How to explain Garoppolo's preseason performance?

[I'm posting this in the draft forum in the hopes that this doesn't turn into a pie fight over the question of his being drafted in the first place. I also re-titled the thread, since I don't want to imply that I have the answers here. ]

By any standard, Garoppolo had either the best or second-best performance of any rookie QB that Belichick has drafted. You could make an argument for second-best on the grounds that Brady was actually more accurate than Garoppolo was, but a major argument in favor of Garoppolo is that he threw as many touchdowns (five) as all of his predecessors combined their rookie seasons (either zero or one each), and even if you adjust for the snaps played, he still threw touchdowns at something like three times the rate of all his predecessors.

Moreover, unlike in years past, the Patriots announced well ahead of time that Garoppolo would be playing the entire fourth preseason game. That was not a courtesy that Ryan Mallett was ever given (in 2011 and 2012, he split time with Hoyer; in 2013, with Tebow), and with Hoyer it was a mere accident (they had intended to have Walter play, too, but they decided during the game that they wanted to see what Hoyer could do playing the entire game).

So my question is this: what worked out differently with Garoppolo, especially to account for the TD differential? Was it merely that he's just that good, or is it a conscious difference in terms of approach this offseason?

The first reason he did so well is that he is really good and is more of a gunslinger(5000 yd in college) than any of the past qbs we have had and it showed in his deep shots when he had open guys for shorter gains instead.

He had decent oline protection to go along with his quick release. I've seen some preseason games where guys didn't even get a chance because of basically instant sacks.

His confidence must have been sky high after practicing against Revis and co for about a month. Probably a few other reasons, but this is all that is coming to mind at the moment.

I think the debate about whether he was a good pick or not is over.

He seems to be a great pick. If you ask yourself what would you realistically trade him for. You look at the value you would demand and are force to admit he was worth it.

This does not mean he is for sure gonna be a franchise QB. We don't know yet. However he has shown every indication he can so far (in preseason and live game action) that he can and likely will be.

In today's NFL that the most highly prized value to have.

Honestly I think you can make the case that no matter what happens the pick was worth it. The patriots obviously don't want to be in the situation that the Colts had in 2011 and JG already looks better than Ryan Mallet ever did and that security obviously is worth a second round pick to them. personally I think that they needed upgrades elsewhere more than they needed Garaoppolo. With how far a lot of these guys fell the Patriots probably could have waited but they probably did not think that all these QB's would fall in the draft like they did and obviously they really liked JG. The pick has already provided more value than the Mallet pick did so hooray for that!

meatface said:

Honestly I think you can make the case that no matter what happens the pick was worth it. The patriots obviously don't want to be in the situation that the Colts had in 2011 and JG already looks better than Ryan Mallet ever did and that security obviously is worth a second round pick to them. personally I think that they needed upgrades elsewhere more than they needed Garaoppolo. With how far a lot of these guys fell the Patriots probably could have waited but they probably did not think that all these QB's would fall in the draft like they did and obviously they really liked JG. The pick has already provided more value than the Mallet pick did so hooray for that!

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Well, to be fair, I suspect that Garoppolo would have gone to the Texans at 65 had the Pats not taken him. I've also heard Saints-beat sports writers say that NO was considering him in the third round.

But it's obvious that the Patriots thought highly enough of Garoppolo that they essentially turned in the pick the moment they were on the clock; they weren't going to even entertain the possibility of a trade.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Well, to be fair, I suspect that Garoppolo would have gone to the Texans at 65 had the Pats not taken him. I've also heard Saints-beat sports writers say that NO was considering him in the third round.

But it's obvious that the Patriots thought highly enough of Garoppolo that they essentially turned in the pick the moment they were on the clock; they weren't going to even entertain the possibility of a trade.

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oh yeah the Texans would have taken him in a second which is why the Pats took him but I still think I would rather have had the Patriots grab a player who would have helped them more this year.

meatface said:

oh yeah the Texans would have taken him in a second which is why the Pats took him but I still think I would rather have had the Patriots grab a player who would have helped them more this year.

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Who do you have in mind? The next 21 picks after Garoppolo were:

63. Jarvis Landry, WR, LSU (Miami)
64. Justin Britt, OT, Missouri (Seattle)
65. CJ Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa (Houston)
66. Morgan Moses, OT, West Virginia (Washington)
67. Billy Turner, OL, North Dakota St. (Miami)
68 .Dez Southward, S, Wisconsin (Atlanta)
69. Charles Sims, RB, West Virginia (Tampa Bay)
70. Marcus Martin, OC, USC (San Francisco)
71. Christian Kirksey, LB, Iowa (Cleveland)
72. Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon (Minnesota)
73. Preston Brown, LB, Louisville (Buffalo)
74. Jay Bromley, DT, Syracuse (NY Giants)
75. Tre Mason, RB, Auburn (St. Louis)
76. Travis Swanson, C, Arkansas (Detroit)
77. Chris Borland, LB, Ohio St. (San Francisco)
78. Spencer Long, OG, Nebraska (Washington)
79. Terrance Brooks, S, Florida St. (Baltimore)
80. Dexter McDougle, CB, Maryland (NY Jets)
81. Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi St. (Oakland)
82. Will Sutton, DT, Arizona St. (Chicago)
83. Louis Nix, NT, Notre Dame (Houston)

I liked Phillip Gaines (#87, Kansas City), but we were stocked at CB. I personally would have traded up for WR Cody Latimer from Indiana, who went at #56 to Denver, as I thought Latimer was a 1st round talent. Marcus Martin would have been a solid pick, though we seem to have done ok with Bryan Stork. Scott Crichton would have helped as a rotational DE, though I wasn't that high on him. I would have been fine with Louis Nix, though DT with the first 2 picks seems pretty aggressive. Chris Borland would have been nice if he had a crystal ball and new that Jerod Mayo would get hurt. But there weren't many players who I think would have been obvious alternatives, and certainly none with the upside of Garoppolo.

mayoclinic said:

I personally would have traded up for WR Cody Latimer from Indiana, who went at #56 to Denver, as I thought Latimer was a 1st round talent.

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Wait. What?

He's an offensive skill player Mayo.

Agree with your eval.

mayoclinic said:

I liked Phillip Gaines (#87, Kansas City), but we were stocked at CB. I personally would have traded up for WR Cody Latimer from Indiana, who went at #56 to Denver, as I thought Latimer was a 1st round talent. Marcus Martin would have been a solid pick, though we seem to have done ok with Bryan Stork. Scott Crichton would have helped as a rotational DE, though I wasn't that high on him. I would have been fine with Louis Nix, though DT with the first 2 picks seems pretty aggressive. Chris Borland would have been nice if he had a crystal ball and new that Jerod Mayo would get hurt. But there weren't many players who I think would have been obvious alternatives, and certainly none with the upside of Garoppolo.

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Personally I wanted them to grab CJ Fiedorowicz after everybody made a run at all the other Tight ends or grab a DE like Crichton.

manxman2601 said:

Wait. What?

He's an offensive skill player Mayo.

Agree with your eval.

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Isn't it ironic?

Latimer ended up one being of my favorite players in this draft. I thought he was a "poor man's Julio Jones" and thought he would go in the late 1st or early 2nd. When he was on the board in the 50's I was praying the Pats would move up for him, and I gnashed my teeth when the hated Broncos stole him.