Playing the part of team doctor for a day, Danny Amendola didn’t rule out the possibility that Jimmy Garoppolo will suit up and play against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium Thursday night. Jimmy Garoppolo is likely to sit with an injured AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder. They controlled their debut victory in Arizona against the Super Bowl-aspiring Cardinals, and Sunday they smoked the Miami Dolphins for three quarters before surviving with a 31-24 victory. It seems we won’t know until the Patriots have to officially let us know.
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The proverbial “next man up” in the New England Patriots lexicon is the third-round rookie quarterback out of North Carolina State.
There’s no doubt that McCain could have done a better job jamming Amendola at the line of scrimmage but, even if the Patriots player was covered, Garaoppolo still had options and, indeed, could have thrown him open given the route run. He’s very competitive. I know our coaching staff will have him prepared and ready to go for Thursday night if he’s called upon.
That leaves rookie Jacoby Brissett, who took his first National Football League snaps on Sunday in the Patriots win over the Dolphins, as the likely starter.
This summer, the Dolphins tried to replace Miller by taking a chance on free-agent Foster, a four-time Pro Bowler for the Texans who hadn’t played a full season since 2012 and had gotten on the field for only four games previous year.
Will Bill Belichick use Edelman as quarterback again? The Patriots finished 2-14, and along came Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe, who preceded Brady.
Against Miami, Garoppolo completed 18 of 27 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. His defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel had the same job in New England.
“We sleep here instead of at home”, O’Brien said, prompting a question about whether he was being serious. “After the first game, I had full confidence that we will go at least 3-1, if not 4-0 in the first month”.
Q: Do you feel like Julian Edelman could play quarterback in an emergency situation?
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New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, front, warms up on the field during an NFL football team practice Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, in Foxborough, Mass. And the big story line here is that the Patriots are expected to start a third-round rookie at quarterback in a game that could have crucial playoff tiebreaker ramifications down the road.
