ESPN NFL analyst Tim Hasselbeck joined Dennis & Callahan on Monday morning to discuss the huge number of penalties given out this preseason as well as Jimmy Garoppolo‘s potential in New England. To listen to the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.
NFL referees have come under fire for aggressively calling penalties in preseason games, something that revolves around the league cracking down on illegal contact, defensive holding and illegal hands to the face.
Hasselbeck said the number of penalties should decrease once the regular season kicks off.
“I watch all of these games, and you obviously can’t watch them all in real time, so I feel like I’ve had the benefit of fast-forwarding through the nonsense, because the games that I’ve watched in real time, it’s been brutal,” Hasselbeck said. “It’s been absolutely brutal. There’s no way this continues, because the league doesn’t want games like this during the regular season, and I can tell you right now, with all of this emphasis and all of this focus on this illegal contact and that nonsense, go look at every postseason for the last five years. The further and further you get along in the postseason, refs are afraid to take the flag out of their pocket. They won’t do it. … I feel like the officials in the NFL kind of missed the boat on this one.”
Hasselbeck said that Garoppolo’s impressive performances in the team’s first two preseason games, coupled with Ryan Mallett‘s upcoming free agency, has given Garoppolo the edge in terms of fighting for the backup quarterback role on the team.
“I think, in terms of the ownership of the system, I think you need to be in it for a full year,” Hasselbeck said. “The advantage of being in something a full year is that you have command over it, rather than just knowing it. … There’s so many layers of it, so I think if you’re in it for over a year, to start to develop that type of ability. In terms of Belichick’s process with these guys, because of the contract situation for Mallett going forward and when he reaches free agency and because they’ve invested a second-round pick in Garoppolo, I believe that the scale is tipped a little bit in Garoppolo’s favor for them to really try to get him up to speed and feel comfortable with him being the backup, and so I think that’s why you’re going to see them give him opportunities.”
While teams such as the Bills and Jets have the players and potential to make some noise this season, Hasselbeck still has New England pegged as a massive favorite to once again claim in the top spot in the AFC East.
“Everyone is looking for the team that’s challenging them. Who is it? I said this last week … If [Rob] Gronkowski‘s healthy, I don’t see anybody challenging them,” Hasselbeck said. “New England has gotten better on both sides of the football, just by guys going into their second year, guys on the defensive side of the ball, in terms of additions, [Shane] Vereen being healthy, they have gotten significantly better, I believe, from a personnel standpoint.
“You can talk Sammy Watkins all you want. … EJ Manuel developing, whatever it its, good quarterback play out of the Jets and their defense. But New England looks better, too. I really don’t think that there’s a team that gives them a significant run for their money in the East.”
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