(Photo: Patspulpit.com)

By: Jake Mackey

Last week Jimmy Garoppolo was average at best against the New Orleans Saints. The numbers do not say so, but his pocket presence and his lack of confidence gleamed through the television set. Holding onto the football, scrambling backwards for negative yards, and throwing across his body to Saints defenders summed up the first week of the preseason for the Patriots starting quarterback for the first quarter of the season.

Week two was a completely different story. Jimmy went 16 for 21, for 181 yards, and a nice 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end AJ Derby right before the break. He certainly was not perfect and Josh McDaniels really did not test his arm at all, opting to run most of the time. However, he responded when he needed to and that is what you need to be starting quarterback in the National Football League.

The Patriots went down 11-0 early. That could very well be a situation that Garoppolo could be in the first few weeks a handful of times. The offense had a turnover inside the five-yard line after Brandon Bolden fumbled. Nevertheless, Jimmy G responded leading the team on two straight scoring drives. He did not air it out too much, but he made the throws he had to make and he did not put the ball in harms way, and that is all he needs to do in the first four week of this season, which is why in Jimmy Garoppolo terms he was perfect against Chicago.

Patriots fans are so use to their quarterback carrying the team for the majority of the past 15-seasons. In the years of 2009-2013, Brady really carried the entire team due to the fact that the talent around him was average. Since 2014 the Patriots players 1 to 53 probably have the most talent in the league, and all Jimmy Garoppolo has to do is lean on those guys and not mess up. That is precisely what he did Thursday night and that was without Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and Dion Lewis.

The one thing I need to see more from Jimmy Garoppolo is his arm. The Patriots had a first and goal situation in the first half against Chicago, and Josh McDaniels opted to run three straight times. I understand that establishing some type of running game in the first four weeks will be important, but you have to air it out at least once from that part of the field. He ceratinyl allowed Jacoby Brissett to air it out later in the game, which makes little to no sense.

Side note; once again Jacoby Brissett impressed when the lights came on, proving to be the opposite of what the Patriots beat writers say he is on the practice field. Sounds like 2014 Jimmy Garoppolo all over again, except Brissett is getting zero positive attention from the media.

Like I stated earlier, Jimmy Garoppolo does not have to be Tom Brady perfect, he just has to be Jimmy Garoppolo perfect which is what he was on Thursday night.