FOXBORO -- Jimmy Garoppolo was ready to take the field to start Thursday's preseason opener had he been asked. But it became clear, not all that long before the Patriots offense took the field for the first time, that Tom Brady would be the starter despite spending the majority of the last two days in Manhattan.
When exactly did he learn that Brady would start? "Right when you guys did," Garoppolo said following a 22-11 loss to the Packers. "We don't really [have] any heads up."
After two Patriots series, Garoppolo was inserted and remained in the game the rest of the way. He finished 20-for-30 for 159 yards, and he threw one interception in the third quarter.
"There were ups and downs," Garoppolo said. "We've got a long way to go, obviously. Eleven points isn't by any means good enough. There's room for improvement."
Perhaps the number that stood out the most at game's end was that Garoppolo was sacked seven times playing behind an offensive line that featured several newcomers and never included left tackle Nate Solder, right tackle Sebastian Vollmer or center Bryan Stork.
"I didn't really get a chance to break it all down yet, see the film, but you can always get the ball out your hand faster," he said. "That bell helped eliminate a lot of them probably. I haven't really seen it yet, so I don't know."
One particularly useful learning experience that Garoppolo experienced came at the end of the first half.
New England Patriots
The Patriots took possession with 53 seconds remaining in the second quarter at the Green Bay 49-yard line, and after an incomplete pass to running back James White, the Patriots used their third and final timeout. On a second-and-five with 27 seconds left, Garoppolo was sacked, and the only way to stop the clock was with an incompletion.
Following a moment of hesitancy, Garoppolo took a snap from undrafted rookie center David Andrews and spiked the ball with three seconds remaining.
"Well, if we had enough time we wanted to get another play off, but the clock was running down," Garoppolo said. "In that situation we had to clock it, get the field goal, get the points at that point and walk away with three more at the half."
The drive resulted in a 56-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski to finish the half. All in all, though it appeared relatively choppy, Garoppolo said he liked how the team was able to manage the clock in that situation.
"I thought it was good," Garoppolo said. "The pace of the offense, we were moving pretty well, moving the ball up the field. [We] just got three, but three is better than nothing at that point."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick could be seen chatting with Garoppolo following the series just before the team headed into halftime. Despite the fact that Gostkowski made his kick, those types of game-management situations may be included in the elements of Garoppolo's game that have, as he put it, "room for improvement."
With continued long stretches of playing time during the preseason -- and perhaps in the regular season, depending on whether or not Brady's suspension is upheld -- making decisions in those situations may feel more like second-nature.
If his progress over the course of the last year is any indication, he'll continue to learn at a steady rate.
"Last year, it's not even really a comparison," Garoppolo said when asked about his comfort level in this year's preseason opener compared to that of his rookie season, when he threw for 157 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts.
"I wish I had the deep ball tonight that I had last year in the first preseason game. That would've helped a little bit, but you've got to take it in stride, really."