Tom Brady has perfect completion percentage in scrimmage victory over Jimmy Garoppolo
After throwing an interception Thursday, Brady went 25 of 25 with two touchdowns.
Tom Brady couldn’t be stopped during Friday’s practice.
The Patriots quarterback was 25 of 25 with two touchdowns in New England’s full-team scrimmage where Team Brady beat Team Garoppolo, 17-9. There appeared to be some point shaving from Bill Belichick. Brady had deep passes to Matthew Slater and Malcolm Mitchell that, perhaps, should have been touchdowns, but Belichick blew the play dead just outside the end zone, and didn’t count the 3 or 4 yards after the catch.
Jimmy Garoppolo was 19 of 33 with an interception. Jamie Collins picked Garoppolo off on the final drive of the game, and the linebacker had plenty of room to run for the end zone. But again, Belichick blew the play dead.
Garoppolo faced most of the first-team defense, but was armed with Gronkowski and the first-team offensive line. Still, he was under pressure for much of the game, and took a few sacks. Despite those struggles, Garoppolo’s tight end rated the performance highly.
“He’s looking great,” Gronkowski said of Garoppolo. “The way he’s just been producing every single week, upgrading his game every single week, and just knowing the offense every single week is going super well.”
Garoppolo targeted Gronkowski on his first pass of the game for roughly a 20-yard gainer. The tight end finished the scrimmage with three catches — and an interception. In a trick play, Gronk got the ball on a jet sweep, and threw it deep to Aaron Dobson, but Devin McCourty picked off the ball.
“It was one of the best punts out there, right on the 1-yard line,” Gronk said. “That’s how I’m looking at it.”
The practice was competitive from the first play, as Geneo Grissom nailed V’Angelo Bentley on the opening kickoff. But Brady was the most heated player by far. He was very vocal on the sidelines and the field, as he yelled cheers, expletives, and expletive-filled cheers. After completing the deep throw to Slater just before halftime, he sprinted down the field to celebrate in the end zone with the receiver and special teams ace. And at the end of his second drive of the game, he scrambled for what he appeared to think was a first down, and raised his arms to appeal Belichick’s decision to call on the punt team.
“I’ve been that same way for a long time,” Brady said of his competitive spirit, particularly in the wake of Deflategate. “I think it’s just a way to elevate everybody’s game. It’s a very competitive team, it’s a competitive sport. You’ve got to bring it mentally every day. You’ve got to have an attitude about you. We have a lot of guys on this team that bring that. Trying to push their buttons, I love to do that, and they push it back. I think that gets the best out of everybody.”
Brady’s favorite targets of the day were offseason-arrivals Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett. Brady has had quick chemistry with both Hogan and Bennett so far in camp, and he continued to build rapport with them by finding Hogan for eight receptions and Bennett for five.
“It’s good to get out here and get put in a scrimmage situation, actual series, moving the ball,” Hogan said of his chemistry with Brady. “I’ve been working pretty hard, staying in my playbook. A big thing is communication, just always talking with these guys — Jimmy, Tom, Jacoby, whoever’s our quarterback — making sure I’m on the same page always.”
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