Deflategate: 4 good things about Tom Brady’s suspension

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

2. The Patriots’ offense will be a complete mystery 

How you play with one quarterback is entirely different from how you play with another. An offense is characterized by the capability and tendencies of its quarterback.

With that in mind, there’s no doubt that the Patriots will play with two completely different offensive schemes over the first half of the regular season. There will be the offense put together to assist Garoppolo against the tough Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Dallas defenses (which will undergo several incarnations, for sure), and then there will be the more familiar Brady-led offense when No. 12 returns to action.

This will throw opposing defensive coordinators completely for a loop. The Colts won’t have any idea what to expect from the Brady-led Pats in Week 6, as the only tape available from 2015 will just be Garoppolo games. Instead of playing in those first four games, Brady will spend each week tirelessly preparing to tear into the Colts’ defense, which is also not a bad thing.

And when Garoppolo is starting, the Steelers, Jaguars, Bills and Cowboys will be unfamiliar with the second-year passer. Is he a scrambler? More of a pocket guy than we thought? Or are the Pats just going to hand the ball off a bunch?

Admittedly, this mystery might not be very comforting for Patriots fans. But try to see the good in Garoppolo’s youth. At least the Patriots will have a quarterback who can make plays with his feet for the first time this century.

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