Texans not fazed by QB uncertainty for Patriots

Sep 19, 2016 at 07:38 AM

There's only one certainty about the Thursday night quarterback status for New England: Tom Brady won't be in the building.

But after Jimmy Garoppolo exited Sunday's win over Miami with an AC sprain in his shoulder, rookie Jacoby Brissett came on in relief and will likely start against the Texans at Gillette Stadium. Even though it would be start number one as a pro, the Texans said they're not taking anything for granted with the young signal-caller.

"He has really good poise, very smart guy," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's got good size; he's like 235 pounds. He's a good football player. When we evaluated him in the draft, we felt the same way

then, too."

Brady is out until Week 5 because of a four-game suspension by the NFL. Garoppolo started the first two games of 2016 in place of the 2-time NFL MVP.

The Texans defense hasn't allowed a touchdown over the last six quarters of play, and is looking to continue that success in Foxborough. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph said their plans and preparation won't change much, whether it's Brissett or Garoppolo under center.

"Obviously, you can't prepare for both of them because you would overdue yourself on a short week," Joseph said. "I think you just have to go out there, stick to your game plan, and execute what we do on defense for us."

Fellow cornerback Charles James, II agreed, and said the weapons around whoever plays quarterback for the Patriots are a big factor in their prep.

"He's on a good team," James said. "I can't really buy into that too much, him just being a rookie, because a rookie can also go out there and do some great things. It's one of those things that we're going to prepare for him just like he's a guy that could do a lot of bad things to us."

Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who in two games this year has a pair of sacks, along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery, said the Texans will need to harass whoever lines up at quarterback for the Patriots.

"Try to get them rattled from the start, especially with young quarterbacks, guys who don't have a lot of experience," Mercilus said. "Try to get them guessing and all that and get them antsy in the pocket."

Brissett completed 6-of-9 pass attempts for 92 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown or an interception in the New England win over the Dolphins. Brissett was taken in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft after throwing for more than a combined 5,000 yards the last two seasons at North Carolina State.

***Twitter.com/DoughertyDrew***

[ internal-link-placeholder-0]

1 / 109

2 / 109

3 / 109

4 / 109

5 / 109

6 / 109

7 / 109

8 / 109

9 / 109

10 / 109

11 / 109

12 / 109

13 / 109

14 / 109

15 / 109

16 / 109

17 / 109

18 / 109

19 / 109

20 / 109

21 / 109

22 / 109

23 / 109

24 / 109

25 / 109

26 / 109

27 / 109

28 / 109

29 / 109

30 / 109

31 / 109

32 / 109

33 / 109

34 / 109

35 / 109

36 / 109

37 / 109

38 / 109

39 / 109

40 / 109

41 / 109

42 / 109

43 / 109

44 / 109

45 / 109

46 / 109

47 / 109

48 / 109

49 / 109

50 / 109

51 / 109

52 / 109

53 / 109

54 / 109

55 / 109

56 / 109

57 / 109

58 / 109

59 / 109

60 / 109

61 / 109

62 / 109

63 / 109

64 / 109

65 / 109

66 / 109

67 / 109

68 / 109

69 / 109

70 / 109

71 / 109

72 / 109

73 / 109

74 / 109

75 / 109

76 / 109

77 / 109

78 / 109

79 / 109

80 / 109

81 / 109

82 / 109

83 / 109

84 / 109

85 / 109

86 / 109

87 / 109

88 / 109

89 / 109

90 / 109

91 / 109

92 / 109

93 / 109

94 / 109

95 / 109

96 / 109

97 / 109

98 / 109

99 / 109

100 / 109

101 / 109

102 / 109

103 / 109

104 / 109

105 / 109

106 / 109

107 / 109

108 / 109

109 / 109

Advertising

This Ad will close in 3

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.