New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) is hit as he throws by Arizona Cardinals strong safety Tony Jefferson (22) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.
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Analysts were speculating if this was finally the year someone usurped the Patriots in the AFC East. Questions were circulating that without Brady, the Patriots could fall all the way to 0-4 and in last place before Brady even gets back; but then Jimmy Garoppolo happened.
“I thought he made some critical plays for us, there’s no question about it”, said offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels Tuesday morning.
Quarterback Carson Palmer was decent, completing 24-of-37 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns – both to Larry Fitzgerald, who visited the end zone for the 100th time in his career with a circus catch on a 1-yard toss from Palmer in the fourth quarter. After Arizona had taken a 21-20 lead, he directed a 13-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Stephen Gostkowsks 32-yard field goal, what proved to be the game victor with 3:44 to play.
Fitzgerald got one task out of the way quickly, snaring a pass on Arizona’s opening drive to extend his NFL-record streak to 180 games with a catch. (They’re already up a game on the other three teams, all of whom lost Sunday). They played so well in so many areas. I’ve seen comments how poor coaches and players did, and some have even called for players being benched.
Or maybe it was just one Patriots fan in one of the best masks we’ve seen since Jim Carey was tapping into his alter-ego in film.
“That was a great team win”, Garoppolo said from the middle of the huddle. The suspended quarterback had some great things to say about his stand-in Jimmy Garoppolo’s performance out there on the field. “Any time you lose the opener at home it hurts, but there’s too much football ahead of us, too many guys that love the game, have passion for the game, want to get it right and want to bounce back with a big win at home next week and we’ll continue to work to be able to do that”.
It’s probably why Belichick scoffed at the idea that the offense was at all watered down for Garoppolo in his first regular-season start. The offense played good enough to get the win this week, but the defense let them down.
I mean, Im really, really concerned about the story line, Belichick said with obvious sarcasm. Like, there’s really nothing higher on my list than the story line tomorrow.
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He does not feel the rush especially well – he got rid of the ball just in time a couple of times, but it seemed he didn’t know it was just in time, if that makes sense – and needs to keep his eyes downfield when he’s rolling out. Their preseason left much to be desired and I wasn’t blown away with what I saw last night from the team at home, against a rookie QB. “But, I can’t wait to read it tomorrow”. That’s a part of every game, but it’s uncharacteristic of some players on the Cardinals. Little known Tyrell Williams stepped up on Sunday for a pair of receptions for 71 yards and can be the new Malcolm Floyd type of deep threat to go along with free agent acquisition Travis Benjamin and the ageless Antonio Gates. They are all expected to know the information and go out there and execute it.
