In temporary role, Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo shows off lasting talent
In temporary role, Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo shows off lasting talent : GLENDALE, Ariz. — Now you know why Tom Brady did not seem terribly thrilled this summer with the whole notion of Jimmy Garoppolo, first-string temp. The kid has a lot of talent, a little swagger and the kind of cover boy looks that, you know, a supermodel could fall for.
Oh yeah, and he’s 15 years younger than the 39-year-old Brady. Deep down, even a four-time Super Bowl champ who will likely go down as the greatest quarterback of all time could feel a little threatened by that.
Bill Belichick has already Gronk-spiked the notion that a 4-0 Garoppolo could keep Brady on the bench for Week 5 in Cleveland, so there’s no point in harboring any crazy ideas. Only here’s the thing: Everyone gets replaced at some point, thanks to human frailty and the indomitable forces of gravity and time. Just as clearly as Ted Williams, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr and Larry Bird were replaced in Boston, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is going to be replaced in Foxborough.
And Sunday night, Garoppolo offered up the first strong suggestion that he might be the man worthy of the honor. In fact, as a nod to Brady’s childhood idol, Joe Montana, Garoppolo showed he just might be the New England Patriots’ answer to Steve Young.
No, Garoppolo doesn’t have Young’s athleticism, even if Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians tried warning his team during the week that the new Patriots quarterback had feet like Michael Vick. But Garoppolo, 24, can move around in ways Brady cannot, and the time he bought for himself was critical in this highly improbable 23-21 victory over a home team that was, by Arians’ admission, “obviously not ready to play.”
More to the point, the Cardinals were not ready to play against this version of Garoppolo, who walked into his first career start facing the worst kind of circumstances. Carson Wentz got the Cleveland Browns at home. Garoppolo? He traveled across the country to face a Super Bowl contender with a fearsome defense, a thundering dome crowd and every reason to believe it would shred a Patriots offense missing the injured Rob Gronkowski and a couple of starters on the offensive line.
The Patriots were 9½-point underdogs, the biggest spread against them since they upset the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl nearly 15 years ago. I picked New England to go 3-1 without Brady. I thought this would be the 1.
Source : http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17527156/nfl-jimmy-garoppolo-new-england-patriots-shows-talent-win-arizona-cardinals
