Three Questions heading into week 1 for the Patriots

1. How will Jimmy Garoppolo look in his first regular season game?

The short answer to this question is nobody knows the answer and I’m not going to pretend I do. He didn’t look that impressive during the preseason but that doesn’t tell us much. Questions have surrounded Garoppolo ever since being by the Patriots out of Eastern Illinois. Could he make the jump from an FCS-school to the NFL and is he the guy that will eventually take over for Tom Brady, were some of the most asked questions. The Cardinals defense was 2nd in the league in takeaways, behind Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson and Tyron Matheiu so he has to be aware of those guys all game. . No matter what Garoppolo does in these four games he’s not going to start over Brady in week 5 vs Cleveland but these games will determine his future value. The most likely scenario if Garopollo performs well, is to use him as a chip to leverage another team to give up draft picks by either attempting to trade him for him in the offseason or something I haven’t heard any one talk about; trading him after week 4 but before November 1^st to a team that thinks they’re in playoff contention this this season to a team that thinks they’re one quarterback away from making a run in the playoffs.

2. Will Martellus Bennett step up without Rob Gronkowski?

Martellus Bennett has the talent to be one of the best tight ends in the league. I didn’t believe the rumors that he could have been on the cutting block at the end of the preseason. Traded from the Bears during the offseason, Bennett is a Pro Bowl tight end who stands 6’6, 275 pounds and has the power to run block, the quickness to pass block, and the size & agility to beat a lighter defensive back on a pass route. He only played in eleven games last year coming off a career year the year before racking up 916 yards on 90 receptions and 6 touchdowns. I think Garoppolo will look to Bennett often to help advance the offense down the field tonight and I think Patriots fans are going to be impressed with his athleticism.

3. Can the offensive line keep Chandler Jones in check?

During the off season the patriots traded Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to the Craidnals  for former 1^st round draft pick and often injured guard Jonathan Cooper, a 2^nd round pick who they turned  into a third-rounder guard Joe Thuney and a fourth-rounder, receiver Malcolm Mitchell who had a good preseason before injuring his elbow and who I believe is going to be a deep threat for the Patriots once he is healthy again. Back to Jones and the offensive line, speculation around the league was that he was traded because of his 2015 incident with synthetic marijuana; but I believe that wasn’t the only reason. Jones will become a free agent at the end of this year and even though the Patriots have the most salary cap space in the NFL. They also have a lot of big names entering the last year of their contracts and may not be able to pay everyone which is a topic I will dive into in another blog. I expect Jones to have a big game because he has something to prove tonight on the field and throughout the season being in a contract year. Jones will face Pats tackles Cameron Flemming and Marcus Cannon, who’s filling in for injured tackle Sebastian Vollmer. These are former teammates he’s gone up against for years in practice and I think Jones gets to the quarterback at least once tonight.

Update: Wr Malcom Mitchell is active for tonight’s game

Scottyd
@Dpo12s

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Raiders Trade Carson Palmer To Cardinals

Back in October 2011 when the Bengals traded Carson Palmer to the Raiders for a 1st and 2nd round pick, my immediate thought was that Palmer wasn’t worth a 1st round pick, let alone a 2nd round pick. But, somehow, the Bengals got BOTH for Palmer. I couldn’t believe it and I still can’t. That trade is still one of the most, if not the most, lopsided trades in NFL history.

Today, the Raiders traded the quarterback to the Cardinals for 2013 6th round pick and a conditional 7th round pick in 2014. All I can say is wow. Palmer agreed to restructure his deal to a 2 year $16 million pact with the Cards. Palmer was set to make $13 million this year and the Raiders wanted to restructure. Palmer wouldn’t, so the Raiders traded for Matt Flynn, making Palmer expendable.

Wait a second…did the Silver and Black actually make a smart move? The Raiders, long known for making bad moves and being taking advantage of in trades, finally seem to be coming around, becoming smarter, more thorough and more careful in the process. The rest of the league now may have to watch out for the former laughing stock sooner rather than later. Since former owner/GM Al Davis passed away, the Raiders and new GM Reggie McKenzie have completely changed philosophies from the old and the changes are becoming more apparent this offseason. With this trade, it seems like the Raiders franchise transformation from old to new is now complete.

-MPT