Jimmy Garoppolo up and down as Tom Brady’s preseason replacement
Jimmy Garoppolo still has work to do. So do the New England Patriots.
That was the takeaway, especially with the news that he has been fair to middling in training-camp practices to this point, following the Patriots’ 22-11 loss to the Green Bay Packers in both teams’ preseason opener.
Tom Brady was the story early on, as his unexpected start led to huge ovations, “Free Brady” chants and a hero’s ovation despite throwing only four passes.
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Then Garoppolo — who could replace Brady the first four games if his deflate-gate suspension holds up — came in and struggled early. He was 5-of-13 passing in the first half, suffering from a few dropped passes and some sketchy blocking from a patchwork New England offensive line but also missing on some deep passes and not having great pocket feel.
In the two-minute offense before the half, Garoppolo had a chance to lead the Patriots down the field in the hurry-up offense but unwisely took a sack as the Patriots settled for a 56-yard field goal as the second quarter expired.
Garoppolo rallied to complete 15 of his last 17 passes, but he also threw an interception on the first drive of the second half, took seven sacks (on 37 dropbacks) and averaged a mere 5.3 yards per attempt in more than three quarters (49 of the team’s 59 snaps) of action.
“Ups and downs,” Garoppolo said. He was right. None were too high, or too low, but it was a so-so effort overall.
Part of it was the supporting cast: no Rob Gronkowski, no Julian Edelman, no Brandon LaFell and an offensive line featuring none of the team’s 2014 starters on the field. But Garoppolo was not good enough in this game to immediately inspire hope that he’ll seamlessly replace Brady, even with a miserable night from receiver Josh Boyce — two catches 11 targets, and he frankly didn’t do a good enough job fighting back to the ball on the interception.
Is there huge concern after one preseason game? No. But there also is plenty more work to do, too.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
