Ryan Fitzpatrick – April 16, 2019
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Tuesday, April 16, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(What are your first impressions of today?) – “Definitely we’ve got to learn to walk before we can start running. It’s nice to get this extra work out here and start installing the very basics of our offense and our defense and our special teams stuff. We’ve got a long way to go, obviously; but in terms of the attention to detail right now and the effort, all of that is good. But it’s always good on day one. We’ve just got to continue to stay with it and continue to get better with it each day.”
(How much work were you able to do with the receivers before this all started?) – “Not a ton. We’re going to have plenty of time here in the offseason to get that going. For me, one of the things I think that I do best is getting on the same page with them and a lot of it’s through hard work, whether it’s through OTAs, whether it’s after that or the minicamps and training camp. Getting on the same page is important and I’ve worked with a lot of different guys, so sometimes for me I’ll put them in certain boxes and sometimes I’ll run into guys that I haven’t seen anything like it. We’ll see how it goes, but so far in terms of the willingness to work in that group and again the excitement and enthusiasm, I’m very excited about it as well.”
(Having the advantage of working in a lot of different locker rooms, is there something to be said knowing that your coach is coming from a winning culture and can bring it to a new team?) – “I think every situation is different. We are going into this year with a fresh start, a fresh approach, and a lot of new faces whether it’s coaches or players or people around the building. I think the one thing that we’re all going to be on the same page with and the one thing that we stress and preach every day is we’re here to win. Everybody in this building, whatever it takes to get this team to win, that’s what you have to be willing to do. We’re making sure that everybody is on the same page with that and winning is the most important thing.”
(The coach-QB relationship is always so important on any football team. I know both you and Head Coach Brian Flores are new but do you guys get together and that’s some common ground you meet on and able to discuss?) – “It’s so early in the process, again. When I signed here, we had a couple of very nice conversations. Again, it’s offseason. I’m out here just trying to learn how to call a play in the huddle and trying to get the guys lined up and like I said, walking before we can run. There’s a lot of stuff going on right now on both sides of the ball where we’re really focused in trying to learn how to do our jobs the best way we can.”
(It seems like a little bit of a challenge, the number of guys out there. I think there were only three running backs and not a lot of receivers. Have you ever been a part of a thing in the offseason where the numbers are so down?) – “I think as long as we have 11 guys in the huddle and we don’t line up with 10 or 12, then I’ve done my job and we’ll go from there. (laughter)”
(You’ve had some stretches in your career where it seems like you can’t do anything wrong, you get so hot.) – “I appreciate you putting it that way. (laughter)”
(What is that like and how do you handle the flip side when things are going wrong?) – “I love a lot of things about football. One of the things I love most is the adversity and having things not necessarily go your way, but leaning on your teammates and making sure that you’re the same guy in the building every day, the same guy in the huddle on every play and going from there. That’s something I pride myself on. Last year, especially at the begging of last year, it was nice for me to go out there and have some of that success, but that was last year. I’m going to do my best. I think in the last four or five years, I’ve really gotten better every year and I think as funny as it sounds, I think my best football is still ahead of me and that’s why I’m still playing. I love being out there. I love being in the huddle with the guys and hopefully they’ll get a chance to feel that and see that with me and they’ll think the same way.”
(I don’t think you care about the Twitter trolls and what not, people talking about your weight. How do you feel about your weight? How do you feel right now on the field?) – “I would say I’m in peak offseason form. I think two weeks ago I was in peak offseason form. (laughter) The thing with me is I have seven kids, so in January we have three birthdays. We’ve got a family birthday party, which includes cake and then we’ve got a friend’s birthday party which includes cake. So, that’s six times in January. We’ve got three birthdays in March – March 1st, March 6th and March 11th – which again, that’s a tough stretch. That’s cake six out of 10 or 11 days. (laughter) Then we’ve got an April birthday. So, it doesn’t slow down. But now that the birthdays are behind me, and I think I’m going to try to go from peak offseason form maybe down to peak in-season form, I’ll be okay.”
(We talked to General Manager Chris Grier out at the owner’s meetings and he was pretty forthcoming. He said you know this isn’t a long-term deal here. Is that a conversation you had that you know that this is a shorter-term deal?) – “I’ve been at this thing for going on 15 years. I know the way the league works and I know for me, I put my focus and energy on doing the best that I can and being the best player I can be. Things have tended to work out if I did that. That’s what I do. I put my energy in getting myself better and getting my teammates better and that’s all I focus on.”
(QB Tom Brady says he wants to play until 45, is there a number you have in mind?) – “(laughter) No. I don’t have a number. I still really enjoy playing, so it was an easy decision for me.”
(We had a conversation with S Minkah Fitzpatrick about ‘Fitzmagic.’ Are you guys going to double up on that this year?) – “I don’t know what you’re referring to. (laughter) No, it was one of the first things … We kind of smiled at each other when we met. It was a cheesy line but I’ll say it again, I think there’s enough magic to go around, especially being on different sides of the ball.”
(You spoke about the new faces, the new step this franchise is kind of taking you’re joining. Where do you believe you fit in all of this?) – “My whole career – and I think for everybody, not just here, but around the league – you can’t take anything for granted. You just have to go out and work as hard as you can. That’s what I’m here to do: put my head down, ignore any and everything that goes on outside of this building and see if I can be the best player I can be and bring guys up and make the guys around me better.”
(You’ve been on a couple ‘rebuilding’ teams. What do you see as a key of being a part of those teams?) – “I think today, getting out here on the field and installing a new offense, a new language, communication is going to be huge for us. Being able to make sure that we’re all on the same page, we’re not afraid to ask questions; but at the same time, knowing that we’re holding each other accountable. A mistake here or there is okay, but when the same one happens over and over again, that’s not good. There’s something wrong. We have to find a different way to study and do it. Being accountable, not just with yourself but with others as well, and just making sure that everybody is also working on their dependability and taking this thing serious.”
(How close do you watch the draft?) – “Less and less every year. I think it drags on a lot. I get it. My kids are in it and interested in it; but if my kids didn’t want it on, it probably wouldn’t be on.”
(Have they moved down here yet?) – “No.”
