Tanguay: Beware Pats fans; Jimmy G. could be the new New Coke

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Boy, the spin has begun.

"It actually works out that Tom Brady will miss the first four games of the season. He will be fully rested for remainder of the season."

"This is perfect for Bill Belichick. He can see what he has in Jimmy Garoppolo."

"No biggie that Brady is out. The Pats will go 3-1 at the worst."

Ohhhhh, if you could just listen to yourselves.

Remember New Coke? (To this day, many claim it was a scam by Coca-Cola to re-boot regular Coke -- or what became called Classic Coke -- with less-expensive ingredients. Maybe it was. That has nothing to do with my point but I just like that little nugget of a story.) How'd that work out?

Remember Sammy Hagar taking over for David Lee Roth in Van Halen, when Roth went solo to do his California Girls thing? (I'm the rare example of someone who preferred Van Hagar over Van Halen. I love the 5150 album.) Regardless of how I felt, how'd that work out?

Want more modern examples? How about Stephen Colbert instead of David Letterman on The Late Show? Trevor Noah instead of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show? How are they working out?

So before all you Patriot freaks get too carried away with desperate optimism, consider: Jimmy G. could be New Coke by Week 2. Or Sammy Hagar. Or Stephen Colbert. Or Trevor Noah.

I suspect Garoppolo will fall in the category of Sammy Hagar. He will be solid, perhaps even have a great moment or two. But he won't bring the same wow factor as his predecessor.

Even though you may be able to talk yourself into believing the four games without Brady will be okay, they won’t. We'll get a real taste of what life after Tom is going to be like. And it’s going to really suck.

Just like New Coke.

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