It's been six months since the New England Patriots reached the top of the NFL mountain by defeating the Seattle Seahawks to claim the league's crown. Fans in Foxborough and the greater New England area will forever remember the game-clinching interception made by cornerback Malcolm Butler that allowed Bill Belichick to hoist his fourth Lombardi Trophy.

At the center of the Patriots' championship success was Quarterback Tom Brady, who again stepped up his game when it mattered most, earning him the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award, his third in four Super Bowl victories. However, this one came with significantly more controversy and consequences than did his other two.

On January 18, Brady and the Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game, where the Pats soundly thrashed the Colts, 45-7. It would not be the last time that the Patriots would hear from the Colts, as the team reported the under-inflated game balls to the league's Gameday Operations Committee. Soon after, an investigation was launched, examining the entire Patriots organization for proof of foul play in the postseason's penultimate game.

After months of investigating, the NFL handed down its decision to suspend Brady for the first four games of the 2015 NFL season, costing the future Hall of Fame quarterback $2 million in salary. Only a month later, Brady appealed the decision, hoping to potentially see the field again in Week 1. After another month of investigation, the decision was handed down on July 28 to uphold Brady's full suspension, leaving Brady to appeal this decision in federal courts.

However, with the NFL season just over a month away, it may be in his best interest to take the suspension as is and enter the season slightly later than usual this year.

Brady will still be allowed to participate in training camps and the team's preseason games, but will sit out the first four games of the regular season (effectively the first five weeks of the season due to the Pats' bye in Week 4). Knowing that Brady will be out for the first quarter of the season, Belichick has Brady and second-year QB Jimmy Garoppolo (the latest in a long line of QBs not to see playing time because of the man ahead of him in the rotation) splitting first-team reps in training camp.

For the Patriots, the 2015 NFL season will begin with the team hosting AFC contender the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by another future Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger. However, all hope is not lost for New England. With Brady out of the picture for that game, it will likely fall on Garoppolo to get Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Pro Bowl TE Rob Gronkowski involved against a depleted Steelers secondary that should make it at least a bit easier for Garoppolo to take the reins and develop some in-game chemistry with his receivers. Further working in the favor of the Patriots is the known absence of Steelers' upstart running back Le'Veon Bell, who is suspended for the first two games of the regular season. Those two factors combined might make the game easier for Garoppolo, but it may still be a long shot for him to win it.{

The following week the Pats will hit the road for an early-season test against their in-division rivals the Buffalo Bills, taken over by Rex Ryan (former New York Jets head coach who gave Brady and the Pats fits no matter how the two teams did throughout past seasons). For Garoppolo this game may prove to be his hardest test, seeing how the Bills' front seven is among the best in the NFL. This game should give Belichick and the Pats' front office a look at how Garoppolo performs under pressure. This game is far from unwinnable, with Garoppolo developing stronger connections with his receivers and an unstable situation with Buffalo's quarterback position, but it definitely won't be a walk in the park.

Week 3 has the Patriots returning to Gillette Stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars and another second year QB, Blake Bortles. This should be the easiest of the Pats' first four opponents not only because of the lack of a real star on the Jaguars, but because the level of QB play is right around Garoppolo's own. While Bortles has taken far more snaps than Garoppolo, he faltered down the stretch last season and is still far from being able to claim the title of elite quarterback. This game should be an automatic win for the Patriots, considering that Garoppolo will have had two games to learn his teammates, and the two teams play at very different levels.

Should he need it, Week 4 gives Garoppolo a break with a bye week before facing one of the tougher opponents on the Pats' schedule this year. It also allows the Pats to transition into the continuation of the Brady era when he returns in Week 6, as well as giving the team time to evaluate their young QB's performance thus far.

Week 5 presents the team with another playoff team from 2014 in the Dallas Cowboys and often talked-about QB, Tony Romo. A difficult opponent for Garoppolo to play in only his fifth regular season game (after started in Week 17 last year). The Cowboys are looking to make a name for themselves, after signing their Pro Bowl wideout Dez Bryant to an extension and making a controversial decision in signing Darren McFadden at running back. If anything proves to be a problem for the Pats, it will be on the defensive side of the football, with a secondary devoid of any major name sans Devin McCourty facing Dez Bryant and TE Jason Witten, and the front seven matching up against the best offensive line in football. However, the Cowboys defense is not one to strike fear in many teams either, making it that much easier for Garoppolo to put up decent numbers against a playoff-caliber team.

At this point Brady's suspension is over, and he is now free to take in-game snaps again. Fittingly enough, his first game back is a nationally-televised matchup against Luck and the Colts, the same team that started the Deflategate scandal by reporting the Patriots. The Colts are looking to make the leap in the AFC; Brady and the Pats are the hurdle they need to jump, having been eliminated in the postseason by New England two years in a row. With a fresh and well-rested Brady suiting up for the first time since the Super Bowl victory, this should make for an interesting matchup between two of the league's best quarterbacks.

Overall, this suspension should give Brady the rest he needs to play well against a high-quality opponent with whom he now has a personal rivalry and should allow the Pats to get a better look at the man behind him on the depth chart. Belichick didn't draft Garoppolo to be a backup forever; he hopes that he will be the future of the team. Brady will be 38 by the start of the regular season, and his legendary career can only last so long. Handing over the keys to the team to Garoppolo is best for both QBs as well as New England's front office and, while Garoppolo may only be taking a joyride for now, it just as well may be his team sooner rather than later.