Patriots Message: It’s Tom Brady Or BUST

In a two month span, the New England Patriots went from having the best quarterback situation in the National Football League to going all in on a 40 year-old quarterback.  Like it or not, Patriots fans, the window started to close down by a few inches last week when the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second round pick.  The timing of the move seemed very odd considering that, just two months earlier, the Patriots traded Jacoby Brissett to the Colts for…

Phillip Dorsett.

That’s right, Phillip Dorsett!  The same Phillip Dorsett who has 55 receptions in 34 career games.  The same Phillip Dorsett who has been in the end zone with the ball in his hands a grand total of three times.  The same Phillip Dorsett who has had ZERO impact on the Patriots offense in the first half of the 2017 season.

The value of the return is troubling, but what’s even more concerning is that there didn’t seem to be any need to move Brissett.  The only real explanation is that the Patriots completely misread his talent.  For a first year quarterback, he has played very well for the Colts.  In today’s game vs. the Texans, he was 20 for 30 and threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns.  He had two big TD throws to T.Y Hilton and then managed the game very well with the Colts leading late in the second half.  Brissett is proving that he’s not only a legitimate backup quarterback on the rise, but he would probably be a borderline NFL starter for many teams.

Are there 20 NFL quarterbacks who are better than Jacoby Brissett right now?  No.

As for Garoppolo, we can all buy into the Patriots are exempt from any criticism because of their success theory or we can look at it for what it is.  The Patriots miscalculated Garoppolo’s willingness to continue to be Tom Brady’s shadow.  The kid wanted to play and has for the last two years.  It didn’t change overnight and it didn’t change between the time they traded Brissett and last week.  The jury is still out on Jimmy G.  He could be a superstar and this trade could go down as one of the worst in Boston sports history if Father Time doesn’t ignore Tom Brady as the world seems to think he will.  Or, Jimmy G. could be just another guy.  Time will tell.

With that said, the Patriots now have no long term plan at the quarterback position.  A 40 year-old quarterback is not a long term option.  The Patriots are now in a situation where the sun is beginning to set on their success.  They have all of their eggs in a 40 year-old basket.

So, the question is.. why?  Trading either Garoppolo OR Brissett made sense as the Patriots didn’t need two successors for their oldest quarterback in the NFL.  They certainly need one.  Now they don’t have one and the return isn’t promising.

Did the Patriots misread Garoppolo’s intentions?  Did they think Brady was going to drop off in the first half of this year?  Did they think Brissett was not a legitimate NFL QB?

End Result:  All in on one player.  As great as he is, it’s certainly not “The Patriot Way”.

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