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          New England Patriots

          Patriots No. 2 QB Jimmy Garoppolo says his approach hasn't changed

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterMay 29, 2015, 01:55 PM ET
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said Friday that his preparations for the 2015 season haven’t changed based on Deflategate and Tom Brady's four-game suspension, noting that he spent time training in California with a couple of receivers before returning to town.

          “It’s nice to be back out here, I missed the guys and missed the team,” said Garoppolo, who is from Arlington Heights, Illinois. "I just have the mindset I’m trying to get better. That’s all you can control at the end of the day.”

          Garoppolo added that managing his diet has also been a focus, and he smiled when noting that one of the hardest things for him to give up has been ice cream.

          When asked how closely he followed things surrounding the team this offseason, knowing it would have a direct impact on him, Garoppolo said, “No different than I usually would. I just went about my business, tried to get prepared for this season, got in the playbook a lot, got out there with some of the guys and threw it around, so it was a good offseason.”

          Garoppolo took plenty of repetitions during Friday’s organized team activities (OTAs), always stepping in after Brady. It was about a 50-50 split between them.

          He said he "obviously" feels more comfortable this year compared to 2014, when he was a rookie.

          "A year will do that to anyone -- being with the same people, same atmosphere, all that," he said.