Yesterday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four game suspension for his alleged involvement in DeflateGate. Although Brady plans to take the matter to federal court with an injunction, it's looking more and more likely that backup Jimmy Garoppolo will see significant playing time at some point during this upcoming season. Patriots fans are obviously wondering if he can keep the team afloat during that stretch as New England begins its quest for a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
In light of the NFL's decision, NFL.com's Jim Darlington offers an update on Garoppolo's progress via an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation.
"Early on, it was a difficult transition for (Garoppolo) just to call plays in the huddle and go through the reads and progressions," the source told Darlington. "He made strides over the course of the preseason, but (the Patriots were) were still a bit hesitant to think he was ready if he was needed last year. This offseason, he continued to make strides and was much more confident in calling plays and running the offense. He will still need to adjust to NFL defenses now that he's had a year to get down the offense."
The 2014 second-rounder out of Eastern Illinois has generated some positive feedback for his performance this offseason in OTAs and minicamp. But he still has only attempted 27 passes in his young career. That's hardly enough to inspire unshakable confidence among the Patriots faithful.
One silver lining is that head coach Bill Belichick has been in this position before. When Brady went down with a season-ending injury in 2008, backup Matt Cassel stepped in with just 39 career pass attempts in three seasons. He helped lead the Pats to an 11-5 record that year while throwing for 3,693 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Belichick knows how to scheme around team deficiencies and, at most, Garoppolo will only be filling in for four games.
Still, with Brady likely missing time this season and turning 38 next month, it has to be reassuring for Patriots fans to hear that his backup is steadily improving.
