FOXBOROUGH - Patriots wide receiver Jabar Gaffney mostly concentrates on the basic requirements of his position, which place a premium on consistency, conciseness, and running precise patterns. But after completing his tasks, scoring a touchdown against Philadelphia Nov. 25, Gaffney allowed for some spontaneity, flapping his arms in an Eagle-like fashion.
There was speculation Gaffney was making a non-verbal comment on his brief experience as an Eagle - he was released just before the start of last season, signing with the Patriots as a free agent in October. But Gaffney said there was neither malice aforethought nor vindictiveness in his action in the Patriots' 31-28 victory.
"I got in the end zone," Gaffney said of his 19-yard TD reception, which gave the Patriots a 24-21 lead on their final play of the first half. "And it just happened. I got some feedback about it, a couple friends called me from the Eagles. I have a lot of friends on that team and they know it was in the right spirit."
Though being rejected by the Eagles might have gotten Gaffney down last year, he quickly recovered, landing on his feet in New England. Gaffney was the team's leading receiver in the postseason (21 catches, 244 yards) and has 21 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns this season entering tonight's game against the Ravens.
He had six catches for 87 yards against the Eagles.
"Things happen for a reason," Gaffney said of being released by Philadelphia. "It wasn't supposed to be, and it gave me a chance to be here. I'm satisfied that I could come here and make a couple of plays and help the team win.
"Any receiver would like to come to a team that has Tom Brady and Coach [Bill] Belichick - they like to throw the ball around and it's a good offense for receivers to be in. I just had to get a feel for the offense and work my way in."
Gaffney gradually did just that, gaining a starting position in November '06 and setting an NFL mark by catching at least eight passes for more than 100 yards (eight receptions, 104 yards against the New York Jets and 10 receptions, 103 yards against San Diego) in consecutive postseason games.
"Jabar is a good route-runner," Belichick said. "He's a versatile guy, plays a lot of different positions for us, plays inside, plays outside, is a good technique route-runner, both on man coverage, zone, finding open spots, running short routes, running vertical routes.
"He's got a lot of good receiving skills and he can do a lot of different things. He's a valuable guy for us."
Gaffney has a chance to be in the starting lineup for a fourth successive game tonight.
"When I go in I try to make something happen," Gaffney said. "I just have to be ready when they call me and go in and play wherever they want me to, in any situation the coaches want me. The coaches and my teammates have confidence I can make a play when my number is called. Whenever I happen to be in I just want to be reliable.
"This team has a lot of veterans, we have a great coach and a great owner, and we all know what we've got to do. Everyone holds themselves accountable. The coaches give us the game plan and we execute it to the best of our ability.
"It's a family atmosphere and we don't have any bickering between offense and defense and between different positions. We all are working toward one goal. And that's the real key. Nobody gets down on another group, we are all pulling for each other. We cheer for the defense and that gets us pumped up for when we go in. We have [some] tough games left and we are just taking them one at a time."
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.
