From a pure football standpoint, I’m really excited to see a Garoppolo-centric game plan from the Patriots. There’s no question, of all the backups we’ve seen in Brady’s time, Garoppolo is the most promising and the closest they’ve gotten to replicating Brady’s skillset.
There’s no question that Garoppolo will not read defenses as well as Brady. He just doesn’t have the experience against defenses that are specifically game planning against him. But that will come with time, and any action he gets this year will really aid in his development.
Garoppolo’s quick release is his best skill and that’s the perfect fit for New England’s overall philosophy of getting the ball out fast and letting the playmakers make the plays.
But what Garoppolo also has is better athleticism than Brady and I’d argue that last preseason we even saw some better deep touch than Brady has at this point. Garoppolo also showed very good poise in the pocket last year and didn’t force plays that weren’t there.
Honestly, the most underrated skill for a quarterback is taking a sack or throwing it away instead of trying to force it and turning the ball over. The Patriots defense preys on quarterbacks like that, lulling them into a false sense of security before picking them off multiple times.
I think the big difference I would look for is how Garoppolo plays with guys like Aaron Dobson, Bryan Tyms and Tim Wright. He showed good chemistry with all three last preseason, and I’m especially excited to see if he can connect on some deep balls to Tyms and Dobson.
Garoppolo will have no problem holding the fort for however many games he’s needed and whether it’s sooner or later, this experience could very well help him to eventually challenge Brady as the starter.