No, we still don't know if Tom Brady's suspension will be reduced. We also don't know how backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will perform if Brady is forced to sit for the first month of the season. But Garoppolo did receive a vote of confidence from wide receiver Brandon LaFell, so that should help ease the concerns of Patriots fans.
"Jimmy has grown a lot since he first stepped foot up there in Foxborough last year," LaFell said in a Wednesday interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio. "He got a little experience during the later part of the season against Buffalo; he showed a little glimpse of what he can do. He's been having a nice OTAs, a nice offseason with us.
"I feel like studying behind Tom has been great for him. If we have to be without Tom for the first couple games, I'm pretty sure Tom will be in Jimmy's ear helping him prepare each and every way he can to go out here and lead this team. I think we have a great group of guys around him that will kind of take the pressure off Jimmy so he won't have to feel like he has to go out there and win the game himself with me, Gronk, Edelman, Scott Chandler, we have all great guys around here - LeGarrette Blount, Aaron Dobson - a few guys who can go out and make a lot of plays for himself so he doesn't feel like he has to go out there and win the game himself. Everybody just has to up their level of play to help out."
Garoppolo, a second-round pick last year, appeared in six games during the 2014 season. In that time, he completed 19 of 27 pass attempts (70.4 completion percentage) for 182 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
The draft profile on him coming out of Eastern Illinois made him sound like a Tom Brady clone: quick release, good anticipation, enough mobility to shuffle in the pocket and tough as nails. However, Garoppolo did struggle at times taken snaps from under center and did not always have the best feel for pressure up front. Still, Bill Belichick wouldn't have invested a high-round pick into him if he didn't think he was capable.
For now, Patriots fans should be cautiously optimistic.
