Ryan Fitzpatrick – August 20, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Head Coach Brian Flores told us that you are likely starting Thursday. Are you cautiously optimistic that you will be the starter this season?) – “I mean that’s what I’ve been working towards all offseason. That’s what I want to be and where I want to be. That’s definitely where I want to be with this team and in this offense.”
(Your preseason so far – obviously for someone who has accomplished a lot in the league and played a lot – a dozen throws in the preseason doesn’t mean anything; but you would evaluate your work so far in games how this preseason?) – “Preseason, for me, I want to get in and I want to get hit once or twice. I want to have good communication in and out of the huddle, be efficient and I’m hoping we’ll do a better job and I’ll do a better job of that this game – just in terms of communication, efficiency, converting some third downs and then everybody staying healthy and getting ready for the regular season.”
(How important has getting rid of the ball been a point of emphasis for you guys the last couple of weeks?) – “I think in general, in the NFL, if you watch the teams that are successful on offense, they’re putting the ball in the hands of their playmakers, and that’s what we’re going to try to do. I think we do a great job here and (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Chad) O’Shea does a great job. We found out some of those playmakers and their strengths and some stuff you’ll see and some you won’t. Some we’re just practicing on in terms of getting it into their hands and space. That’s a big part of it in the NFL now is getting guys in space with the ball in their hands and seeing what they can do. We think we have some talented guys to do that.”
(How big is it to do with also knowing that you guys have an offensive line with two rookies and a guy playing a new position, to help the offensive line along?) – “I think they’ve done a good job. It’s always a work in progress. There are so many things as a unit that they have to do to work together and to gel, and that’s offense as well. That’s quarterbacks and running backs on their mesh points. That’s quarterbacks and receivers or quarterbacks and tight ends with the communication and the timing of the routes. There’s a lot of stuff that I think we’re continuing to head in the right direction, with my communication and how comfortable I am with everybody and vice versa. I think we’re getting there.”
(When you take into account how you’ve done in practice and what little we’ve seen of you in preseason games, what’s your level of optimism that you’re going to win the starting job for the regular season?) – “Like I said to the first one, that’s where I want to be. I want to be the starter for this team, so that’s what I’m working towards.”
(How do you feel about your body of work so far? How would you assess it?) – “Again, me along with everybody else, I think it’s a work in progress. I think there’s a lot of stuff in installing a new system and being in a new building that we’re just kind of all coming up together. But I think we’re headed in the right direction. I think we’ve made a lot of progress throughout OTAs and then carrying that over to training camp.”
(I’m sure you’ve had a lot of these decision weeks where they have to choose a quarterback. Does it blend in or does this one feel different than previous years for you?) – “It really is just another day. It’s just another day in the life for me. Like I’ve told you guys a million times already – I hate repeating myself – but I try to be the best person I can be, the best player I can be. Usually for me, throughout my career, things have fallen into place when that happens.”
(Do you think you’ll get an answer – has Head Coach Brian Flores suggested to you guys, ‘After this game, we’re going to wrap this thing up?) – “No.”
(How happy will you be when it’s settled?) – “This is a tough position to play. Being a starting quarterback in this league, I think it’s something that you can never take for granted. You have a lot of people in the building, you have a lot of people in that locker room, a lot of fans that are relying on you to go out there and do your job. For me, it’s the reason that I still play. It’s a position that I love. It’s a position that I love being in. I’m excited to have the opportunity to compete to do it.”
(Do your family and friends pester you about these starting questions?) – “Not really. My family knows not to ask me too many questions. (laughter)”
(You obviously have a couple of kids. The older ones, have they experienced this differently than past stops along the way?) – “I think it’s fun for them, just living on the rollercoaster and getting to be a part of it a little bit and going to games and getting to wear dad’s jersey and things like that. That’s part of the reason that I still play too. They really enjoy it and enjoy being part of it. As they’ve gotten older, they definitely make more suggestions on things I could do better. They know not to ask me questions about fantasy football. (laughter) I set that one straight very early. Yeah, as they’ve gotten older – my two oldest are boys so they’ve really gotten into it. They play (football) themselves. It’s been a lot of fun to experience.”
(What kind of questions do you get?) – “Lots. (laughter) Lots of questions. Last week the main question was about me hitting that guy. They liked that one. (laughter)”
(I was going to ask you did they approve of the hit?) – “Yeah, they liked that one. (laughter) Every preseason, like I said, I like to get hit once or twice. That was just a good one to make sure that everything was in place and still worked and then I can move on from it.”
(You’ve got obviously two and a half weeks to go before the first game on Sept. 8, but the amount of work you’ve gotten to this point with WR Jakeem Grant and WR Albert Wilson, knowing that they haven’t been at full strength, are you comfortable with the chemistry you have with both of those? How much more work do you need with each? Albert in particular, obviously.) – “I think throughout my career, that’s been a strength only because I’ve worked with so many guys having been on so many teams and had to really pick up chemistry quickly. Sometimes you try to put them in a group or relate them to somebody that you worked with in the past and that helps me a little bit in terms of getting on the same page with some of those guys, if I haven’t had a lot of work with them.”
(I know last year you had WR Mike Evans in Tampa Bay. This year is a little bit different. How do you, in your mindset as a quarterback, change when you have a true No. 1 guy versus three or four guys that may be able to help you in a variety of ways?) – “I think we’re going to play to our strengths on offense. I think we do have some really talented guys on the outside. I think this offense, as well, is going to be able to feature guys on the inside and give them good matchups. We’re talking about just getting guys in space. This offense does a nice job of distributing the ball to lots of different guys. I think the main thing is figuring out the guys that we want the ball in their hands and knowing their strengths, and then going out there and executing it. I think we have a lot of talent on this offense and there’s definitely – there may not be enough balls to go around – but there is definitely not a shortage of talent for guys that are going to be able to make plays.”
(What did Head Coach Brian Flores tell you about the hit you delivered? Because after the game, it sounded to us like he was kind of halfway saying ‘I don’t know if you want your quarterback taking those kind of shots in a preseason game.’ But then it also sounded like there was a large part of him that just loved seeing it and the leadership that it showed when you were willing to do that.) – “Since growing up, I know that the quarterback has a certain aura to it or whatever it is, but I’ve always been a football player. That’s something that even though I’m old and getting gray hairs in my beard now and stuff, that’s never going to go away. I’m a competitor and I like to consider myself a football player, at least a little bit. (laughter)”
