New York Jets: Quit Courting Ryan Fitzpatrick
Instead of sending Ryan Fitzpatrick roses and chocolate, the New York Jets need to fully move on from the mediocre, 33-year-old quarterback.
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New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles recently said, as per the New York Daily News’s Manish Mehta:
"“I think Geno can be a good starter, but he’s got to prove it in training camp like everybody else. It’s not just about the quarterback position. You got to have a team around that position to play ball, but he’s been in the system a year. He has a better grasp of it going into training camp and we’ll see what he does.”"
If the Jets really believe that, then why do they keep trying to reach out to Fitzpatrick?
In a nauseating saga that has transpired months, the Jets have sent Fitzpatrick several contract offers, only for the veteran QB to turn these “low-ball” offers down.
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We’ve seen Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall protest for their quarterback to return, yet Fitzpatrick no longer responds to Marshall’s texts, possibly in the belief that the Jets will cave. I mean, if it worked for Andrew Dice Clay and Johnny Drama, why can’t it work for Fitzpatrick?
However, Fitzpatrick has two problems. The first of which is the fact that he stinks, no matter how many box-score scouts he’s fooled into thinking that his 31 touchdowns last season were the result of his cannon arm and Harvard-taught decision-making. Look at what Bowles said above: “It’s not just about the quarterback position.”
The second problem that Fitzpatrick has is the fact that he isn’t an actual holdout, nor is he a franchise-tagged player negotiating for a big deal (like Muhammad Wilkerson or Von Miller, both of whom got paid). No, he’s an old, below-average free agent quarterback with zero outside interest, since nobody believes he’s a starter.
More importantly, nobody else wants to pay him $24 million over three years, which is an actual offer on the table from the Jets, and the Jets aren’t interested in giving him the one-year, $12 million contract that he demands.
Over the past few days, I’ve been working on a piece about how NFL offenses succeed and fail, using notable examples from the exhilarating 2015 NFL season. The Jets earned praise for their structure on offense, which allowed them to win ten games and field a functioning offense despite their miserably subpar signal-caller.
I’m not going to wreck your eyeballs with a massive blockquote (I may have already achieved that), but I will leave you with a few statistical findings that illustrate this point.
- The Jets offense was built on the deep pass, as only the Pittsburgh Steelers attempted as many deep passes. However, Fitzpatrick threw an interception on 9.0% of his deep attempts, and his 12 interceptions on deep passes were the worst in the NFL. He also completed just 35.0% of these throws, worse than Peyton Manning, Blaine Gabbert, and Ryan Tannehill. You know, just to name three studly gunslingers from the 2015 season.
- Fitzpatrick was 25th in the NFL in adjusted yards per pass attempt.
- He completed 53.92% of his passes against AFC East teams, which is a huge problem. You can’t struggle that badly against teams you will continue to face twice per season. More disconcertingly, a quick look at his 2015 splits by division show that Fitzpatrick feasted far too much on the weak NFC East pass defenses.
Bowles said that he believes Smith “can be a good starter”, and the rest of the organization probably agrees, otherwise why would he state this in a setup interview with the Daily News? Assuming the Jets as a whole agree, why won’t they put their money where their mouth is and stop their courting of Fitzpatrick. Get over it. It hurts, but even Fred Durst pulled it off.
Fitzpatrick was a bad quarterback for ten years, more known for his facial hair and alma matter than his quarterbacking ability. A certified noodle-arm, the only stat Fitzpatrick has led the NFL in is interceptions (23 in 2009).
Do you really believe that at the age of 32, it all clicked for him? And I’m sure you were also on the Josh McCown train after the 2013 season. Fitzpatrick joined a team with a great coaching staff, the best wide receiver duo in the NFL (you can say Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are better, I won’t get #madonline), and wrecking ball of a 1,000-yard rusher in Chris Ivory. That’s why he threw 31 touchdowns, tossed up 3,905 yards, and finished inside the top 25 (24th, to be exact) in QB Rating.
You know who had a higher completion percentage, a lower INT%, and threw for 265 yards in his only game in 2015? Geno Smith, who also happens to have a stronger arm, faster legs, and more malleability than Fitzpatrick. He did this against a Oakland Raiders defense that was tenth in the NFL in net yards per pass attempt last season.
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Am I saying Geno is a good QB? No, because there is absolutely no evidence that he is one. But Fitzpatrick stinks, he would cost much more, and I’d rather roll the dice with Smith. If Fitzpatrick isn’t coming on the Jets terms, they have no reason to cave for a guy who has played for six different teams and bombed out on his last major payday…five years ago. You know what else was big in 2011? Planking.