Based on the amount of work Tom Brady has gotten—and consequently the amount Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t gotten—this summer, the New England Patriots expect their star quarterback to open the season under center, rather than at home under suspension.
Speaking on a Boston talk show, Toucher and Rich, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald let slip that Brady has been getting the kind of work in at camp reserved only for starters.
“Tom Brady has still gotten, I’d estimate, 90 to 95 percent of the first-team reps against the starting defense,” Howe said (CBS Boston). “They’ve really gone all in on him. And he’s been absolutely tremendous through 10 practices in camp. He’s completed upwards of 80 percent of his passes. Now granted, these are conducive to offensive success in these practices, and there’s no real live contact on the defensive side of it. But still, Tom Brady has been outstanding.”
That Brady would be outstanding won’t surprise anyone. However, that he’s gotten “90-95 percent of the first-team reps against the starting defense” is a bit of a shocker.
Reports haven’t been kind to backup quarterback Garoppolo, who has struggled with accuracy this summer. You’d think, given the fact he might start the first four games of the season, that the Patriots would be doing everything in their power to get him ready. You’d think he would be receiving more than five or ten percent of the first-team reps.
But that isn’t how the Patriots are reportedly approaching the start of preseason games.
New England is planning for Brady to be there, meaning nobody expects Brady to miss a snap. He’s scheduled to meet with Roger Goodell on August 12—a meeting that was court-ordered with the hope the two sides might settle. If not, then the case is going to federal court, and his suspension will likely be stayed in the meantime.
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