Belichick Puts Garoppolo In Same Class As Brady: 'It's Really Seamless'
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- "Dependability is more important than ability." That has long been one of Bill Belichick's signature quotes, and he repeated it during his Friday press conference before the Patriots fly to San Francisco to face the 49ers. A reporter recalled the phrase as a reference to quarterback Tom Brady, who has not only been one of the most productive players in the league throughout his career but also one of the most consistently dependable to get on the field in the first place.
Dependability became an important topic this week, as Brady appeared to suffer some kind of leg injury after taking a low hit from Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor on Sunday night. But Brady appears to have no issues as he gets ready for his seventh game of the season, thus illustrating how important his ability to consistently make it on the field has been to the Patriots' sustained run of success.
Belichick spoke at length about Brady's dependability on Friday, but curiously, he used his answer to sneak in some high praise for backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
"I mean there are a lot of great qualities that Tom [Brady] has. That's right at the top of the list, and it's not only his – certainly it's important for him to be physically healthy – but it's very important for the team on a weekly basis to be able to go out there in practice and get the timing with the quarterback who's going to play in the game with the other people – the linemen, the receivers and so forth – that are going to play with him. So if you're missing one receiver then maybe you can get the timing with the other 10 players, let's call it.
If you're missing the quarterback then, you know, you can still get it and certainly we have a good quarterback in Jimmy [Garoppolo] and Jimmy can go out there and run everything that Tom can run. We've seen that, so I'm not saying that he's not capable or qualified to do it. He is, and he does a great job of it and when we put Jimmy in there it's really seamless. Unless you were actually looking at the position, if you just could block out that position and say which guy was in there at quarterback, I don't know if you would know a lot of times."
Garoppolo can run the offense the same way as Brady? 'Scuse me?
Whatever the reason for them, these comments by Belichick are striking. And it's not like they are completely unfounded ... in a quarter-and-a-half against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, it certainly looked like Brady was running the offense when Garoppolo shredded Miami for 232 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
There are a few different possible reasons why Belichick went out of his way to make those comments on Garoppolo ...
1. He wants to drive up Garoppolo's trade value. This would mean that not only does Belichick believe that Brady will be playing at a high level for at least the next 2-3 years, but that Jacoby Brissett, not Garoppolo, will eventually be ready to be a worthy successor to Brady. Otherwise, if Belichick really believes there's a "seamless" transition between Brady and Garoppolo with the offense, then why would he want to trade that kind of asset?
The comments could also mean that ...
2. Garoppolo really is the quarterback of the future. If this is the case, then the Patriots may be looking to allocate to Garoppolo the money saved by not re-signing the jettisoned Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones. It appears that the backup will have to sit tight for at least a couple more years if he's going to succeed Brady as Patriots quarterback, and there's little chance that he would be willing to do that without a legit payday when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2017 season.
But if Garoppolo is Brady's successor, could that mean ...
3. They're prepping for a Brady trade. Obviously, the very idea of such a move is asinine right now with the way Brady is playing. But if Belichick truly believes that the transition from Brady to Garoppolo is "seamless," and he is as obsessed with value as much as any coach in the league, then what could be more valuable than fielding a facsimile of Brady at a fraction of the price? All while bringing in a massive trade package for Brady that would certainly be greater than the haul the Philadelphia Eagles received from the Minnesota Vikings for Sam Bradford?
I don't really believe that is a realistic proposition right now. Sure, Garoppolo has looked like he could be as productive as Brady with a full complement of weapons, but there's no substitute for Brady's experience and Garoppolo hasn't shown the kind of dependability that Brady has over the course of his career. But then again, Belichick is known to have gotten rid of players a year early rather than a year late. A Brady trade would easily be the biggest, most controversial news in the history of the franchise, but knowing how Belichick operates with his players, even the great ones, you can't rule it out.
What do you think Belichick meant with his comments about Garoppolo? Whatever he meant, he certainly seems to be confident he can get something out of Garoppolo, whether it's for the Patriots or coming from another team.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
