The Pats not having Brady Games 1-4 (pending an appeal) could definitely give the AFC East a leg up to start the season, but any chance it could hurt us in the long haul. Reasons for my worries: In two situations you can look at history. 1. The New York Jets in '01 knock out Bledsoe Week 2. Tom Brady is given a chance he may not have received (at least from the Pats) if Bledsoe stays healthy. We know what Brady has done since then. The Pats could find something in Garoppolo in games 1-4 because of Brady's suspension and realize he is their future in a few more seasons. The cycle begins again. 2. Last time there was a big scandal (spy gate) the pats came out of it and almost went 19-0. Playing a very good team, with a very smart coach, a very good quarterback and a big chip on their shoulder is not ideal. It's not like the pats aren't usually hungry enough already. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic. Maybe Garoppolo sucks dick and the pats start the season 1-3. Maybe Brady comes back and plays like a little cheating bitch and the pats dominance in the AFC East is over. Thoughts ?
Garoppolo has a good release but he can't read a D... He's going to get crushed! I also feel his lack of height will hurt him too. That OL is tall! Too bad we don't see them till week 7
It doesn't matter, at least to me MacBowles were hired to beat the Cheatiots no matter who their Qb is and all other teams as well The Jets and 31 other teams will be fired up to give them a beat down it, works both ways If we can't win the Division don't make it easy for them
No matter how Garoppolo plays he will never be Tom Brady so I'm not concerned about that. I want to beat the Pats at full strength, anyway.
There was no guarantee the pats would have won the east with brady, they blew up their team on both sides of the ball, especially defense..of course they will use this as an excuse.
A 37 year QB comes back well rested with no injuries to finish the last 12 games and play-offs... They may do this for the next 5 years.
the pats not having brady for 4 games simply isn't good for them...the past isn't the present. that said, brady or no brady, jets need to win games period. if they take care of their own business it wont matter what brady does.
Until Garopollo gives me a reason to be concerned about him, I'm not going to be worried about an unproven QB.
the pats are still the most likely to win the east yet again. watching Jimmy.G… he's an able if inferior (duh) replacement. Quick release, good grasp of the O, just not as quick to make a decision as Brady, not quite as accurate either… but he IS workable, they can get maybe 65-80% of their usual offensive output with him under center. It helps to be in such a favorable O. and like a previous post said, if anything a rested older elite QB coming back into the fold will only help their chances, AND the "heir apparent" gets valuable and meaningful reps to boot. If the pats don't win the east it would more likely be because of the stout ass defenses and superior weapons of all the other teams less than it would be because Brady got pinched. Gun to my head, they still win 11, 1 or 2 more than the next guy.
I hope Garropollo plays well enough in the first 4 games to give Belichick flashbacks of Brady taking over so he hands the kid the starting job but after that he systematically falls apart each week as DC's adjust to him and by week 10 he's playing like shit and he has the Patriots hovering around .500 still and they have to turn back to Brady who's irate about being benched and completely out of sync with the offense and can't get anything going and his last 6 games are so bad it ends his career. I had a really good dream last night.
It won't hurt them at all IMO. And it's not even because of Brady's age. 37 year old QBs nowadays aren't the same as they used to be. We all remember how Elway looked in his late 30s. Marino too. Brady doesn't look like that. Even Peyton doesn't look like that at 40 and he had neck surgery recently. These guys aren't taking the hits that past QBs have. Brady could play til he's 45 and still be somewhat productive. As for Garrapolo, even if he comes out of the gates running and the Pats don't miss a beat it doesn't mean he'll be the next great young QB. In fact I expect him to put up decent numbers in Brady's absence. 4 games is just long enough for the league not to figure you out. The early schedule and a D that is a shell of what it was last season is the reason the Pats have a chance at another slow start. Not Brady not being there.
The Patriots suck in September regardless; the suspension should be levied in November when they usually get traction.
