beisel and Duane Starks. Belichick’s whiffed list may be shorter than most, but the ridiculous obsessive scrutiny he receives, from fans and haters, makes some of the whiffs unforgettable.
I would like to thank the NE Pats and the coach for signing Galloway away from the Steelers .
Thankfully now we have Mike Wallace on the team which is a plesant surprise . IF the Steelers had got Galloway we wouldnt have Wallace .
So again thanks to NE for giving the Steelers a nice weapon for years to come .
We shouldn’t assume that the Patriots already know what they are going to do with him, or how much likelyhood Galloway has to succeed in the system. If Belichick has shown anything consistent, it’s the ability to put players in a position to succeed, provide them with guidance and to evaluate over time whether they can contribute. Galloway can’t contribute right now, so he’s not suiting up. That may be because of the gameplan, or because he brings nothing unique to the game. They may just be keeping him to prevent him from playing for someone else, or as insurance over injury. There are plenty of examples of Patriots WRs who have gone through this. Some failed (Porter, Chad Jackson), some were decent (Givens comes to mind, as does Caldwell) and some were worth the wait (Gaffney started this path too). I’m sure the Patriots hope Galloway becomes a great option in the Flex, but right now he just doesn’t add much they can’t get from rookies (over time, Aiken too).
Hey Wiz, so Belicheat whiffed on both Lewis and Galloway then, huh? He certainly whiffed on Galloway, who was talked up pre-season by Pats* fans as the second coming of Randy Moss. In fact, if you look at the Pats* drafts and FA moves the last few years, with a few exceptions (Moss, Welker and Mayo come to mind), they really haven’t been anything all that special. This team continues to get by on the core group it drafted in the early part of this decade and Tom Brady (oh, yeah, forgot the help from the refs, too)……
I would like to thank the NE Pats and the coach for signing Galloway away from the Steelers ….
That was the least Belichick could do to express his thanks for the Steelers giving up on a key contributor to multiple Pats SB wins and appearances, Mike Vrabel, years ago.
“@stanjam says: October 11, 2009 9:23 AM
He is out of sync with Brady BIG TIME. He has been out of position many times, … Either that or the guy simply doesn’t know the routes.”
..or maybe the problem is with Brady?
Perish the thought.
he’ll be cut to make a roster spot for Seau.
I think Werder may be wrong. The last time the Patriots did something like that, they got in trouble with the league. They listed Seymour as Questionable for a (coincidentally) game at Denver and he never made the trip. That is when the Patriots started to downgrade players to Out on the night before a road game if they didn’t make the trip.
Maybe this is different because he isn’t injured?
You’re right, the Steelers have really struggled to replace Vrabel at LB since he went to the Pats. Oh wait…
I would like to thank the NE Pats and the coach for signing Galloway away from the Steelers ….
That was the least Belichick could do to express his thanks for the Steelers giving up on a key contributor to multiple Pats SB wins and appearances, Mike Vrabel, years ago.
I think it worked out on both sides . Vrabel was a special teamer on the Steelers thats it .
“Only common to leave injured players behind who are not suiting up. First time I have heard of this.”
Geeze do you ever make a comment that you actually check the facts on ?
Galloway is not injured.
Hey Wiz, so Belicheat whiffed on both Lewis and Galloway then, huh?
Of course he did.
I heard he once stumbled on the curb.
But really, the Pats, like most teams. are making transactions all the time. Some work, some don’t.
The older players at the end of their career are always going to be a risk, nobody is without error on those types of signings.