Jimmy Garoppolo's Night, Summed Up In Three Videos
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- I'm not one to overanalyze NFL preseason games, but they're not completely useless, either. You can watch certain players, typically with your eyes, and often tell how they look regardless of who they're playing with or who they're playing against or how well the guys around them are playing.
Regardless of the outcome of the Patriots' 23-22 win, Week 1 starter Jimmy Garoppolo took a step forward and made some nice plays Thursday night, finishing 16-for-21 with 181 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end A.J. Derby in just over two quarters of work. He looked pretty good, regardless of who was protecting him or whoever got the ball thrown their way.
Below are three key plays from the game that show both the good and bad in his game and give an idea of what Jimmy G. can contribute once "real" games begin when the Patriots travel to Arizona - and the touchdown wasn't one of them.
Though the touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion were impressive, as Garoppolo delivered a strike to Derby in traffic while under pressure then showed good patience hitting Chris Hogan for the two-pointer, those plays aren't on the list. But I do have three others that I fashioned into some fancy Vine clips for your viewing pleasure - and they all came on Garoppolo's final drive of the game at the beginning of the third quarter.
First, Garoppolo made a nice quick throw to tight end Clay Harbor in the flat while backpedaling with two untouched defenders roaring straight at him. A holding penalty on Chris Hogan negated the play, but it was still good execution by Garoppolo and Harbor. It really doesn't matter who Garoppolo had running at him, he made a good play under pressure.
Speaking of Hogan, he more than made up for his holding penalty that negated the Harbor catch on the very next play. Garoppolo sidestepped an incoming pass rusher, kept his eyes downfield, then threw a good ball to Hogan near the sideline, where he juggled a bit before holding on for the catch. Garoppolo showed good composure in the pocket on this play, arguably his best of the game.
Garoppolo came oh so close to escaping the game without a really ugly throw or unacceptable decision. He had one in his first preseason game with an ill-advised deep throw over the middle; on Thursday, he made a similar mistake but it was on a shorter throw, his final attempt of the night.
Looking for James White near the end zone, Garoppolo made a quick throw over the middle but the ball was a bit behind White - and almost landed in the hands of a Chicago defender. He narrowly escaped bad interceptions on each of his two worst throws in his two preseason games so far.
This particular throw, which could have resulted in a pick-six and is probably the play Bill Belichick will play on a loop in the next film session, is the kind of throw that can't happen in a game that counts.
Garoppolo made over a dozen good throws and only one really bad one. Then again, just one really bad throw can cost you a game sometimes. But on the whole, it was a good night for Jimmy G. as he continues to solidify his pocket presence, improve his decision-making, and (hopefully) learn from his mistakes.
These videos - two of them, anyway - show that Garoppolo continues to head in the right direction.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions 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.
