FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As a junior in high school, Jimmy Garoppolo studied video of Tom Brady. As a rookie in the NFL, he watched the superstar in practice.
He looked and learned.
In the 2015 opener, the spectator will be Brady if his four-game suspension isn't overturned on appeal. Garoppolo, the heir apparent to the New England Patriots quarterback, should get his chance much sooner than expected.
Is the second-year pro from a second-tier school up to it?
"I have confidence in the kid," said Jeff Christensen, a quarterback tutor who has worked with Garoppolo for nearly 10 years.