The Brady Botching

a blog by La Kifo

I sit here disgusted and appalled at the nature of sports talk in this town, maybe that's a bit too harsh. The big news out of Boston the past couple days is the rejection of Tom Brady's request for a rehearing. Which, as of now, means Tom Brady will not be playing in the first four games of the 2016 NFL season. 

I'm not going get specific on who is saying what, but there are people calling this a "blessing in disguise". That couldn't be further from the truth. 

Jimmy Garoppolo was drafted in 2014, he has had 2 full years of back up quarterback experience. He is under contract until 2018. 

Tom Brady is 39.

What people have been saying is, resting Brady 4 games would result in a better, healthier quarterback by the end of the season. Especially considering the poor play of the offensive line throughout the season last year. I will concede this. Even if it does take the offensive line more than 4 weeks to find the ideal lineup, Brady will have avoided, inevitably at least a couple weeks of poor offensive line play. At the same time with Dante Scarnecchia returning to the fold, we should certainly see an improvement in the trenches. Another big reason the offensive line played so terribly other than Dave DeGulielmo, was the lack of a running game. Dion Lewis was injured fairly early in the season and LeGarrette Blount found himself on the bench in street clothes after twelve games. Being able to establish a running game is key to keeping the defense honest, not just rearing back waiting for the pass. 

The next point many have brought up is that this will be a great time to really evaluate Jimmy Garoppolo. That is such bullshit. The only people who will gain any greater evaluation of Garoppolo are fans, and pundits. Belichick has seen Garoppolo at OTA's, rookie mini camp, training camp, preseason, and practice. The coaching staff should generally know what Garoppolo is as a player after two full years of working with him. A lot of coaches were right about Tim Tebow (Except Josh McDaniels), he practiced like shit and he played like shit. There wasn't a single team ready to draft Tebow in the first round, maybe even the entire draft, except one guy (Josh McDaniels). They all knew, from the tape, watching him at a major college program that he sucked. If you really believe there is something major for the Patriots to learn about Jimmy in these four games, then I really don't respect your opinion. These first four games represent a showcase for teams around the league, and a test of Jimmy's fortitude. 

I pity the fools that think Belichick will decide Garoppolo's future off of the first four games. In my mind, his future is already decided. The Patriots essentially drafted a career back up quarterback in Jacoby Brisset (Josh McDaniels drafted***), and they are smarter than keeping 3 QBs for more than a year when Tom Brady still sits on the throne of Foxborough. The Patriots will trade Garoppolo for a lot more than he is worth. Teams like the Cowboys, and the Niners would probably love to have Garoppolo in a couple seasons. Not only would Jim be a good match for those teams but Chip Kelly is a friend of Belichick, he would have zero problem sending over a butt load of shit to the Patriots in exchange for Jim. Jerry Jones is footballs version of Hugh Hefner, I'm surprised Jones and Colts Owner Jim Irsay haven't been implicated on drug trafficking together. Jones is an idiot, with no idea on how to run a franchise, that being said, I could see him giving up a kings ransom for James. 

While I do believe the upheld suspension is nothing good for the Patriots, I can't see them doing any worse than 2-2. The team is too talented on both sides of the ball. Even if Garoppolo struggles, they have the means to control the football, rack up time of possession, and hold their first four opponents to minimal points. Whatever happens, the Patriots know what they have in Jimmy Garoppolo.