Jimmy Garoppolo absorbs hits, accepts criticism in stand-in role as Patriots quarterback

Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The Boston Globe

By Erik Frenz

August 14, 2015

3 minutes to read

Jimmy Garoppolo dropped back to pass, with his feet set shoulder-width apart underneath him to form a perfect base. One second, the Patriots quarterback’s eyes were shooting upfield, searching for open receivers. The next, his head was bowed, as if he was checking to make sure he had properly set his feet. He secured the football into his stomach, taking his seventh sack of the night.

All he could do was what he had done six times before: pop right back up and get back in the huddle.

Garropolo still has much to learn, but during the Patriots’ preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers and in the aftermath of the 22-11 loss, he was nearly a carbon copy of the franchise quarterback, Tom Brady.

He took the hits on the field, and took the blame off the field.

“I didn’t really get a chance to break it all down yet, see the film, but you can always get the ball out your hand faster,’’ Garoppolo said after the game. “That would eliminate a lot of them probably. I haven’t really seen it yet, so I don’t know.’’

It’s a fair criticism to make of his own performance, and it wouldn’t be the first time that grenade has been lobbed in Garoppolo’s direction. He can’t afford to hang onto that grenade for too long while he decides what direction to throw it.

Garoppolo has shown himself to be far better in games than practices (a “gamer’’ as we call them), but indecisiveness is a trait that followed him. One positive aspect of this indecisiveness was that it did allow him an opportunity to show off his ability to scramble, evade pressure, and throw on the run — a task he completed on a handful of occasions and one he missed on several others.

He might have taken even more hits and sacks, were it not for his legs.

“I like him,’’ said Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. “He’s athletic. I remember him being an athlete, and I was impressed by the way he moved in and out of the pocket.’’

He bounced back each time, just like he bounced back in the game; after starting off 5-of-13 passing for 63 yards in the first half, Garoppolo completed 15 of his next 17 passes.

There were some issues with pocket awareness and deep accuracy — he missed on all four of his pass attempts that traveled 20 yards or more through the air — but between some bad drops and worse pass protection, the blame can’t fall square on Garoppolo’s shoulders. A quarterback is expected to overcome some adversity, and Garoppolo did on more than one occasion.

He had no choice, if he wanted to move the ball. Even simple dump-offs to James White, which netted four catches for 52 yards, proved to be some of the most effective things the Patriots accomplished on offense.

Maybe next time, Garoppolo won’t be out there without tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back LeGarrette Blount, wide receivers Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, and Brian Tyms, and all five starting offensive linemen of a year ago. That’s the entire starting offense (besides the quarterback) that was absent on Thursday night, for those keeping score at home.

Hope is that most, if not all of those players would have suited up if this were a regular season game. At least for now, Garoppolo proved that he can hang in and take that licking if those guys aren’t out there.