Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 15, 2019 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Postgame – N.Y. Giants
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (transcribed by New York Giants)
(What changed between the first half and the second half?) – “When we came out, we were a different team. We weren’t executing. I don’t know if they made adjustments or that we needed to make many adjustments just in terms of the way the first half went. I thought we moved the ball well. Just frustrating that we couldn’t get things going. That obviously starts with me as the quarterback, just moving the sticks a little bit and finding completions. It got out of hand in a hurry, especially after the safety, which was a big momentum change. Just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
(What was the difference in the first quarter, basically the first half? You guys were able to spread the football around. You ran it pretty well in the first quarter, but didn’t cash in on points. Is that discouraging?) – “It’s always tough, not getting the fourth-and-one or not getting points out of good drives. So there’s always stuff you leave out there that you’re disappointed about. But we came into halftime feeling pretty good – not necessarily the score, but the way we moved the ball. We felt like we had a good plan and guys were playing well. We had good matchups on the outside. We were able to move the ball really well. It was a matter of not being able to pick up first downs in the second half and stay on the field. It wasn’t a great performance. ”
(What happened on the fumble. It looked like you took a pretty good shot.) – “Yes. I tried to cut back. It was a third-and-long and I was trying to somehow, some way find a way to pick up the first down. He got me pretty good on that one.”
(The safety was an off tackle play and there was no hole and he cut it outside? ) – “Yes, sometimes you have to take your hat off to them too. They obviously played better than us on that play.”
(You seem very comfortable with DeVante Parker as the season progresses. Can you talk about why you guys have been so in sync recently?) – “I just think the type of receiver he is – big, physical, makes the tough catches, really smart, really consistent – the things we’ve said in the past about him, every day he wants to get better, continues to work hard – all that stuff, his size and his catch radius – are all very good things for a quarterback. ”
(What did you think when he got that contract extension?) – “I was excited for him. It’s nice to see guys rewarded when they play well. I was really excited because I know he’s had some ups and downs and he’s worked really hard this year. So it was really good to see him get rewarded for it.”
(There’s been a trend of hiring offensive minds as coaches. Head coach Brian Flores comes from the defensive side of the ball. Does that make a difference to you as far as you’ve seen and what goes into being a good coach?) – “I don’t know. I think offense, defense, special teams coach, young, old – I don’t know that any of that matters. I think what matters is clear vision, everyone headed in the same direction, and coach has the pulse of the team. He knows what’s going on and I don’t think it really matters what age or what side of the ball the coach comes from. There’s just important qualities to have and we have a good one.”
(Ryan, today the Dolphins set an NFL record for using the most players in one season—the most different players.) – “I was wondering what you could possibly say for the record. [Laughs]”
(I know a lot of changes today at least were on defense, but when you look at it from a team perspective, how much of a challenge is that when you’re trying to incorporate so many moving pieces?) – “You know, just speaking offensively for me, we’ve had some, but maybe not as many as the other side of the ball, so continuity is a big thing in this league, just in terms of trying to be consistent and all that. And you know for us, offensively, that was not our problem today because we were at full strength at receiver and just didn’t play well enough, but there’s been a lot of moving pieces this year and you know part of it, I think, guys that come in are getting a chance to play and some have stepped up, some haven’t and the coaches are really showing how well they can coach with bringing guys in and trying to get up to speed as fast as possible.”
(You’ve talked about how the playing, the competition, is fun for you—the starting, the work. A game like today, is that…) – “Uh, yes the second half is brutal. I mean that’s a tough situation to be in when you can’t get anything going and you’re running out on the field and then running right back off with a punt or a fumble or whatever it was. This is, this game is so much fun, but it’s difficult too and today was a tough day and it’s, you know, throughout my whole career. I think when guys come to the NFL I think they learn that it’s a very humbling game. Once you think you’ve got it, you’re going to get knocked down and it doesn’t matter how many wins you have or how many wins the opponent has, you’ve got to come out and play every game and we didn’t show up in the second half today.”
(You shook hands with Eli [Manning] after the game. Was there anything you can tell us about that moment or what you guys might have said to each other?) – “I thought, you know, just that it was a nice moment that he had with the fans there at the end and then a classy gesture to kind of bring him out and get his ovation. I just think he’s meant a lot to this league, obviously he’s been a face of not just the Giants franchise, but of the league for a long time now and he’s been the model of consistency for sixteen years too in terms of staying level-headed and with all the stuff that you have to deal with in this media market. He’s been a class act the whole way and has really handled himself well, so I think there’s a lot of things that I like to just sit back and take from different quarterbacks and our playing styles are a little bit different and he’s had a lot more success than I have, so I’m not even trying to compare our careers, I’m just, the class act that he is and always watching from afar the way that he handles himself, that’s something that all of us NFL quarterbacks can learn from that example and you know he’s had a great career and I was happy to see that for him today.”
