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Brady: Fun To See Garoppolo's Development

BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady can't be anywhere near the New England Patriots for the first four games of the regular season, but he's pretty confident with the quarterback who will temporarily take his place.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday's practice session in Foxboro, Brady displayed some supreme confidence in Jimmy Garoppolo. The four-time Super Bowl champ said the third-year passer has earned the respect of his teammates since being a second-round pick by Bill Belichick in 2014, and it's been fun to see Garoppolo grow over the last two years.

"He works his tail off to prepare and I know he has the respect of everybody. That's what you try to do, you try to come out here and prepare, earn the respect of your teammates and your coaches, and you've got to put the work in," Brady said on Sunday. "You've got to show that you're willing to show up every day and do whatever it takes to get the job done. It's been fun to see his development."

Brady did not play in Thursday night's win over the Saints in New England's preseason opener at Gillette, while Garoppolo got the start and went 11-for-18 for 168 yards in his half of action.

"We got off to a good start the other night and hopefully we keep it going," Brady said of the 34-22 win over the Saints. "We have three days of practice coming up against the Bears that will be good preparation for our team. We've got to use them really well and hopefully we can come out of Thursday night, after these practices and the game, a stronger team than we are now."

Brady and Garoppolo engaged in a friendly barrel game after practice a few weeks ago, with each quarterback trying to toss the ball into a trash barrel from 30-40 yards out. Garoppolo actually got the best of Brady, but the veteran doesn't hold it against the youngster.

"He does a good job against me all the time, so he's a good competitor," Brady joked. "You're always trying to work on different aspects of the game and it's hard to get the receivers out here after practice and run – we probably throw 20-25 of those balls, and it's hard to have a receiver, after a two-and-a-half hour practice in 90-degree weather, go run a bunch of 30-40-yard routes. You just put the bucket out there, and that little sucker is tough to hit, man. It doesn't move, it's got no arms, it can't adjust to anything. That's why I'm glad we always have guys that have great hands and really attract the ball. It's just good practice."

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