Arizona Cardinals Licking their Chops to Face Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo
By Dan Benton
When the Arizona Cardinals open the 2016 regular season, they’ll do so against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. However, the Pats could very well be without quarterback Tom Brady, who is currently suspended for four games, and Calais Campbell says that’s got his defense “licking their chops.”
Despite their best efforts, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his legal representation did not receive the word they were hoping for on Wednesday as The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected his appeal.
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With the rejection, Brady will now likely file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, but in interim, he remains suspended for the first four games of the season due to his part in Deflategate. As such, the Arizona Cardinals will now begin looking forward to their matchup with backup Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 1 — something defensive lineman Calais Campbell says has the defense licking their chops.
“You get a rookie quarterback, it’s always exciting when you get a guy like that for his first game because he’s going to be nervous,” Campbell said Wednesday on CBS Sports Radio. “He’s probably going to be sitting there holding the ball a little longer or trying to get rid of it quick, throwing bad balls.
“As a vet, we definitely pride ourselves on welcoming [quarterbacks] the right way.”
Although Garoppolo, who is entering this third NFL season, is not technically a rookie, his Week 1 start will be the very first of his career. And with the spotlight of the entire league shining down upon him, it’s safe to say Campbell has it right… there will be nerves and there will be, in all likelihood, some mental errors.
Even in the event Garoppolo somehow comes out and plays flawlessly, he’s still no Tom Brady. It’s a steep advantage for the hungry Cardinals, who are coming off a disappointing finish to their 2015 season (a 49-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game) and once again have Super Bowl aspirations.
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In his two seasons with the Patriots, Garoppolo has appeared in 11 games, completing 20 of his 31 pass attempts (64.5%) for 188 yards and one touchdown. However, he threw only four passes a season ago, only one of which was complete.
It will be a whole new ballgame for Garoppolo and the Patriots come Week 1. It will also be the first time someone other than Tom Brady has started at quarterback since 2008.