Pats Preview: Opening Night Pats @ Cardinals

The New England Patriots open up the 2016 regular season Sunday night in Arizona, as they battle last season's NFC West Champion Cardinals in a prime-time showdown.

Now, lets take a look at some of the key story lines from the match up:

Jimmy G Time- With the suspension of quarterback Tom Brady keeping the Pats Hall-of-Fame signal caller off the field for the first four weeks of the season, the team will turn to third year backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo to step in under center. Sunday will mark Garoppolo's first ever start, as the youngster has only played in mop up duty so far throughout his career. With the team knowing that Brady would be gone for the first quarter of the season, Garoppolo was prepped to start throughout camp and received quality first team reps both in practice and during preseason games. The preseason was a mixed bag for the young quarterback as he played well in the second preseason game against the Chicago Bears, completing 16 of 21 pass attempts for 181 yards, but struggled to get anything going the next week against the vaunted Carolina Panthers defense. Unfortunately for Garoppolo his first task as a starter will be to go against a defense right on par with the one he saw in Carolina. The Cardinals love to rush the passer and will attempt to throw multiple looks at the unproved QB early and often.

No Gronk, BIG Problem- With a new quarterback in under center, the Pats already seemed to have their backs up against the wall a bit heading into Arizona. News that All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski will not play, however, has seemingly pinned New England into an even tighter corner. Gronkowski, who has been nursing a sore hamstring since the middle of August, had told the media he was not 100 percent and that his participation in the opener would likely be a game-time decision. Friday afternoon, Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal tweeted that Gronkowski was not on the team flight to Arizona, which raised speculation about the star's availability. Of course, it was later reported that Gronk would in fact be out on Sunday, leaving the Pats with a big hole to fill.

Replacing Gronk- With Gronk now officially out for the game, the Patriots will have to rely more heavily on the other three tight ends on the roster. Veteran Martellus Bennett was acquired in an off-season trade with the Bears and brought in to team up with Gronk to become a fierce and dominant tight end duo this season. Similar to the disappointing season put together by free agent Scott Chandler last season, Bennett hasn't done much to impress so far in his time with the Pats. A couple of lackluster performances in the preseason had people questioning the move to bring in the big pass catcher, though his track record as both a receiver and blocker show that he can be quite effective. He'll need to play big in Arizona as the starting tight end for the Pats to be successful offensively. Along with Bennett, both A.J. Derby and Clay Harbor will likely see more significant roles Sunday night. Look for Derby to be factored into the passing game more than first expected, while Harbor can add some of the extra blocking the team won't be getting from Gronkowski.

Who's Lining Up?- Along with Gronkowski, New England's starting left tackle, Nate Solder, and starting right guard, Jonathan Cooper, were also ruled out for Sunday with injuries. Those two injuries could prove to be the most costly, as they will both flux second and third string options into starting roles. To replace Solder, the Pats' coaching staff will have to choose between fourth year tackle LaAdrian Waddle and third year tackle Cameron Fleming. Fleming has seen more game action than Waddle in the Patriots system, though most of his experience is working as a blocking tight end in heavy sets. One of those two, however, will be given the task of protecting Garoppolo's blind side against a scary Arizona front. Oh, and on the other end of the line will be Marcus Cannon, the team's top backup tackle who is currently filling in for the injured Sebastian Vollmer. Along the interior, look for rookie Joe Thuney and second year center David Andrews to anchor the middle, leaving second year guard Shaq Mason and rookie Ted Karras as options to fill Cooper's position. With Mason comeback from a broken hand, there's no garantee how much he will be able to play. That makes Karras look like an event more important member of the line. Look for all of New England's available linemen to see action, with the tight ends and fullback James Develin adding as much support as possible throughout the night.

JONESing For The Match Up- An off-season trade between the two teams sent defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona, in exchange for Cooper. While Cooper will not be present for the first match up post-trade, Jones will be looking to remind New England of what they're missing along the defensive front. While the Pats still have a strong nucleus along the defensive front, and boosted it with other off-season acquisitions like Chris Long, Barkevious Mingo and Shea McClellin, Jones was among New England's most effective pass rushers during his Patriots' tenure. Last season Jones led the Pats in sacks with 12.5 and he'll look to start off a similarly strong season this year against them.

Defensive Delight- With the myriad of issues facing the offense, a lot of pressure will be on New England's defense to make plays and help secure a victory. That's not a bad thing either. The Patriots' defense has looked strong on all three levels throughout the preseason and has limited opponents consistently. Even with Rob Ninkovich out serving a suspension and questions about Jabaal Sheard's health along the front line, New England's front seven is nothing to sneeze at and has the players needed to make plays, at both levels. In the secondary, Starting corners Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan have looked solid, with rookie Cyrus Jones and second year back Justin Coleman showing flashes of skill in the slot. The added abilities of the newly acquired Eric Rowe also strengthens the secondary, while top safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung both appear to be in good spots, coming off of solid seasons.

Matching Up With Skills- The Cardinals do boast a strong unit of skill players on offense that the New England defense will need to neutralize. First, running back David Johnson proved last season that he is a force out of the backfield. Not only can he run the ball with power and control, but he also possess the ever important ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Look for Patriots' linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower to try and corral Johnson and limit his big play abilities. The Cardinals also run a solid three man receiving trio out each game. The expectation is that both Butler and Ryan can limit any potential damage from John Brown and Michael Floyd. While they work along the outside, whoever takes over in the slot against veteran star Larry Fitzgerald will have to also bring his A game to the field. It's unclear who that slot corner will be, as of yet, with Jones, Rowe and Coleman all options for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Coaching 'Em Up- With a lot of questions about the offense and a top level opponent on tap for the Pats, coaching and game plan on all levels will be crucial to a potential victory. Luckily enough for New England, they have some top notch schemers on their side. With limited resources on the offensive end, both head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be tasked with developing an unorthodox plan to attack the Cardinal defense. Fortunately for Patriots Nation, the duo have made it a habit to adjust their offense to each specific game and opponent over the years, treating it as a chameleon. As for the defense, coordinator Matt Patricia will need to employ a strategy that neutralizes Arizona's aerial attack. If they can do that, and put pressure on Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer, the Pats could be in business.

Prediction-  While the Patriots enter this game as an underdog and the losses of Gronk, Solder and Cooper make it appear as an even larger uphill climb for New England, a Bill Belichick coached team simply cannot be counted out. Belichick seems to thrive off of opportunities in which his team isn't considered the favorite. He's able to build up a sense of unity and fire in his players that usually brings out the best in the team's performance. Combine that with solid defense and special teams units and the Pats might not be as big a dog as many people believe them to be. While Arizona is full of talented players and can win a game in multiple ways, the New England defense has shown enough this preseason that proves that they can keep the game in check and allow the offense chances to score points. Jimmy Garoppolo is obviously no Tom Brady, but he really does not have to be. If he plays within himself and manages to stay away from mistake plays and turnovers, New England should have an opening day outcome fans have become accustomed to in the Belichick era. I'll probably take a lot of flack for this, but I believe in Belichick, his coaching staff and the defense enough to think that Pats can come out winners Sunday night.

New England 27, Arizona 17