Garoppolo’s Preparation ‘Most Important’ for Patriots

With Tom Brady suspended the first four games of the season, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick puts emphasis on Jimmy Garoppolo and his preparation for Week 1.

Tom Brady will not be stepping on that field Sept. 11 when the New England Patriots face the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback will not be leading the pack on the field until scents of pumpkin spice fill the air and autumn is in full bloom. That leaves third-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as the top man in New England and head coach Bill Belichick knows the young QB needs to be ready.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday (Aug. 23), the always stoic Belichick was asked about the current quarterback situation and what he deemed as important heading into the season opener against one the NFC’s top teams. On the top of that list was Garappolo’s preparation.

“Nothing’s changed,” Belichick said. “All three quarterbacks are extremely important. Jimmy’s preparation for the Arizona opener is the most important. Nothing’s changed, and that’s not going to change. That’s the way it’s going to be.”

“All three quarterbacks are extremely important. Jimmy’s preparation for the Arizona opener is the most important.”-Bill Belichick

Garoppolo has started both preseason games thus far and looked his most comfortable in the second game against the Chicago Bears. The product of Easton Illinois was 16 of 21 for 181 yards and a touchdown.

His strongest drive was a two-minute drill, which resulted in a touchdown right before the end of the first half. Garoppolo was 5 for 7 with 57 yards on the drive in which he mostly connected with second-year tight end A.J. Derby and wide receiver Chris Hogan. The execution during that drive showed that the 24-year-old quarterback has what it takes to at least keep the offense afloat until Brady returns. Most importantly, it gave a jolt to Garoppolo’s confidence.