Did Jimmy Garoppolo Prove He Can Carry the New England Patriots?

First, the good news. 

Without any doubt, the evaluation of Jimmy Garoppolo's ability to hold down the fort for the New England Patriots will take far more than one preseason game. 

Playing behind a makeshift offensive line and throwing to the likes of Josh Boyce and Chris Harper, the young Garoppolo had little chance Thursday night to prove he can carry the Patriots while Tom Brady serves his four-game suspension to start the 2015 season. Any encompassing statement about his capacity as a starting NFL quarterback must be considered seriously premature.   

There is still bad news. 

Without any doubt, the second-year backup struggled for long stretches during his 2015 exhibition debut, which ended in an ugly 22-11 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Garoppolo completed 20 of 30 passes for just 159 yards and one interception. He averaged 5.3 yards per attempt, took seven sacks and finished with a meager passer rating of 65.8. The Patriots scored on just two of Garoppolo's nine drives. 

"I've got a long way to go obviously," Garoppolo said, via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. "Eleven points is not by any means good enough. There's room for improvement."

In reality, there should be room for improvement for a second-year quarterback who threw 27 passes as a rookie in 2014. And with three games left on the preseason schedule, there's plenty of time for that improvement to happen. 

Garoppolo was occasionally erratic with his accuracy Thursday night, with his biggest misses coming when he attempted to drive the football down the field. His interception was a poor throw, and he held the ball too long on a handful of his sacks. 

But keep in mind: The Patriots didn't dress 23 players against the Packers, including starting offensive linemen Ryan Wendell, Bryan Stork and Nate Solder, tight end Rob Gronkowski, receivers Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell and running back LeGarrette Blount. 

Brady started at quarterback but exited the game after two series and four throws. Garoppolo was left with a shell of the group he'll likely start with in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

He had little help. Boyce caught just two of his game-high 11 targets. And if you take away Jonas Gray's 55-yard touchdown run in the first half, the Patriots rushed for just 39 yards on the offense's other 17 attempts. 

Harper, who is currently listed as New England's fourth-string receiver behind Edelman, caught a team-high seven passes. James White, a second-year running back, led the club with 52 receiving yards. 

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Packers did Garoppolo no favors, frequently sending blitzes and stunts against an overmatched offensive line. Rare was the clean pocket that all young quarterbacks need to operate efficiently and consistently. Understandably, a beat-up Garoppolo eventually became enamored with underneath throws to simply get the ball out of his hands. 

Lacking any supporting elements of an offense, the Patriots had just one drive over 40 yards after taking the lead on Gray's long run. The eight failed possessions included four punts, two turnovers on downs and one interception and one field goal.

Yet the performance wasn't all negative. 

Early on, Garoppolo stood tall in the pocket and frequently made the correct read. On his first third down, he hung in against pressure and delivered a strike to the left hash, completing a 16-yard pass to Boyce and moving the sticks. Later, he made strong decisions in attacking downfield against single coverage. 

	First Half	Second Half
Cmp/Att	5/13	15/17
Yards	63	96
TD/INT	0/0	0/1

The final result wasn't always there, but the process was right. And in the grand scheme of a first preseason game, getting the process right is infinitely more important than the final result. 

Head coach Bill Belichick didn't have much to say on his young quarterback.

"I don't know. We'll have to look at the film," Belichick said when asked about Garoppolo's performance, via Michael Hurley of CBS Boston. "There are a lot of guys out there. I can't watch them all."

Most eyes were on Garoppolo. And they'll probably stay fixated on No. 10 for the rest of the preseason. He's likely to be counted on once the real games begin. 

Brady's suspension currently sits at four games, which would keep him out of contests against the Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys. Pittsburgh and Dallas were playoff teams a year ago. 

Many will look at Garoppolo's exhibition debut and pencil the Patriots in for a losing record through the first quarter of the season. It's an easy reaction after watching the second-year quarterback struggle in a variety of scenarios against the Packers. 

What's easy can also be lazy. 

Evaluating Garoppolo before he gets a chance to play with a competent offensive line and threatening supporting options would be impulsive and rash. Welcoming back all the talent that stood on the sidelines Thursday night might just make a difference in the final product from the quarterback.  

The setting provided for Garoppolo in the preseason opener wasn't an ideal proving ground. The 23-year-old has time to show he can keep the Patriots afloat. Trust the process. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2