http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/sports/football/jimmy-garoppolo-deflategate-patriots-cardinals.html 2016-09-12 16:04:28 Jimmy Garoppolo, Patriots’ Star Quarterback, Rises From Ashes of Deflategate Using what appeared to be properly inflated balls, he guided New England past the Cardinals. === Passionate partisans on both sides of the “deflategate” debate — and there are still many out there — will tell you that it was a battle between right and wrong, truth and lies, even good and evil. But fundamentally it was a battle over whether Jimmy Garoppolo would play four games at quarterback for the After several twists and turns in rulings by the N.F.L., an arbitrator and courts of law, the Patriots and Brady ended up losing. Garoppolo started the first of those four games Sunday night. And after his efficient first drive — four-of-five passing and a beauty of a 37-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan — many must have been wondering: What was all the fuss about? The scandal — or farce — brought us some unforgettable oddities. A destroyed phone, mysterious texts about a “deflator,” even the length of a bathroom visit became fodder for debate. But the competing scientific studies of air pressure, the voluminous Wells report, and the angry denunciations by Patriots officials and fans might now seem a bit overblown after Garoppolo’s performance in the Patriots’ 23-21 win. Before the game, the identity of New England’s quarterback seemed to matter a great deal. Both teams were elite last year, each coming a game short of the Super Bowl. In ordinary circumstances, you might expect Arizona to be a small favorite at home. But with the Patriots starting Garoppolo instead of Brady, the Playing without the Patriots injured star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, Garoppolo finished the game with sterling numbers of 24 for 33 for 264 yards and no interceptions. He capped it with the game-winning drive. Going into Monday night’s game, Garoppolo ranked eighth in the league in quarterback rating. Last year’s Most Valuable Player Award candidate Carson Palmer was a very comparable 24 for 27 for 271. And Garoppolo put up those numbers despite having little N.F.L. experience. He threw 27 passes in cameo appearances in his rookie year, 2014, but just four last season. The Patriots did not change their offense dramatically for Brady’s understudy. Garoppolo threw on 52 percent of downs; last year, the Patriots’ figure was 62 percent. Patriots fans hoping to spin the suspension as a positive said that it would provide a useful audition to see if Garoppolo, 24, is the man to eventually replace Brady, 39. A second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois, Garoppolo came into the league far less heralded than top picks like Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. But then so did Brady, a sixth-round pick. Still, on balance, second-round quarterbacks seldom succeed as N.F.L. stars. For every Brett Favre or Drew Brees, there has been a Jimmy Clausen, or worse, Marques Tuiasosopo or Brian Brohm. Garoppolo’s performance may have reminded some of Matt Cassel, a seventh-round pick who filled in for Brady in 2007, the only season Brady missed any significant time. Cassel’s numbers were somewhat worse than Brady’s, but the team was still fairly successful, going 11-5 and missing a playoff berth on a tiebreaker. Cassel went on to play seven more seasons, including some good ones in Kansas City. Garoppolo’s four-game stretch will continue with three significantly easier games, all at home, against the Dolphins, the Texans and the Bills. If his numbers stay the same, or improve with a little experience, and the Pats come out 3-1 or even 4-0, maybe everyone will take a deep breath and let Deflategate go. Probably not though.