Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 11, 2019
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Wednesday, December 11, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Who was your favorite running back growing up?) – “My favorite running back growing up?”
(Just wondering who you pattern your game after.) – “Oh. (laughter) (I was a) big Larry Centers guy. (laughter)”
(Was that the inner option quarterback in you coming out on the pitch?) – “Yeah, that was like the old college option quarterback. I don’t know. Every now and again I’ve got to keep them honest, I guess.”
(Do you surprise yourself at all with some of these flashy moves?) – “No, because I know it looks awkward and it certainly feels awkward. (laughter) It’s not necessarily always my first choice of what I want to do to get yards. I know sometimes it’s necessary and sometimes that’s the best thing for the team, for me to do is to take off. Some games I’ll have zero carries. Some I’ll have five, six, seven. It just all kind of depends on the team and how the game is going; but yeah, last week was a little bit more than normal.”
(Another high-level bearded athlete – James Harden – sometimes gets upset when he sees he’s short of a career high in a game in points. You’re only nine yards shy of your career high rushing. Were you aware of that?) – “No. I was not aware and don’t really care about that one.”
(When was the last time if ever you led your team in rushing at the end of the season?) – “I have no idea. Probably never.”
(Did you run a lot at Harvard?) – “Yeah. I definitely wasn’t a dual-threat, but we ran a little bit of option. But yeah, not because I was an athlete. (It was) just because of the scheme of it.”
(To stay with the theme, are there rules when you run and I’m being serious, do you want to deliver the blow, do you want to stay low? Do you have any rules at all when you run the ball?) – “No. I mean one of my rules is try not to look awkward, but I just look awkward. (laughter) I go down awkward. I have moves that a 37-year-old white guy would have. (laughter) I look the same way on the field as I do on the dance floor, and that’s why I don’t dance at weddings.”
(You do seem to get a rush out of it when you succeed, when you score touchdowns. Is it a unique rush that you get when you pull something off?) – “I think getting in the end zone in general, whether it’s a pass or somebody else or me running is an exciting part of it for everybody; but yeah, when you’re the one with the ball in your hand and everybody is coming at you, it’s pretty exciting.”
(What would it say about the season if you do wind up leading the team in rushing?) – “We’ve had a lot of guys in and out at that position from the start of the year to now, and when we started the season, we had five on the active (roster) and they’ve had some opportunities a little bit, but I think if we continue to try to do what’s best for the team and putting guys out there and putting them in positions to succeed whether that’s catching the ball out of the backfield or handing it off to them. We’ll see how these last few games go.”
(So if RB Patrick Laird gets a couple 100-yard games and overtakes you…) – “I would love it. I would absolutely love it. (laughter)”
(Do you and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson compare notes after a big win?) – “(laughter) I don’t think he’s watching any of my film.”
(How did RB Patrick Laird do in your eyes in his first start?) – “Patrick does a nice job because he’s very consistent. He’s reliable and as a quarterback, those are qualities – we talked about Isaiah Ford as being one of those guys that he just kind of shows up and is always in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing, and Patrick fits in that category, too. I don’t think you can have enough of those guys on your team. Especially as a quarterback, when you have new guys shuffling in and out, you find out who those guys are that you can rely on to do the right thing, and usually they get he ball a little bit more.”
(When you talked about the shuffling in and out after the game last week and you praised those players for doing that, how do you kind of make it less difficult this week? Is it just trying to get in and out of groups during practice?) – “We’ll see how the week goes. Hopefully everything is great and we don’t have to get to that. If we do, we’ll maybe be a little bit more prepared going into a game kind of not knowing if guys are going to play or not. We’ve got some new guys that are on the team from the last few weeks that you just try to get them up to speed as fast as possible. Mack (Hollins) was in the game and got a big pass interference penalty, so everybody in that huddle – whoever it is – is a professional athlete. They’re in the NFL for a reason. For me again, that’s drawing on past experience of trying to relate to these guys and different guys I’ve played with and getting on the same page in a hurry if it comes to that.”
(How has your relationship with QB Josh Rosen evolved throughout the season as you guys got to know each other a little better?) – “It’s been good. We spend a lot of time together in that quarterback room with (Assistant Quarterbacks Coach) Jerry (Schuplinski) and with Josh and with Jake (Rudock). We’re in there whether it’s meetings or before or after practice or before or after meetings, we spend a lot of time together. It’s been good and it just continues to get better as time goes on.”
(I know a lot of the early part of you guys was the competition and now you’ve settled into the role. How have you seen QB Josh Rosen maybe watch you or soak in maybe you as the lead guy?) – “I always try to be that way. Whether I am or not, I try to present myself in that way and try to lead by example. You’ll have to ask him what he takes from me or what he doesn’t, but I always try to put the best version of me out there and if guys want to follow they can.”
(You guys have had a lot of personnel changes for different reasons. Does that affect any one aspect of the offense more than the other whether it’s red zone or third down or short yardage or anything like that?) – “Continuity is a huge thing. I think maybe when you get in those specific game plan-type (situations), like third down is a game plan thing. Red zone is a game plan thing. Those are different themes where continuity does help a little bit, but in general everybody deals with injuries this time of year. Everybody is shuffling guys in and out of the lineup, so sometimes it’s just everybody being on the same page and able to do it consistently. The talk going into last week was how banged up their secondary was. Everybody is dealing with it, so you’ve just got to do as best you can and get guys up to speed as best you can.”
(From your standpoint, is the toughest thing communication with players and letting them know what you want to do?) – “Yeah, I think communication is always something you’re trying to stress and maybe overcommunicate and then as a quarterback, I think trust is a huge thing, too. Is this guy going to run the conversion? Is he going to cross this guy’s face? Is he going to be in the right spot when I need him to be? There are so many things as a quarterback where you’re relying on different guys to be in the right spot at the right time doing the right thing. The more you see them do that in practice, the more you see them you see them do it in the game; the more trust you build in certain receivers and certain guys. I think that’s a big thing in terms of continuity and shuffling guys in and out.”
(Does that change for you, like in the middle of the game when WR DeVante Parker goes out and you have another guy in – maybe this is a route you might throw to DeVante where you may be hesitant with another guy just because he’s not familiar with…?) – “I think when you have one-on-one matchups as a quarterback, you’ve got to figure out who’s going to win and what the coverage dictates a lot of the time. You definitely – for me – there’s routes I like certain guys better on than others. That’s again, a process throughout OTAs, throughout training camp, preseason and throughout the season. Those kind of grow and you kind of gain trust in guys, and that goes both ways. They’ve got to know what I expect and where I expect them to be, so there’s always a lot of communication. That’s definitely something as a quarterback that comes up throughout a game, though.”
(Can you remember a season that you’ve had so many different weapons cycle through? There’s probably been five running backs, six or seven wide receivers at this point. Have you had a season like this?) – “Again, some seasons are just crazier than others, but there is always – depending on the health of the team – there’s always cycling around. I think in seasons where you’re not necessarily making a playoff run, maybe that happens a little bit more, as well. I’ve definitely seen it and been through it. You just try to do the best you can with it and every week is different. Every week presents a different challenge whether it’s bringing new guys in or just getting everybody on the same page and getting up to speed and improving communication.”
(One of those guys – WR Preston Williams – how has he been? Have you seen him lately? How is he doing, his spirits and all that?) – “Yeah, he’s around, but there’s so much that I’ve got to figure out and focus on throughout the week that doesn’t involve him and his rehab. I’ve got too much other stuff I’ve got to do right now.”
