Ryan Fitzpatrick – November 13, 2019 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(Has anybody complained to you that you’re ruining the tanking for Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “(laughter) No, not yet. It’s an interesting narrative that obviously has been following our team the whole year. But it’s been nice to get two wins and to kill the narrative a little bit.”
(You’re a young team. Is it kind of fun for you to lead, to kind of lead by example for a bunch of young guys?) – “Yeah. It’s been a lot of fun for me, especially since coming back into the lineup, just viewing this as what it is. I think this team needs somebody with some energy, that can go out and lead and try to have some fun, and hopefully that rubs off on other guys. (I am) giving guys plenty of chances in the passing game getting us into the right play and doing all of those things that a quarterback needs to do; but first and foremost, the energy and the confidence that these guys need to play with, I’m trying to do as best I can in that regard, and we’ve really done a nice job the last few weeks in playing off each other and playing with confidence.”
(The Bills game, I remember we were talking to you after it and you felt a lot of confidence after that game even though you guys lost. Can you put your finger back on that game and say that maybe there was something here, that we’re not going to go 0-16?) – “Yeah. I think when I got reinserted in the Washington game and we had the 2-point conversion at the end to win it, from that point on, practice has been much better. Guys have been playing with more energy. There’s been a lot more confidence in the building and you could feel the turnaround coming a little bit. I think (there were) a couple of tough plays in the Buffalo game and then a couple of tough plays in the Pittsburgh game, but the Jets win we could feel coming. It was nice to follow that up with another victory in Indy last week.”
(You said when you were here that you were the perfect guy for this. You had been on a couple of 0-8 teams before. How has it felt similar to you like the year in Buffalo when you went 0-8 and then won four games?) – “I don’t know if there’s many guys in the league that can claim that one – 0-8 a few times. (laughter) You know what? It’s important – it truly is important – to walk in the building with a smile on your face because we put so much time and energy into this game that it’s absolutely miserable when you’re not winning, and it rubs off on people. So that was one thing I learned – whether it was in Buffalo or in Cincinnati after Carson Palmer got hurt and we’re sitting there staring at 0-8 – that you have to have a smile on your face and you have to come to work with energy. You have to – although there’s a lot of different things going on – keep proper perspective on the fact that you’re an NFL football player doing this for a living, and just to go out there and have fun. It really does, that attitude – especially in the position of quarterback but anywhere on the team – that attitude is so important because it resonates with the whole building, whether you’re miserable and down or happy and trying to provide some energy. I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve learned over the years.”
(You’ve got nothing to complain about. The average career is 3.3 years or whatever but nevertheless, do you ever once in a while – once or twice in the offseason when you’re texting with your old Buffalo buddies – do you ever say ‘Man, in 2011 if I don’t crack my ribs and Fred Jackson and Eric Wood don’t go down, what might have happened?) – “When I get together with those guys, you play certain scenarios over and over again in your head of what could have been and all of that but it didn’t happen. I had more fun, especially at the beginning of that year in 2011 – and then I had in 2015 of course involved with the Bills again when I was playing for the Jets and we’re 10-5 playing to get into the playoffs. The end of the 2011 was so much disappointment and then the end of the 2015 season was so much disappointment on both sides of it, with and against the Bills; but it’s hard to look back and have any regrets. I’ve tried to study as hard as I can, I try to play as hard as I can and leave it on the field. I know it’s a cliché, but that’s just the way I’ve done it my whole career. I try not to look back in regret.”
(Can you give me a quarterback’s perspective on preparing for a cornerback like CB Tre’Davious White? I know you’ve done that already but was it about him on film that catches your attention and how do you prepare for a guy that seems as consistent as he is?) – “Yeah, he does a great job and he does jump out on film. Maybe not throwing an out route near the goal line this time, that’s a pretty good lesson that I probably learned 100 times in my career but learned it again the hard way in our first game. I think he does a really nice job. With every week, we try to get a really good evaluation of each corner and the matchups that we’ll have, the positives and the negatives and the ways that we think we can beat him and the things that we should stay away from them on. He’s a really good player. He provides a lot of energy for those guys. Just like any week, I think there’s certain ways that we’ll attack him and then other times where we’ll stay away. He’s a very good player.”
(Forgive me but I have to ask a silly question. When was the last time you’ve shaved? And this is kind of serious but when you have facial hair, do you feel a little like it’s your personality? Does it give you a little sense of who you are?) – “It’s my NFL personality so as soon as I retire, I’m shaving that thing off and nobody is ever going to recognize me walking through an airport. (laughter) It really kind of all started in Buffalo. When it was cold, I wanted to see if I could grow facial hair and lo and behold, it just kept growing. I’ve pretty much had it since 2009 probably. I usually shave it about once a year but I haven’t shaved it in quite some time. This is about as long as it’s ever been in my career and part of that is probably living away from my family. My kids never want me to shave it. My wife hates it. I’ve got a lot of different people I’m trying to please. (laughter)”
(The beard almost has a life of its own, doesn’t it? It’s like you said, you can’t shave it almost. It’s almost become a thing.) – “Yeah, it kind of is part of my persona – my NFL persona – I guess.”
(You’ve always had a knack and great ability to be a great anticipation passer, to throw people open. Did you do that really well in St. Louis or is that something that developed early in your career?) – “I think it’s something that happens over time. I think for me to get drafted in St. Louis and for my first offseason to be in Mike Martz’s offense, which is all about anticipation and getting the ball out. Then later on in my career and playing with Chan (Gailey) and how important that was in Chan’s offense, I think I’ve just grown and continued to get better at it. That’s something that can definitely be taught but something that takes a lot of time to get comfortable with. I do enjoy that. I pride myself on anticipation but sometimes if a defender anticipates it as well as I do, then it doesn’t turn out so well.”
(Does your wife ever push you to retire?) – “No. She’s fully supportive of whatever I want to do. We’ve had a couple of conversations the last few years but it always comes down to the fact that there’s been opportunities out there for me to play and I still love playing football. That’s kind of always what has won out the last few years.”
(At the end of the 2016 season, I remember talking to you at MetLife Stadium in the locker room and it sounded like you were done there. You just can’t give it up, huh?) – “(laughter) Yeah, I was pretty close at that point. I don’t know. If Tampa Bay wasn’t so close to Disney World, I might have been done. I don’t know. (laughter)”
