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Trevor Siemian, Jimmy Garoppolo Will Be Franchise QBs but for Other NFL Teams
- Updated: September 16, 2016
The Denver Broncos’ Trevor Siemian and New England Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo should start in the NFL for a long time, although neither will likely serve as the face of his current franchise.
Both played well during their first career starts, coming during Week 1 of this season. Despite the small sample size, the results were quite encouraging.
Of course, everyone starts to lose their minds after only one game. Players are already being fitted for gold jackets to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame or being run out of town because of poor performances.
A single contest isn’t enough to draw any definitive conclusions, but it can provide a glimpse of how young players react when finally faced with the big, bad NFL and whether they’re overwhelmed.
After all, if one game determined a player’s career, Matt Flynn would still be starting. One stellar performance is all a young quarterback needs to pique the interest of quarterback-starved franchises, though.
In Flynn’s case, his second career start came in the the 2011 regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions on New Year’s Day. He completed 31 of 44 passes and set Green Bay Packers records with 480 yards and six touchdowns.
His performance provided an opportunity that resulted in three-year, $20.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Ultimately, Flynn lost the starting job to some third-round rookie named Russell Wilson, and the rest is history.
The former seventh-round pick isn’t an ideal comparison, but it shows how a prepared young backup can benefit from extra playing time and added exposure. Siemian and Garoppolo will be provided with much longer auditions for 30 other teams to dissect.
Once their time as starters is over this season—and it will happen sooner or later—the rest of the league will likely come to the conclusion both are competent with the necessary traits to become long-term starting options.
A Patriot’s Day
The Patriots are still Tom Brady’s bunch, and he’s not leaving any time soon. The 39-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback once expressed interest in playing until he’s 50 years old.
“I would love it,” Brady told Men’s Health three years ago (via the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe). “If I think I can do it, then I probably will.”
Why not? Brady is the NFL’s version of Don Draper—a man whose last act just might be his best. He’s untouchable after winning four Super Bowls. He’s also signed through the 2019 campaign after agreeing to a two-year extension in February.
Garoppolo’s time, meanwhile, remains limited.
The former second-round pick’s rookie contract ends after the 2017 campaign. The Patriots should be proactive with such a valuable commodity. If Garoppolo actually reaches free agency, it’s a sign head coach and New England overlord Bill Belichick is losing his touch.
The organization already has a contingency plan in place after drafting Jacoby Brissett in the third round this past April.
Thus, Garoppolo has three more games to prove himself as Brady serves out his four-game suspension. There was nothing deflating about the Eastern Illinois product’s first performance in Brady’s stead.
Despite having a depleted roster that lacked All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, left tackle Nate Solder and running back Dion Lewis, Garoppolo led the Patriots to a 23-21 victory over the talented Arizona Cardinals.
Sure, Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro missed a potential game-winning field goal with 41 seconds left to play, but the Patriots wouldn’t have been in a position to win if Garoppolo didn’t orchestrate a 61-yard fourth-quarter drive to set up Stephen Gostkowski for the go-ahead field goal with less than four minutes to play.
During the drive, the third-year signal-caller completed five of seven passes for 62 yards. He finished the contest 24-of-33 passing for 262 yards and a touchdown.
The performance increased the buzz already circulating throughout the league, per NESN’s Doug Kyed:
A scout, as Jimmy Garoppolo continues to pick apart AZ’s defense: “Some people think he’s better than a third of the league’s starting QBs.”
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) September 12, 2016
His overall calmness and control of the offense impressed. Veteran safety Devin McCourty told NFL Media’s Michael Silver Garoppolo’s performance shouldn’t come as a surprise:
It was so cool for Jimmy to come out and have that poise. When you’ve got a player who comes out and shows you nothing but good things in practice and training camp, you kind of expect these things … But to actually see him do it was great. We knew we were short-handed and without a couple of guys we usually count on, and we needed everybody to step up.
More importantly, Garoppolo didn’t just operate within the system; he manipulated it to his advantage. His 37-yard touchdown strike to Chris Hogan served as the perfect example of how the former backup was in complete control.
Before the toss, the quarterback clearly bellowed: “Alert. Alert.” Why? He identified the coverage pre-snap, which created an advantage in Hogan’s favor.
Initially, the Cardinals appeared to be in a Cover 2 shell, which keeps two safeties over the top and each covers half of the field.
But the Patriots motioned tight end Martellus Bennett from the left to right of the formation. When teams use motion, it’s an attempt to make the defense declare prior to snap, which the Cardinals did.
With Bennett lined to the right, the safety slid into the slot to help cover the twins formation. Garoppolo realized Hogan would have a one-on-one matchup with the …
