PATRIOTS PIN HOPES ON GAROPPOLO
Untested QB has plenty of hurdles he must clear
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. Goodbye and good luck.
That was the gist of Tom Brady’s farewell message to the New England Patriots before he began his Deflategate suspension last week. As Jimmy Garoppolo told it Wednesday, it was a fittingly efficient message from Brady.
Brady landed in the NFL hot tub because, according to the league, he probably knew too much about how the footballs were deflated and went all-in on the coverup. I still think the league came down too hard with the four-game suspension after taking away a first-round pick and fining the Patriots $1 million.
But when the case went to court — Tom Brady vs. the NFL — the ideal gas law didn’t stand a chance against Article 46 of the NFL labor pact. In any event, it’s on to Garoppolo.
Sure, there are huge banners of a screaming Brady adorning the lighthouse, front and back, at Gillette Stadium. In character, coach Bill Belichick grumbled that the banners were “decorative and marketing things,” but the artwork sends a not-so-subliminal motivational message. Something like: Hang tough; I’ll be back.
In the meantime, here comes Jimmy G., poised to make his first NFL start on the road Sunday night vs. the blitz-happy Arizona Cardinals while working behind a patchwork line in transition.
He longed for a chance to play, naturally, and here it is. Asked what he expected the most difficult part of the task to be Sunday, the third-year pro began his response with an essential shrug. “I don’t know,” he said. Exactly. For as much as Belichick and Co. will pour into the preparation, what Garoppolo doesn’t know is the rub. They will try to protect him with the game plan and coordinator Josh McDaniels’ play calling. But as the game got faster and more complex in coming from Eastern Illinois, it gets even faster in the transition from preseason to regular season.
“We’re ready for Arizona,” Garoppolo said. “It’s just preparing throughout the whole week. We have to have a good week of practice, take care of the little things, the little details, and the rest will take care of itself.”
One thing is sure: The Patriots must protect Garoppolo better than they did Brady last season.
With Brady in control, often bailing out the unit with his calls at the line of scrimmage and frequently running plays at a fast pace that kept defenses off balance, New England has fielded one of the NFL’s most pass-heavy offenses in recent years.
It threw on more than 62% of the snaps. It’s unlikely Garoppolo will be expected to throw so much, but there comes a time in any given game — or a few times — when the quarterback must make a play in order to win.
Merely loading up with twotight-end and jumbo packages and having Garoppolo hand the ball off over and over might only go so far. The Patriots had a rather feeble, 30th-ranked rushing game in 2015 and still don’t have a make-you-miss runner.
Still, the most glaring issue as last season came to a close was protection. Playing at the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game, Brady was not only sacked four times as Von Miller led the charge but also absorbed 21 hits.
“You wish you could change that,” center Dave Andrews said. “But what happened happened. You just have to progress from it. You can’t live in the past.”
After the season, the Patriots parted ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo and lured longtime guru Dante Scarnecchia out of retirement. The projected starting five for Sunday includes one player in the same spot from the AFC title game, right tackle Marcus Cannon.
It’s more shaky when considering that right guard Jonathan Cooper didn’t play in preseason. Josh Kline, the expected left guard, was cut this week; Bryan Stork, the center from the game at Denver, was let go last week.
Now this whole thing will get tested against a fast, athletic Cardinals defense that blitzes at one of the highest rates in the league.
“I’ll try to make it as easy as possible for (Garoppolo) by just doing my job,” tight end Martellus Bennett said.
Just do your job. That’s what Belichick preaches, especially when there’s such a leadership void without Brady.
Is Garoppolo ready? “We’ll see,” safety Devin McCourty said.
When someone responded that it sounded like a rather lukewarm endorsement, savvy McCourty put it in perspective.
“I’m not here to endorse him,” he said. “Jimmy’s a hardworking football player. I don’t think talking about Jimmy daily does anything.”
Talking settles little now, because it’s put-up-or-shut-up time for the Patriots.