Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 11, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 11, 2020
Postgame – San Francisco
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (transcribed by San Francisco 49ers)
(It seems like every time we try to write you off you come back and stick it to us, you lit them up today. What was the difference this week versus last and how are you feeling? How high is your confidence right now?) – “I thought obviously we got off to a great start with the deep one to [Miami Dolphins WR] Preston [Williams]. I think just evaluating the few games before that, we haven’t taken enough shots down the field and given our guys chances. We’ve got some pretty big targets out there and guys that can really run, so that was a big part of today’s game plan. Those guys made some good plays and then just the vibe throughout practice, even though we’ve lost a few, there’s been a lot of confidence and guys have been working. This is a team that’s very resilient. I think we showed that today coming out to the West coast and playing like we did, but it didn’t surprise us at all. I think this is what was expected for us and I’m happy with the we played on both sides of the ball.”
(What can you say about the early starts and getting off to a fast start, how important is that for you guys just to play with the cushion? It seems like it permeated through both sides of the football.) – “I think with how young we are as well, I think it’s a nice confidence boost. We’ll get back and watch the film, but [Miami Dolphins G/T] Rob Hunt getting in there and getting some action for the first time, obviously [Miami Dolphins G] Solomon [Kindley] has stepped up. We’ve got a lot of young guys on both sides of the ball so having that feeling of confidence early and knowing that we’re going to play well, I think that really helps out, especially with some of the youth and inexperience that we have on the team. I think that’s really important for us maybe more so than in past years around past teams. I think that momentum helped us today.”
(You mentioned the quick start, scoring six of seven. What does that say about your rookie players and…) – “You kind of cut out, but you asked about scoring six of seven early. Last week we scored on a lot of our drives as well, we just kicked a lot of field goals. In the Jacksonville game it was different because we scored touchdowns and today was kind of that way too in the beginning. It was about me just giving guys opportunities and them coming down with the ball and making plays. They did a great job today, Preston, [Miami Dolphins WR] DeVante [Parker], and [Miami Dolphins TE] Mike [Gesicki].”
(A week ago at this time you were talking about how you just felt terrible about what had happened and then today you had a near perfect game, statistically. Do you ever wonder how this happens for you and at what point in today’s game did you know that you were just on?) – “Playing quarterback in this league is hard and I still, after 16 years, can’t figure it out. In regards to what I said last week with all the questions coming our way about just putting all my focus in preparing for this game, getting my guys prepared and getting them ready to go, that’s the winning formula. That’s the way do it in this league and that’s how you overcome poor performances. I couldn’t wait to get back out there on the field and the fact that [Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores] Flo has as much confidence as he does in me, that goes a long way for me.”
(Kind of a big picture question if I could, can you talk about what a win like this, on the road against the team that was in the Super Bowl last year, says about the state and direction of the program?) – “This is every single week. Last week the sky was falling and we’re one and three. This week we beat San Francisco on the road, but we’re still two and three. There’s a long way to go and we’ve got to start stringing some wins together. I definitely think this helps in terms of team morale and confidence, but we’ve got to use this momentum, carry it over, have some good practices and continue to go out there and play well.”
(Is there anything you want to add about the complimentary football and when the defense is doing their job, how it makes your job easier and the way this team pieced together a complete game today.) – “I thought it was great to get a few turnovers there. Every time you see the other quarterback getting sacked and getting hit, getting off the field on third down or fourth down, that stuff is a huge boost for us on offense. I do think we played really well off of each other today and that’s something that Flo always talks about. This was a great team win in terms of being able to do some good stuff on both sides of the ball. Then the fourth down in the second half and calling the fake punt, I thought that might’ve been the call of the game and really just allowed us to maintain the momentum and add to our lead.”
(It’s not always easy to play with a big lead when there’s a lot of time left, what was your reaction to the fake punt call and the result?) – “I loved it. I thought it was really aggressive and that aggressiveness that was shown there by Flo and by [special teams coordinator] Danny [Crossman] with the call fed us as an offense and let us know that we couldn’t just go out there and waste that, what we just converted. We knew we had to get down there and get a score, but I thought that was a huge call and it was good for us to capitalize.”
(I know there was a lot of noise this past week, whether it’s Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa or whether it’s your play or the team’s play. Did you use any of that as fuel going into this week and let it affect your play at all?) – “I really don’t. I’ve been called every name in the book. People hate me, people love me depending on the week, but again just trying to stay steady and knowing that all that outside noise isn’t the thing that’s important. The thing that was important was practicing and getting everybody ready and that’s the formula we’ll just continue to stick to. Now the other end of it, everybody’s going to be patting us on the back, so ignoring that and making sure that we’re still preparing the same way and go out there and beat whoever we’re playing next week with the schedule.”
