As we all know by now, New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady will sit out the first four games of the NFL regular season. On the heels of that controversial ‘Deflategate’ saga, backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo now steps into the spotlight left by his future Hall of Fame teammate. Some diehard Pats fans are questioning Garoppolo ability, and are worried that he will choke in the spotlight.
Every NFL fan understands how the first handful of regular season games are essential to a team’s success. For the Pats, these four games could easily make or break their playoff chances, which is why there will be a significant amount of pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo. This is a new scenario for both the team’s backup QB and the fans, as New England hasn’t opened a season without Brady as the starter since 2001, when Drew Bledsoe was still at the helm.
Apart from being a quick-releasing, good-looking quarterback out of Eastern Illinois – who generally played well during his brief stints as backup QB in his rookie year – what else do we need to know about Jimmy G? First off, if Garoppolo plays like he did in the preseason against the New Orleans Saints, then we could see the Patriots go at least 3-1 in the first four games. Ultimately, for number 10, there are a lot of factors to consider, and head coach Bill Belichick might play a major role.
The Boston Globe reported how Bill Belichick got Jimmy Garoppolo up to speed way before the finality of the now-infamous ‘Deflategate’. What’s important, for now, is to focus on the task at hand and what lies ahead, as well as deflecting all the outside interruptions. “Distractions that demand our attention appear more numerous than ever before in human history,” according to an infographic entitled ‘Improving Concentration and Focus’ which explores several studies on the subject. In other words, the battle starts way before the Pats hit the gridiron, as the challenge lie with how Jimmy G handles the pressure and negates the odds stacked against him.
The prop odds for the New England Patriots’ record for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season are at: 4-0 (+1150), 3-1 (+180), 2-2 (+145), 1-3 (+335), and 0-4 (+1500). With three of the first four games played at home versus the Miami Dolphins, the Houston Texans, and the Buffalo Bills (the lone away game against the Cardinals in Arizona), it’s more likely the Jimmy Garoppolo and Pats will start 2-2. If history suggests something significant with the aforementioned record, then maybe – just maybe – we can repeat what happened in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XLIX.
For now, let’s just wait and see how Jimmy G fares amidst the attention, the distraction, and the pressure.
Matt Patricia and the Patriots defense have a shiny new toy to play with in second year corner 
The AFC East has been dominated by the Patriots for the past 15 years (aka the Brady/Belichick era), to a degree that hasn’t been otherwise seen in NFL history. The Patriots won the division title in 13 of those years. The two losses, to the Jets in 2002 and the Dolphins in 2008, came down to tiebreakers.