The NFL is only a few days into training camp, and Bill Belichick is already annoyed at the media.
The Patriots head coach has made it clear that Tom Brady is the starter of the team and he'll take over the offense in Week 5 regardless of how well Jimmy Garoppolo does in his stead.
In case you're living under a rock, the Deflategate scandal finally came to an end when Brady opted to accept the four-game suspension handed to him by the NFL for use of underinflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship Game.
It ended over a year of back-and-forth between Brady and the league, which included two appeals of the ban.
In Brady's absence, Garoppolo, a 2014 second-round draft pick (No. 62 overall) will take the reins to the offense. Belichick has been adamant that once Brady is back, he will be under center.
That didn't stop the media from asking if Garoppolo could supplant Brady as the permanent starter if he plays well during Brady's four-game absence. The question elicited a tremendous response from Belichick:
Belichick, after confirming again that Brady will be starter when he returns...(under breath) "Jesus Christ." (eyeroll).
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) July 29, 2016
To answer everyone's question, no, it wasn't me. pic.twitter.com/KEG6rVtA9R — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 29, 2016
Garoppolo, who attended college at East Illinois, owns a 64.5 completion percentage in 11 NFL games in his career -- five of which occurred last season. The signal caller has thrown for 188 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
The 24-year-old will be under center when the Patriots visit the Cardinals on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 1, and then again when the Patriots host the Dolphins, Texans and Bills in Weeks 2-4.
After a 2nd Circuit Court denied Brady's latest appeal of the four-game ban, he announced on Facebook that he would accept it earlier this month.
"I'm very grateful for the overwhelming support I've received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans," Brady wrote on Facebook. "It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."
Brady won his fourth Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2015 and finished last season with a 64.4 completion percentage, while throwing for 4,770 yards with 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The quarterback, who will turn 39 in August, led New England to a 12-4 record and its seventh straight AFC East division crown, but the team ultimately fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
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