The silver lining in Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” is that Bill Belichick can determine if Garoppolo is the future. This season, like last season, will come down to the overall healthy of the team.
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And in true next-man-up Patriots fashion, all those playing around Garoppolo and on both sides of the ball will be expecting to fill the Brady-less void for a Belichick-led team that expects the same results regardless of who is on the field at any position.
All around him there was chaos, cameras and microphones, yet Jimmy Garoppolo stood tall in the pocket while facing a media blitz that rivals the intense pass rush the Arizona Cardinals will likely throw at him in the regular season opener.
Having a dynamic tight end tandem to throw to in Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett should help ease Garoppolo’s transition period. If Gronk, Edelman, and Brady stay healthy throughout the season then the Patriots have a legitimate chance to secure the #1 seed.
New England safety Patrick Chung says he’s confident Garoppolo can get the job done while Brady is out. “Get the offense ready as much as we can, and we have a long way to go, really”.
No matter how Garoppolo does, New England head coach Bill Belichick said firmly during his camp-opening press conference on Wednesday that Tom Brady will resume his position into the starting quarterback as soon as his four-game suspension ends on October 3rd.
Brady knows just how important those first four games are, given that three of them are at home.
“It definitely started two years ago”, Gronkowski said.
For now, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said the plan during camp is to make sure all three quarterbacks get plenty of reps, with now specified first- or second-team designations.
“It absolutely is even though fundamentally I think a lot of things are the same; things you have to do in camp in order to prepare for a season, but each year is different”, said Belichick. While the team was struggling at 0-2, Bledsoe was solid, posting a 95 passer rating in the 1.5 games he played prior. First, “Oh my God, just let it die, Goodell” and “We’re on the Jimmy G”.
Just because Garoppolo is the starter doesn’t mean he will alter his mentality. It’s big change for a fan base that once had trouble pronouncing or spelling his name.
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“It’s a tough one”, Garoppolo said, “so we’ll see”.
