By Andrew Hoenig
New England – It’s that time of year again! Football is back!!
Every September when fans of the game hear those three words, their hearts soar a little higher with a joyful glee.
But this year has a different feel to it in New England. And that may be because of the suspension that has loomed over New England all offseason and that will continue to loom till October.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had his suspension decision by Judge Richard Berman from last year overturned by a federal court which stated the primary reason for the 180 degree turn as being “Roger Goodell has the given power to impose the penalty based upon the agreed upon CBA by the NFL and NFLPA”.
Because of this decision and eventually Brady’s sacrifice of giving up the fight that could tarnish his name just based on the ridiculousness of the whole supposed scandal with no supporting evidence, Patriots fans now watch their team go the whole first month(four games) without the man who’s led the team to four Super Bowl titles.
For some fans, it feels like the season hasn’t truly started. A feeling reiterated by a fan by the name of Matt Pilcher, a Peterborough local. “Ya of course we think and know it’s wrong and it feels weird but hopefully Jimmy comes in and does well for now.” “Jimmy” is in reference to Jimmy Garappolo, the Patriots second string quarterback. He gets the starts while Brady takes the suspension.
The whole team has seemingly gathered around Jimmy G singing his praises. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said that he has confidence in Jimmy G and that he believes Jimmy can steer the team in the right direction in Brady’s absence. “Guys just have to get behind him”, said Gronkowski.
So will the fans. Some fans seem ready and willing to jump on the Jimmy G train which is all fine and good so long as the media doesn’t overblow his play. Bill Belichick really isn’t one for headlines and won’t much care what we think. The Patriots head coach has already, in a shocking development, TOLD the media of his future plans at quarterback this season; a rare thing indeed.
“Jimmy will be the quarterback the first four weeks and Tom will take over again in week 5 when he comes back,” declared Belichick in one of his news conferences before the start of the season.
This just laid a nail in the coffin of an already resounding echo by Belichick all season that Brady is his quarterback and wouldn’t want anyone else. There’s something to be said about loyalty. It might be why Belichick and Brady have enjoyed so much success over the last previous 16 seasons. Or at least a small part of it.
As fans who know what Brady has done for the team and the situation he has been forcibly put in by the league, mainly commissioner Roger Goodell, loyalty might be the best thing to show during that four game stretch no matter what promise(or not) Jimmy Garappolo shows. One day Tom Brady will retire and there will be another quarterback leading the charge in New England but today is not that day. One thing is for sure… Tom will come back and he will be hungry. He’s still got further to go. #DriveFor5
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