Lessons from Week 2: Brady doesn’t age and 49ers will get better under Garoppolo

Sports Writing, 20 Sep. Among the lessons from week two of the 2022 NFL season is that 45-year-old Tom Brady is looking better and better on the field and that the 49ers will improve with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback replacing Trey Lance.

It is not common for a rival to dominate in the statistics the teams commanded by the considered best player in the history of the NFL.

The Saints are one of them, before this Sunday’s duel the team led by Dennis Allen today boasted a perfect record against Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in four previous games.

As is customary in the quarterback, holder of seven Super Bowls, that streak ended thanks to his leadership; led his Bucs to victory 20-10; he had a touchdown pass in a game that required his extensive experience.

He was pressured and sacked once, he looked so frustrated that in the third quarter he threw his helmet and the electronic tablet, on which he reviews plays, to the ground because his team could not score.

Brady doesn’t have an attacking machine. The Bucs look strong defensively; they have conceded 13 points in two games, the second-best mark among the 32 teams, but the veteran’s presence is an inspiration to his players.

Proof of this was the way in which his teammate Mike Evans defended him, who was even ejected and suspended a game for pushing an opponent, when he saw that Brady argued in a heated way with Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye of the Saints.

The 15-time Pro Bowl selection is in his 23rd season at the age of 45 and apparently at the start of the season he will once again be a threat in the championship dispute.

Just as Brady gives the Bucs certainty, the 49ers show confidence that they will improve with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo, 30, was destined in 2022 to be the backup for 22-year-old rookie Trey Lance in the 49ers, but the boy, who debuted with a loss in week one against the Bears, suffered a fracture this Sunday in the duel against the Seahawks.

Jimmy relieved him, got a touchdown pass and San Francisco exploded; they beat Seattle 27-7, but the most significant thing was a play by Garoppolo in the fourth quarter in which he gained yards even though he finished behind several opponents.

Upon getting up, Jimmy was patted on the helmet and shoulder pads in a festive way by all his companions.

A sign of confidence that will drive the 49ers to transcend and be contenders to repeat in the National Conference final, which they lost in 2021 with a performance that cost Garoppolo the title, but from which he can take revenge.

It’s not a matter of magic, Jimmy has already led San Francisco to a Super Bowl, which he lost, in 2020; the young Lance, who will return until 2023, was in his first year as a starter.

When it comes to lessons, it seems that, at least in these first two weeks, the AFC champion Bengals have not learned that they need to improve their quarterback protection.

In 2021 Joe Burrow was the NFL’s most-sacked passer with 51 tackles. He also set a record as the most caught, seven times, in Super Bowl LVI that his team lost to the Rams.

This season he debuted in a 23-20 loss to the Steelers with seven sacks, plus the six he suffered in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Dallas places him, with 13, as the most caught.

An unflattering pace that projects him to repeat what he did last year.

We want to thank the author of this short article for this remarkable web content

Lessons from Week 2: Brady doesn’t age and 49ers will get better under Garoppolo