Tedy Bruschi: Garoppolo pick was a mistake


On Tuesday former Patriot linebacker and ESPN contributor Tedy Bruschi appeared on the Dale and Holley show on WEEI radio. Naturally the main topic of conversation was the debacle of a game the Pats had played the previous night. Bruschi then broke down the two main mistakes that the Patriots organization had made this year that explain the woes the franchise is currently facing. According to Tedy:

I think there were two mistakes made regarding this team right now for this year. The two mistakes were [trading Logan Mankins] and [drafting Jimmy Garoppolo]... Were those the right decisions for down the road? Sure. But for right now, those were mistakes for this team. Mankins would be there to solidify some of the problems they have at that offensive line, and also, Garoppolo was a second-round pick you could have used on possibly an additional player, an additional area that you’re having problems with. So right now, those are two major errors made for this year, this team, that are affecting Tom Brady’s performance.

Bruschi isn't alone in the criticism of the Jimmy Football selection. In the short aftermath of the draft major sports writers also found the pick to be subpar.

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports gave the Patriots a C- for grabbing the Eastern Illinois quarterback in the second round tweeting:



Matthew Fairburn of SB nation was also down on New England's pick stating:

The Patriots had plenty of needs to address other than quarterback, and Garoppolo was a bit of a reach in the second round. New England will still be looking for Tom Brady's successor in a few years.

The difference between Teddy and the other critics is that Bruschi admits that Jimmy may be good down the road, but grabbing him was a short term blunder. The others simply stated it was an overall bad selection. Personally, I think they are all wrong.

Every time we see Jimmy Football on the field all we see is good accuracy and excellent coverage reads. Yes those times were only in the preseason and during garbage time in a blowout, but he still made the throws. I feel very comfortable with Jimmy Garoppolo one day taking over the quarterback role for the franchise.

I also think it was smart for the short term. Yes, the Patriots had Ryan Mallet but as we saw in the preseason he continued to struggle with accuracy just like every year we saw him in preseason. He was also gone after this season anyways. I believe now is a perfect time to have Brady's successor on the bench. Also, with this offensive line Brady has been taking plenty of hits. You never know when you have another Pollard hit and I would rather have Garoppolo starting than Mallet.

I also don't like the idea that you can address an immediate need in the draft. Very few players end up having an immediate impact their rookie year. When looking at the draft teams should be addressing their needs a year or two down the road. When you look at past Patriots draft classes that seems to be their philosophy as well. They didn't need a left tackle when they took Nate Solder back in 2011.

Do you believe the Patriots should have addressed a short term need with their second pick? Was grabbing Jimmy Garoppolo the right move? Let us know in the comments section!

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