The celebratory GIF the Buffalo Bills tweeted after the latest Deflategate news broke Wednesday did not convey the feelings of Marcell Dareus.
Dareus, you see, doesn’t want to face a New England Patriots team that’s without quarterback Tom Brady, whose latest attempt to appeal his four-game suspension was denied by the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals.
Though the Bills likely would have a better chance of winning their Week 4 matchup with the Patriots if Jimmy Garoppolo was under center for New England, Dareus would prefer to beat them at their best.
“I hate that Brady’s not going to be there,” the defensive tackle said Wednesday on NFL Network’s “Total Access.” “But when he comes back … it’s on.
“If we win, all right, we win. But I don’t feel like I really won until I beat the guy. I love playing against Brady. I get up for him. I play against him every year, and he knows I’m coming. So for him not to be up there tears me up a little bit. But the second time I see him, I’m going to be excited to play against him.”
That’s just a bit different than what Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell had to say about the situation.
Buffalo is just 2-8 against New England since Dareus entered the league in 2011. Coincidentally, one of those wins featured the most action of Garoppolo’s NFL career, as the then-rookie QB completed 10 of 17 passes for 90 yards after relieving Brady during the 2014 regular-season finale.
Garoppolo has attempted a mere four passes since that contest, completing one for six yards. The 24-yard-old is in line to start the Patriots’ first four games this season unless the U.S. Supreme Court either agrees to hear Brady’s case or grants him a stay.
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images
