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If you were merely listening to the number of people who insist the sky is finally falling in New England over the past couple of weeks without looking at the current NFL standings, you could be forgiven for not knowing the Patriots are currently rocking a 10-3 record and are poised to make the playoffs for the eleventh year in a row.
Sure, they’ve dropped the past couple of games and Tom Brady looks slightly more mortal than usual while being forced to deal with an anemic offense, and while rumors continue to fly that he might defect to another team after the season wraps up, anyone who’s been paying attention the past 20 years or so knows it’s foolish to count the Patriots out at this point.
However, New England has recently run into one problem they haven’t really had to deal with over the past couple of decades, as they currently lack a kicker who can consistently do the things outlined in his job description.
Adam Vinatieri played a major role in the team’s success at the start of the millennium and Stephen Gostkowski expertly stepped in to fill the void after he left in 2006 and would go on to rack up more points than any other player in Patriots history before being sidelined with a hip injury earlier this year.
The team tried to find an adequate replacement in the form of Mike Nugent, but after that experiment failed, they were forced to turn to the services of Nick Folk, who got off to a solid start but has struggled recently by only making half of the last six field goals he’s attempted.
Now, the Patriots have decided to think outside of the box a bit with their latest acquisition after announcing they’ve added a new player to the practice squad in the form of Josh Gable, who made a name for himself thanks to some trick shot videos that started to make the rounds a few years ago.
https://vimeo.com/188897038
https://vimeo.com/193048958
The 28-year-old Gable was a kicker in high school before pivoting to soccer in college and eventually joining the Indoor Football League, so while he might not be the most experienced guy on the market, his ability to nail an 80-yard kick is nothing to scoff at.
With that said, I’d love to see him do that with several 300-pound men bearing down on him with the game on the line.