A day after appearing in federal court, Brady started at quarterback for the Patriots in their first game of the NFL preseason on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. While Brady being forced to spend time he would usually put to good use preparing for the season instead spent worrying over a potential settlement presumably means Pats head coach Bill Belichick will hold Brady out for New England’s preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, recent reports indicate that may not be the case. The signal caller has missed practice this week to attend hearings stemming from his Deflategate legal issue against the NFL.
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Brady received standing ovations upon coming out for warmups and then taking the field for the Patriots first offensive drive.
It’s the type of in-game situation that Garoppolo needs to be immersed in if he’s going to be ready for the start of the regular season. Garoppolo completed his first pass for 9 yards to wide receiver Jonathan Krause, who scampered out of bounds, stopping the clock.
Part of it was the supporting cast: no Rob Gronkowski, no Julian Edelman, no Brandon LaFell and an offensive line featuring none of the team’s 2014 starters on the field. The second-year second-stringer played in six games as a rookie last season, most of it in garbage time, completing 19 of 27 passes with one touchdown and no interceptions after he was drafted in the second round out of Eastern Illinois.
Watching Garoppolo throughout the entire game, he showed great pocket presence and poise.
This young Brady supporter brought a sign to the game. A couple of times on third down, and a couple more on fourth down. He’s got a strong arm, and he’s able to move around and extend plays, which is definitely an asset in this league. Garoppolo will be in the spotlight and he has to perform well in preparation to fill the shoes of Brady if his suspension stands. Garoppolo is much more mobile, and he displayed that last night.
Garoppolo’s accuracy on his short and middle throws was on point as well. He caught every pass thrown his way, and was the recipient of Tom Brady’s lone completion. “He saved us three points on that”.
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CHICAGO (AP) – Ryan Tannehill picked apart a rebuilt defense, throwing for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, and Miami led into the second half before Chicago rallied for a victory. Jones sacked Rodgers on the first play of the game. “That would’ve helped a little bit, but you’ve got to take it in stride, really“, he admitted after going 20-for-30 for 159 yards and an interception. Green Bay once again went for two and failed on a Tolzien pass.
