Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo injured his shoulder in the first half of the Patriots’ win over Miami and just a few hours after the game ended, news came down that Garoppolo would miss the next six weeks of the season with a torn according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss, Garoppolo has sprained his right his AC joint.
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Instead, media closely watched his backup, Jacoby Brissett.
The third quarterback is looking like the Patriots’ starter when they face the Houston Texans on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in a matchup of 2-0 teams. Some were found to be underweight and so the league came after the Patriots and specifically quarterback Tom Brady for the issue.
Osweiler said he’s enjoyed seeing Garoppolo’s success because he understands how hard it is to be a backup quarterback in the NFL.
Brissett obviously isn’t a street guy like, say, Brandon Weeden last season.
“I think organizationally, in our organization I don’t think we would put together a team the way Indianapolis did it when they lost Manning and they go 0-16, 1-15 or whatever it was”, Belichick said soon after the pick was made.
An early-season AFC match-up between two undefeated teams is always exciting, because one of these division leaders will leave with a blemish on their record.
However, the Patriots are putting pressure on Garoppolo to be ready as quickly as possible, even reminding him Tom Brady played through a similar injury on multiple occasions throughout his career, sources have told the Herald.
“The quarterback – he’s going to prepare for the game the same way, regardless of whether he’s going to start the game or not”, Belichick said. But J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney may just tee off on the rookie quarterback, pressuring him into making mistakes.
“The same things you do every week but just more of it”, he said.
Then again, that may be because Edelman understands the control Patriots coach Bill Belichick prefers on such decisions. “I’m not a doctor”, he said Tuesday when asked about weighing injury status into personnel decisions.
The defense – despite giving up some yards and points late in the game – looked great, all should be right with the world in New England, right? “He’s got good size”.
Enter Brissett. The NC State Wolfpack warrior had been drafted by the Patriots back in May. Head coach Bill O’Brien reeled off a list of reasons he’s such a formidable challenge. He’s a bright guy and he’s coached very well there.
The 24-year-old looked poised beyond his years and showed he knows the Patriots offence – or at least the parts offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wants him to know – off by heart.
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“Is there a lot of pro information to go on?” We had that as an evaluation, too. “He’s a great player, and ever since he’s been here he’s been improving every single day”. Some of the things he does-adjustments at the line, his touch on throws, his accuracy, his will to drag the team down the field and win a game-are there regardless of who his coach is. Some call it tough, some call it dumb, and some players have their livelihoods at stake if they don’t play and their back-up takes their job. Let Garoppolo go through a week of rehab so he doesn’t further injure himself- or, best case scenario he’s actually ready to play on Thursday and he can suit up.
