Shockt327
Rotational Player and Threatening Starter's Job
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2008
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- 1,406
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Ok, so I'm focusing on the silver lining here. This is a much needed opportunity for the Front Office to get an evaluation of their 2014 2nd round pick and potentially open up the doors to make moves that might not have otherwise been there. It's a much needed chance to establish Garoppolo's potential value should he make a positive impression in 4 games....
So, with that being established; nothing would irritate me more about drafting Garoppolo as 2nd round pick than having to let him walk, after 4 years, because you never got the sense of what he can/can't do in a game. Especially since he's a QB. For QBs, the game is so much more mental than physical. Practice is not a game. Preseason is not a game. You can't rotate the backup QB to give him reps in a game. Only the game itself -- as a starter -- can really establish just what a QB can bring to the team. This is year three. Jimmy has got 4 games ahead of him. In this current era of passer-friendly football, just 4 games is a fair opportunity to leave a genuine impression. This team needs to know what Garoppolo can do.
Otherwise, it's looking more and more like a total waste of a 2nd rd pick. I could live with a bust. Every front office has its fair share of bad draft picks, but this is where things gets really different and genuinely tricky to assess. So, for a minute, let's forget that this whole Deflategate nonsense ever happened. The way things were looking, this franchise would probably be forced to let Garoppolo walk, after 4 years, in large part because of where Brady's skill-set is still at. Hell, even if Brady's game were to noticeably fall off in the next two seasons; can you really make a firm decision on going with Garoppolo...if you've never even seen him in a genuine game day situation? That's the part that would be the most frustrating to me. This draft pick wasn't just based on an assessment of a players skill. That alone is hard enough. Even trickier, it was also an assessment of how far an elite veteran might fall off...years in advance. And to make that even trickier? Well, it's a veteran who plays at the QB position, which, unlike just about everyother position, he cannot be rotated in-and-out on a gameday in order to give that draft pick some limited reps to break him in and see if he's worth it. The QB position just doesn't work that way, and this is where the waters really start to murky when it comes time for the Front Office and the impending decision on just what to do with Garoppolo. It's much harder to follow the "a year too early is better than a year too late" approach when you can't rotate the players at the position in question to see where things stand. As such, I can't help but think that -- if it weren't for the upcoming four games -- this would've been a legit hole that the Front Office would've found themselves in. I think there would've been a good, and fair, amount of criticism about it at that. As if they outsmarted themselves by trying to plan too far ahead and under somewhat misjudged circumstances of the position in question, at that. But with the suspension for Brady now in place? Well, as sad as it is, at least you look back on the decision to pick Garoppolo and know that it wasn't entirely in vein.
I really think these upcoming four games will be a positive for the Front Office (as crazy as it sounds). Even if this team is already strongly planning on staying with Brady beyond the scope of Garoppolo's rookie contract and regardless of Garoppolo's potential; then these upcoming four games are such an opportunity for The Patriots front office to get a strong assessment of where things stand. Worst case scenario, if Garoppolo plays like utter garbage in the first four weeks; at least you'll know he's not worth hanging on to (even if Brady's game starts to fall off). Likewise, if he goes out there and shows you that he can really move the chains; then this team is in a pretty damn good situation. Heir apparent? Maybe. But if this team is staying with Brady, then you can make a move with Garoppolo. Take a look a what Houston threw at Osweiller after half a season of pretty "meh" play. It's really not unreasonable to think that Garoppolo can leave a stronger impression on another franchise and NE could establish a solid trade scenario.
BTW - Even if you can't help but keep the negativity of Deflategate in mind, then take a moment to really look at the potential. The Deflategate suspension caused the team to lose this year's 1st rd pick. But without the Deflategate suspension, we'd probably look back on Garoppolo as being a waste of a 2nd rd pick. But, with the suspension in tact, it could very well provide the Patriots with an opportunity to acquire a high 2nd - or possibly 1st rd pick - in return. An opportunity that they probably wouldn't have had without the Deflategate suspension. The Patriots could very well break even on this front. Think of it as the potential for football Karma.
So, with that being established; nothing would irritate me more about drafting Garoppolo as 2nd round pick than having to let him walk, after 4 years, because you never got the sense of what he can/can't do in a game. Especially since he's a QB. For QBs, the game is so much more mental than physical. Practice is not a game. Preseason is not a game. You can't rotate the backup QB to give him reps in a game. Only the game itself -- as a starter -- can really establish just what a QB can bring to the team. This is year three. Jimmy has got 4 games ahead of him. In this current era of passer-friendly football, just 4 games is a fair opportunity to leave a genuine impression. This team needs to know what Garoppolo can do.
Otherwise, it's looking more and more like a total waste of a 2nd rd pick. I could live with a bust. Every front office has its fair share of bad draft picks, but this is where things gets really different and genuinely tricky to assess. So, for a minute, let's forget that this whole Deflategate nonsense ever happened. The way things were looking, this franchise would probably be forced to let Garoppolo walk, after 4 years, in large part because of where Brady's skill-set is still at. Hell, even if Brady's game were to noticeably fall off in the next two seasons; can you really make a firm decision on going with Garoppolo...if you've never even seen him in a genuine game day situation? That's the part that would be the most frustrating to me. This draft pick wasn't just based on an assessment of a players skill. That alone is hard enough. Even trickier, it was also an assessment of how far an elite veteran might fall off...years in advance. And to make that even trickier? Well, it's a veteran who plays at the QB position, which, unlike just about everyother position, he cannot be rotated in-and-out on a gameday in order to give that draft pick some limited reps to break him in and see if he's worth it. The QB position just doesn't work that way, and this is where the waters really start to murky when it comes time for the Front Office and the impending decision on just what to do with Garoppolo. It's much harder to follow the "a year too early is better than a year too late" approach when you can't rotate the players at the position in question to see where things stand. As such, I can't help but think that -- if it weren't for the upcoming four games -- this would've been a legit hole that the Front Office would've found themselves in. I think there would've been a good, and fair, amount of criticism about it at that. As if they outsmarted themselves by trying to plan too far ahead and under somewhat misjudged circumstances of the position in question, at that. But with the suspension for Brady now in place? Well, as sad as it is, at least you look back on the decision to pick Garoppolo and know that it wasn't entirely in vein.
I really think these upcoming four games will be a positive for the Front Office (as crazy as it sounds). Even if this team is already strongly planning on staying with Brady beyond the scope of Garoppolo's rookie contract and regardless of Garoppolo's potential; then these upcoming four games are such an opportunity for The Patriots front office to get a strong assessment of where things stand. Worst case scenario, if Garoppolo plays like utter garbage in the first four weeks; at least you'll know he's not worth hanging on to (even if Brady's game starts to fall off). Likewise, if he goes out there and shows you that he can really move the chains; then this team is in a pretty damn good situation. Heir apparent? Maybe. But if this team is staying with Brady, then you can make a move with Garoppolo. Take a look a what Houston threw at Osweiller after half a season of pretty "meh" play. It's really not unreasonable to think that Garoppolo can leave a stronger impression on another franchise and NE could establish a solid trade scenario.
BTW - Even if you can't help but keep the negativity of Deflategate in mind, then take a moment to really look at the potential. The Deflategate suspension caused the team to lose this year's 1st rd pick. But without the Deflategate suspension, we'd probably look back on Garoppolo as being a waste of a 2nd rd pick. But, with the suspension in tact, it could very well provide the Patriots with an opportunity to acquire a high 2nd - or possibly 1st rd pick - in return. An opportunity that they probably wouldn't have had without the Deflategate suspension. The Patriots could very well break even on this front. Think of it as the potential for football Karma.
