Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 4, 2019
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Tuesday, December 3, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Two things: were you actually stopped at the goal line by one person last week?) – “(laughter) Yeah. Malcolm (Jenkins) totally got me. It wasn’t good.”
(The second question is about the red zone offense. Over the last six, seven weeks, it’s No. 1 in the NFL and earlier in the year, it was near the bottom of the NFL. What’s changed?) – “I think we’ve run the ball well down there. We really have in some of those short-yardage situations. I think we have big targets. I think our coaches do a great job of scheming down there and getting our players in position to make plays, and there’s been a couple red zone scrambles as well. But I think we’ve really just put a heightened focus on that area and the difference between seven and three points is obviously huge, especially when we were struggling to get down there. Points are at a premium always, but just being able to take advantage of that when we get down there, and I think the coaches have done a great job with getting us in the right position.”
(How has your experience been being a part of this team and what were your expectations going into the season and were they met?) – “I came into it without – I just came into it kind of like I come into every year, especially when I come to a new team, which is put your head down, work hard and see what happens. In terms of expectations, I don’t know that there were many. I just came in and tried to do the best I could. I’m happy with the fact that I’ve been able to – that I was re-inserted into the lineup and able to play and able to grow with some of these guys. The way that some of these guys are playing right now and developing a rapport with them; that stuff has all been really good.”
(You don’t want to talk about your future obviously, but has there been any part of this experience that would not – if you want to play – want to continue to be here?) – “No. No, not at all. It’s been really – I don’t like losing, but in terms of the day-to-day and the effort that we put in from the top-down, the coaches to the players to the kitchen staff to the equipment guys, everybody – this is a really good building in terms of all that stuff and the effort and the ‘want to’ is there. I’ve had a very positive experience.”
(Sunday’s game, you guys came down from 28 to 14. There have been a couple times in previous weeks where you guys have come back from deficits but maybe not all the way. Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea kind of credited you and C Daniel Kilgore with being leaders on the offense and guys being able to follow you when in those positions. Why do you have pride in doing that and leading the team and making them feel like even when you’re down, you’re not really out yet?) – “I think experience helps, I think, and having been in situations on both sides – having been in situations where you were winning and maybe you free up a little bit and take your foot off the gas and lose a game and then the flip side of it when you’re losing, you just keep trying to get one possession at a time, get back into a game. I think the experience of being in those games that have been up and down and just experience in the NFL, that’s what happens in a lot of these games. I think that helps, and I think that rubs off on guys. Danny’s a guy that’s real even-keeled up front and does a great job in getting all those guys in order. I’m kind of the same way in that I’m not going to get too high or low. I’m going to get excited when we score touchdowns, but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve experienced and seen and been through to know that it’s always going to be 60 minutes worth of a game.”
(How fun is that for you to kind of instill on everybody else with such a young team?) – “I think just – we’ve talked about weeks back just learning how to win. There are so many different ways to win in this league and I think the Cleveland game really set up what happened in the Eagles game in that there was a belief out there and sometimes even through losses, there’s plenty of stuff that you can gain from it and grow from it; and I think that was a good example of that.”
(Where do you see your game right now? Do you think you’re playing at a higher level than ever before, as high as you’ve ever been or…?) – “Personally, I feel like I’m better now than I’ve ever been. Statistically, whatever, just in terms of what I’m doing and my focus and preparation and going out there with the group that I have and my confidence is at an all-time high just in terms of all that stuff. As an offense, our focus really the last few weeks has not necessarily been on the opponent; it’s been on us and fixing us and getting us better and working at practice. The guys have done a really nice job of really putting the focus on that and just continuing for our team to grow and to improve every day.”
(How has your comfort with Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea and vice versa, grown and improved throughout the season?) – “Chad and I have a really good relationship off the field and in a working relationship, there’s going to be bumps along the way; but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve really grown this year, me and him – because the play-caller and the quarterback especially for him being kind of a first-time play-caller and me being a guy that’s played in a lot of different systems, there are certain situations and different things that maybe we don’t always see it the same way, but the communication that he has had with me leading up to games and talking through certain situations and what we expect and what we want or maybe what I like in a certain situation, Chad’s been a great communicator. And that really goes a long way – a coordinator that has no ego, that’s a great communicator, that wants to do what’s best for the team has really been helpful for me in terms of asking for suggestions every now and again, maybe doing something a different way because I’m more comfortable with it a different way. He’s been really open to a lot of that, and I think he’s really grown as the season has gone on.”
(RB Patrick Laird is kind of an interesting dude. He said something about a podcast, that you were Airdropping him something on a plane. Do you know anything about that?) – “(laughter) You’ll have to ask Patrick about that.”
(We will, I guess. What are your experiences with RB Patrick Laird? I would imagine you guys have some interesting conversations.) – “Yeah, I mean it’s just – he’s so young, you know? (laughter) No, Patrick’s a great guy – a real interesting guy just in terms of not just what he’s been able to accomplish and achieve as an underdog kind of his whole life on the football field; but off the field, just different interests and things that always make it fun to talk to him.”
(Do you see a little bit of yourself in him?) – “I don’t know. No, not really.”
(I wanted to ask you about the Dolphins-Jets rivalry. You guys played them a few weeks ago, and I don’t remember any questions to anybody regarding the rivalry. You’ve been on both sides of it. Back when there used to be a whole lot of venom, a lot of copy that – stuff we could write about – where is this rivalry now? Is it still trying to find its legs once again? Where is it?) – “I think – and I can just I guess speak for us as a team – we’re really trying to find ourselves and improve, and we’ve only won three games this year; so there’s a lot of things internally that we’re just trying to focus on and fix and get better at. Some of those questions and then historically and in the past, some things that have happened, that is not really our focus right now. We’re kind of hyper-focused on the now and getting ourselves better.”
(So you don’t have any venom for us, then?) – “(laughter) I mean I’ve been on both sides of it. (laughter) Yeah, I mean so has Brandon Marshall. There’s been plenty of guys that have been on both sides.”
(What type of unique feelings come back when you go and play in New York? You spent a couple years there.) – “I’ve got great memories there (and) a lot of great friends, so I’m looking forward to that a little bit and just maybe being able to catch up with some people. I saw some of them on staff or on the team, but even just old neighbors and things. Just people that made it such a special place for our family for a couple years. There’s a lot of good people there.”
(What do you think this last stretch of the season can do for you guys? Do you think you guys can get on a run and put a winning streak together here?) – “I think it’s important for us to continue to get better. I think that’s really important and it’s been a fun group to work with, especially the last six, seven, eight weeks – whatever it’s been. Guys are working hard and it’s not – we’re not counting down the days to the end of the season. We’re really excited to get out there and play every Sunday, and that makes it fun to come to work every single day and give it all you have because you don’t want to let the guy next to you down. I think we’re in a good spot with that right now. We just have to continue to focus one game at a time and continue to do that.”
