The Patriots Didn’t Lose All That In Jimmy Garoppolo – CBS Boston

Via Michael HurleyCBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) – Montana for Young. Love Rodgers. Brady goes to Garoppolo.

Either way, that’s how many in New England imagined the direction of the franchise in the mid-2010s, a seamless transition from an all-time great midfielder to a great defender. another all-time great, ensuring the long-term health of the franchise without missing a beat.

It was clear that reality never matched the dream, as Tom Brady won the match against Father Time and continued to play at MVP and championship levels, eventually leading to Garoppolo swapping in. 2017.

And now that Brady has retired from sports, perhaps it’s time to look at that situation from a few angles. And if that is the case, we must conclude that the comparison between Montana-Young and Favre-Rodgers has always been a fairy tale, one with little chance of actually happening. It makes the Patriots’ apparent decision to stick with Brady even better in retrospect.

Of course, we have to admit that we don’t really i know What are the exact details of the 2017 season, but rumors and reports and kind of behind-the-scenes information suggest that ownership has created a call to stick with Brady, hence the mid-season commercial claim. Garoppolo’s prize, therefore led to Bill Belichick becoming “Angry and demoralized.” However, Belichick dismissed that report, calling it “inaccurate and unattributable”. So the exact facts surrounding the Patriots’ intentions at quarterback in 2017 and beyond are still fuzzy.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady during practice in 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

But actions, as always, speak louder than words. And the fact that the Patriots have kept Garoppolo after the 2016 season, leading up to the 2017 draft, through training camp and pre-season, and through the first eight weeks of the season suggests that they are at least skeptical of a post 40 Brave Cats. By holding Garoppolo for so long, they’ve limited a lot of returns in one transaction. But they also maintain an insurance plan for their 40-year-old midfielder. It’s a pragmatic reason to keep Garoppolo around, even if it restricts the exchange back to only a second-turn option. (Not a bad ride for a midfielder who’s been out half a season as a free agent.)

Regardless of what Belichick did or didn’t feel about Garoppolo, we can be confident that the Patriots now don’t have the next Steve Young or Aaron Rodgers under Garoppolo.

While Garoppolo’s win-lose record at the start was still unbelievable (33-14 regular season, 4-2 post-season), his performance overall was still… mediocre.

Aside from the handful of games he appeared in (424 yards from Arizona in 2019, four TDs and no pick in Arizona that same year, a series of games with at least three touchdowns), Garoppolo has largely performed at league averages, all while struggling to stay healthy, during his four-and-a-half years in San Francisco.

His completion rate is high (67.7 percent) and his efficiency is great (8.4 yards per attempt), but his total output leaves a lot to be desired. He throws 66 touchdowns and 38 interceptions in 46 games (45 starts), averaging 1.4 TDs and 0.8 picks per game while averaging around $27 million .

He only lasted a full season once (in 2019), played only three games in 2018 due to a torn knee, and six in 2020 due to an ankle injury.

He ranks 12th in terms of passing yards and 17th in tackles in 2021. In 2019, his only other season with at least 15 appearances, he ranked 12th in terms of number of appearances. passing field and ranked 5th in the number of touchdown passes. Of the QBs with 27 or more touches that year, he had the second most interceptions, less than just Jameis Winston.

In the knockout stages, with the stakes raised, Garoppolo’s output was much worse. He started six games, throwing eight passes in one win and 19 passes in the other two. The 49ers score is 4-0 when Garoppolo throws 30 fewer passes and 0-2 when he throws 30 or more passes.

He averaged just 160.3 yards per game in the knockouts, throwing four touchdowns and six interceptions at a rate of 74.1.

In the fourth inning of Super Bowl LIV, Garoppolo won 3 for 11 for 36 yards with an intercept and a fourth down throw. The Niners lost their 10-point lead in that fourth half, handing it to captain Lombardi.

Jimmy Garoppolo (Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

In the fourth quarter of this year’s NFC Championship Game, Garoppolo went 3 to 9 at 51 yards with an interception and a delayed penalty. San Francisco also saw a 10-point lead evaporating in that fourth quarter.

When the stakes were at their highest, when the lights were at their brightest, and when his team looked to him to lead them, Garoppolo was unfortunately at his worst.

That could be why the 49ers traded big sums for the right to go up and draft Trey Lance in 3rd place last year, and is likely why the team and veteran quarterback now this will go its separate ways this winter.

While sports issues are always open to debate, it’s fair to say that when the Patriots had Jimmy Garoppolo at Foxboro, they didn’t have the “next guy.”

The suggestion that they did so is a bit hard to believe at the time, but there is at least some reason to speculate that he maybe it is in. Steve Young had two years of USFL experience and two miserable years with the Bucs (11 touchdowns, 21 interceptions, 3-16 record) before proving himself to be a better choice for the 49ers than the Montana 36 age in 1992.

Aaron Rodgers did fairly well in college but had even less experience in the NFL when he became a starter for the Packers in 2008 than Garoppolo in New England.

If those guys were to seamlessly replace the Hall of Famers, then in theory, Garoppolo maybe do it too. Or so hope is gone.

And while it’s possible Garoppolo performed better in the Patriots’ strike system than he did for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, the performance itself speaks for itself. The fact that the Niners are transitioning from him at this point – with Brady maintaining an elite level of play throughout Garoppolo’s tenure in San Francisco – helps send the message that Garoppolo wasn’t cut out to be “Guy” – not in New England, and not even in San Francisco.

Jimmy Garoppolo is an NFL beginner, and not much more. Some have tried to argue that his departure is a great loss to the patriots, if not in the short term then certainly in the long run. But they really don’t take that much.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.