Ahhh NFL Week 1. The best weekend of the year. Starting with the always interesting Thursday night opener for a nice appetizer. Heading onto the delicious entree of Sunday games, and ending with the never disappointing desert of Monday Night Football.
On Sunday night, all of Pats Nation watched intently to see how the young quarterback out of Eastern Illinois, Jimmy Garopollo would fare against the dangerous almighty Arizona Cardinals defense that ranked 5th in the NFL last season in defense allowing just 321 yards per game. (NFL.com) Notably, fans were also interested to see how Jimmy would be able to react against long time fan favorite Chandler Jones, who was traded from New England to Arizona this past off season.
What impressed me the most about Jimmy Garopollo was his poise. It may of been his first career start, however to a casual football fan he could've been a ten-year veteran with his marvelous 37 yard touchdown pass to receiver Chris Hogan late in the first quarter.
A particular moment that really instilled a load of confidence in Garopollo for me is how he bounced back after failure. With just 5 minutes left in the first half, Cardinals defenders swarmed and stripped the young quarterback, to get recovered by no other than Chandler Jones.
This was a big test for the young quarterback to see how he would react, and boy did he pass my test. Garapollo went on after that to not turn the ball over agin for the rest of the game, and the Patriots would get a huge win 23-21 to start the season, bereft a Tom Brady.
On the defensive side of the ball, I slept like a baby after the game feeling more than satisfied that the Patriots made the right decision in the offseason by dumping Chandler Jones. Obviously the team needed to figure something out with contracts regarding Dont'a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Malcolm Butler whose contracts are all running out in the next couple seasons. Unfortunately, Chandler Jones found himself on short end of the stick, forcing the Patriots to cut ties with the well respected line backer.
Many fans criticized the organization for their decision to trade Jones. However, I absolutely love the move. Two words: Chris Long. Absolute beast this man is. Standing at 6'3, 270 pounds, this behemoth of a human being really fills a gaping hole in the absence of Chandler Jones. The Ex-Ram recorded 3 tackles and one sack in the season opener, and I really expect him to have a sensational season for New England. Some players just look good in Patriots blue, and no doubt in my mind this man will play a key role for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's defense this season, and for years to come.
Link: http://www.nfl.com/stats/team?seasonId=2015&seasonType=&Submit=Go
