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Bill's take

FOXBOROUGH –- Bill Belichick just held his Wednesday press conference (10:30 a.m.) and opened with a few comments on receiver Doug Gabriel, who was released on Tuesday.

“One quick word on Doug, I appreciate how hard he worked and what he tried to do here. Just unfortunately, the way the whole thing came down, it just didn’t work out. I don’t know if that’s anybody’s fault, that’s just the way it was.”

Belichick was asked a few follow-up questions:

Where did things turn the wrong way for Gabriel? He seemed to be trending upward after that Minnesota game when he had five catches?
“Again, he did some things for us. I just felt like in the long run here, where we’re at this point in time, I thought it was the best thing for the football team.”

Would it be accurate to characterize that situation by saying this system isn’t a great fit for all receivers?
“I think that’s related to it. You could say that about a lot of players that have been here, that are in the league and playing with other teams, doing better than they did here. There are several at that position. I would say that’s definitely relevant.”

Strictly an on-field issue with Gabriel?
“Absolutely.”

What do receivers have to do here to fit in this system?
“There are a lot of things that receivers have to do. Just at this point we felt like that was the best decision for the football team. Doug has shown he can be productive, we’ve seen that, and saw it in Oakland. But for what we’re doing, we just didn’t think it would work out.”

Belichick also touched on comments from Dolphins players that they studied Brady’s protection calls, which they felt gave them an advantage. “I stand out on that field every day, as do our defensive players – who are pretty smart players – and I don’t see it,” he said. “If I can’t pick it up and our players can’t pick it up, with what we know and the opportunity to see and work against each other, I have a hard time thinking somebody else [could].”