In the NFL, there is an offseason when no games are played. And then there is an off season when very few games are played well. In 1972, the Eagles experienced the latter as Philadelphia mustered through a two-win campaign, scoring only 12 touchdowns along the way.

Fourteen games. Twelve touchdowns. It's no wonder that Eagles owner Leonard Tose made some changes.

First, he accepted the resignation of general manager Pete Retzlaff. Then he dismissed head coach Ed Khayat and replaced him with Mike McCormack. Next, with his sights set on obtaining an experienced leader on the field, Tose focused on 11-year veteran quarterback Roman Gabriel of the Los Angeles Rams.

QB Roman Gabriel

"Leonard Tose and Mike McCormack, in January of that year, 1973, had traveled out to California to meet (Rams owner Carroll) Rosenbloom and made a deal to get me," Gabriel said. "Then Rosenbloom changed the deal. I had a conversation with Mr. Tose, 'We want you here, but right now, we're trying to negotiate. Even though they want to get rid of you, they're trying to get too many people.'

"So finally, in June of that year, I had a call from (Rams general manager) Don Klosterman, 'Well, we're sending you to Philadelphia.' I said, 'Look, Don. That's great! Because that way, my friends that live in North Carolina will be able to come see me play. So you're not sending me anywhere I don't want to go.'

"Especially after I met Leonard Tose and Mike McCormack, who were first-class people much like (Rams head coach) George Allen, it was pretty good, actually like coming home."

Gabriel may have been "coming home," but not without a cost. To obtain the three-time Pro Bowl passer, the Eagles agreed to send the Rams receiver Harold Jackson, running back Tony Baker, their first-round draft choice in '74, and their first- and third-round selections in '75.

What did McCormack, a first-time head coach in the league, expect from the veteran?

"Mike said that with my experience and leadership, he felt with a young football team that I'd feel like Moses," laughed Gabriel. "He said, 'With this young football team, we need your leadership and work ethic because I'm aware of your work ethic.' I said, 'That's fine, because I don't have to do anything different than what I've been doing with the Rams. I'll come in and have some fun and enjoy and lead by example.'"

He did just that. Even though the Eagles struggled to a 5-8-1 record, Gabriel led the league in pass attempts (460), completions (270), yards (3,219) and touchdowns passes (23). His effort earned him a fourth trip to the Pro Bowl and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

What was the key to his successful season?

"Mike, like a lot of the great coaches, wanted to run the football first," Gabriel said. "We weren't, at that time, good enough to be able to do both run and pass, but we were able to pass-block a little bit better. We'd get behind by 20 or 21 points in the first half, and we'd have to come out throwing in the second half. And with receivers like Harold Carmichael and Don Zimmerman and Charle Young, that was probably the key."

Gabriel remained at quarterback the following two seasons; however, his statistics were nothing like the numbers he posted in his first season with the Eagles. And in '76, he almost didn't take the field at all.

"That's interesting because that was the first year of (Dick) Vermeil's (head coaching) tenure (with the Eagles). And Dick, whom I'd known with George Allen, was the first special teams coach hired in the league (by the Rams)," Gabriel recalled. "Dick really used to talk to me quite a bit because he'd never been in professional football.

"In '76, I was having trouble with my knee and I had to have it completely re-done. Dick said, 'We're going to go with Mike Boryla. Why don't you just go home and retire.' I said, 'Well, Dick, I'd like to coach.' He said, 'I don't hire people to coach for me that have played for me.' So I said, 'If that's the way you want to look at it, then that's what I'll do.' So I went back to California and started working on my knee.

"And then with about six weeks to go in the season, I get a call from John Idzik, who was our offensive coordinator. John says, 'How's your knee? You could come in here and do better than this kid we have on one knee.' I said, 'John, it will never be 100 percent, but it's good enough that I can play and still throw.' Because I've always stayed in shape. He said, 'I've finally talked Dick into some sense. We'll be in St. Louis the following week. Why don't you fly in and bring a suitcase just in case.'

"So I come in on the Saturday before the game and they had me running and throwing. Of course, I couldn't run great, but then I never could run great anyway. So I played and started the last four games."

Gabriel retired following the '77 season, his 16th in the NFL, and now splits his time between homes in Little River, S.C., and Wilmington, N.C. He is the father of four sons: Robin, Ram, Rory and Brandon; a daughter, Amber; and grandfather of two.

He owns a company, R.G. 18 Enterprises, which provides leather goods, shirts and hats to several golf tournaments throughout the southern states. He also manages seven celebrity golf tournaments. In addition, Gabriel takes part in various autograph signing events around the country.