Sometimes it feels like Jimmy Garoppolo was created in a lab on Patriot Way, his particular quarterback model built to facilitate the absolute minimum level of media attention.
To take this a bit further (while using a dated pop-culture analogy): Tom Brady is the T-800. Jimmy Garoppolo is the T-1000. The Patriots have built the perfect machine for avoiding tabloid distractions during a time when the team is desperate to keep the focus on the field.
Garoppolo is in line to start the first four games of the season if Brady's suspension is upheld in federal court. On Thursday, the second-year quarterback was mum about what is a time of considerable professional uncertainty.
"Just take it one day at a time," Garoppolo told reporters. "You can't focus on everything at once because it'll overwhelm you, so you just gotta take it one day at a time, focus on the little things, focus on improving every day."
As for Garoppolo's reaction when the news came down that Brady's suspension had been upheld?
"Not much of a reaction to it, really," he said. "Just stay focused on what I can control and what I'm trying to learn right now and improve on."
For the time being, the Patriots prepare with Brady as their No. 1. The Boston Herald reported Friday that Brady took "100 percent" of first-team reps in the team's opening practice. Garoppolo was intercepted in his first pass of the session, but finished 28 of 36 on the day.
It will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick approaches first-team reps if Brady's situation begins to drag through August without a conclusion. For now, it's still Brady's show.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses Tom Brady's lawsuit and debates which veteran players are most likely to be cut.
