New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sounded a rallying cry to players across the National Football League on Thursday night, calling for them to band together in the coming years during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Advertisement
– The Providence Journal reported that Gronkowski was among a couple of questionable injured players – including former Cardinals guard Jonathan Cooper – who did not fly with the team to Arizona Friday.
When: 8:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC Where: Phoenix Stadium Why watch: No matter how great of a coach Bill Belichick is supposed to be, a victory by the Patriots in this game is tough enough with QB Tom Brady, so without him is an even bigger task. Jones, acquired in a trade with New England in the offseason, will line up at outside linebacker.
“He talked to the guys, but there’s really not much more than ‘He (Garoppolo) is really accurate, ‘ and ‘He’s very athletic, ‘” Arians said. Early in the game against the Rams, the Patriots then lost their best corner, Asante Samuel, and were forced into playing Troy Brown in his place.
The loss of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski will be too much for the Patriots but they are going put up a great game. Playing in three exhibition games, he posted passer ratings of 91.9, 87.7 and 67.9.
He started by praising the inherent ability of Jimmy Garoppolo, whom he compared to Tony Romo.
“The skill set”, Arians explained during a conference call on Wednesday. “I definitely am aware of what I can do and I think I can build upon that and do even better“. “Both moved around good”.
It isn’t certain that Garoppolo’s top target will play.
“Yeah, it boils to a coaching decision, the medical team, and myself”. “I go back, and you follow what the rulebook says”.
Inside New England’s locker room, there’s been nothing but support expressed for Brady’s understudy. Carson Palmer broke Cardinals franchise records last season in yards passing, TD passes and QB rating.
The Arizona Cardinals are coming from a 38-7 win over the Denver Broncos last week in a preseason game.
The Jaguars return 10 of 11 starters on an offense that made huge strides in 2015, and if their rebuild is nearing completion, this is the kind of game they need to win. My concern is specifically about Palmer and his psyche after having months to contemplate his shortcomings in last season’s playoffs. “I think most of the supporting cast is going to have to play well with him”. Pittsburgh third-stringer Landry Jones rallied the Steelers to a victory over Arizona past year.
“Jimmy’s an excellent athlete, a very accurate passer”, he said. The acquisition of Eric Rowe on Tuesday helps improve a solid secondary led by Devin McCourty and Malcolm Butler. “He does a good job of it”. They’ve got to keep the ball in front of them and they’ve got to stop the run.
The Falcons have wide receiver Julio Jones (ankle) back with full clearance for practice, confirming he will be ready for Sunday’s opening game against the Buccaneers.
Advertisement
Arizona certainly has the edge with their starting quarterback in the lineup, but New England is more than equipped to pull off an upset. While Brady is suspended, the third-year quarterback faces the Arizona Cardinals, one of the Super Bowl favorites, a team owning a strong defense.
