Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 7, 2020
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(I’m sure you’ve been in this situation before since you’ve played for 16 years, but what’s it like to know a fan base is just clamoring for the other guy?) – “(laughter) Yeah, I mean this has been my career. I guess if anybody is used to being in this situation, it would be me. I focus on the every day, and that’s it. I really do, and I put everything I can into each game. You try to forget the last game if it’s a good one or a bad one, and work on the next one. I get it, and obviously I’ve been in a lot of different cities and a lot of different scenarios, and this scenario has been one in a lot of different places for me, but I just try to be very myopic and go about my business that way.”
(You’ll be pleased to know that you still have at least 50 percent of the vote according to a recent Palm Beach Post Twitter poll. So good momentum has not moved away from you.) – “That’s huge. Yeah, I had all of my kids vote in that poll, so we’re good to go. (laughter)”
(My actual question is about a leash. You’ve said before that especially within a game, you feel like you have a little bit of a longer leash with Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey by your side. I’m wondering in terms of organizationally, and where you are right now, how long do you feel your leash is in terms of your hold on the position?) – “Again, it’s not really something that I can afford to think about. I have so much other stuff going on throughout the week and during a game. For me, I just go out and try to play the best that I can in each game, and that’s where I put my focus. If you start thinking about that stuff and allowing that to affect the way you’re playing – whether you want to be more risky or more careful, that’s just not really who I am. I’m going to go out there, prepare and then play the game the way I play it. That’s something I think can be a mistake as a quarterback, is to look at that and to start playing with not your full focus out and trying to beat the other team, but having your focus on other things. I think that’s a recipe for disaster.”
(Obviously like you said, your main focus is to focus on the game and not what everybody else is saying; but it seems like in this society, it’s hard to block everything out. I’m curious how that’s like in the room with you guys. Do you guys joke about it? Do you guys talk about the fact that there’s so much QB Tua Tagovailoa talk even though you’re the guy right now?) – “I really do think – you guys are obviously writing about it and see it, and talk about it a lot more than we do. We’re pretty insulated. In terms of today, we came in and we’ve got a million different things we’re trying to put in and talk about. When you do that and your primary focus becomes the game plan, it’s easier to kind of put some of that stuff off. I think the room has to be open and honest. There’s all kind of stuff from the outside world, whether it’s a good game or a bad game, that is said and talked about. As quarterbacks, we’re kind of the only ones – whether it’s on this team or in the world – that really understand what we go through. So sometimes you end up leaning on guys that are in your room because they’ve been through similar things. It’s hard to find somebody in a different walk of life that has had the same situations or pressures come up. We learn on each other a lot in that room for a lot of different reasons.”
(I’m wondering what your reaction was to the latest COVID-19 related developments involving the games that were rescheduled this past weekend and then Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore testing positive. What is your level of confidence that the 2020 season is going to be able to be completed?) – “I think everybody is very interested in the next few days to see what happens with some of those tests in New England and the tests in Kansas City. I think as we’ve seen with the Tennessee example, I think they had two more tests – is that correct? Two more test positive? And they haven’t been together at all. In terms of the things that we’re learning about the incubation periods and being able to test negative but potentially coming into a building and being able to shed the virus. We knew going in that the protocols were going to change and that this was going to be an ongoing process of trying to figure out the best way to keep us safe; but I’ll just reiterate what I said earlier, which is our staff and this organization is doing a great job with us. That’s not to say that COVID is not going to enter the building. We just have to do everything we can to mitigate the risk of passing it on and having an outbreak. I don’t know that it’s anybody’s fault. I just think it’s the craziness of this virus. I think everybody’s confidence level is probably a little less than it was a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago, everybody was riding high. But it’s amazing to see what happened in Tennessee so quickly.”
(I thought that RB Matt Breida did a couple of good things in the last game, especially in the receiving game. What do you think he can do in the last 12 games of the season? What is he capable of?) – “I’m with you. He’s very explosive. Some of those little check-downs and things he did with the ball. I think that was great to see. (He’s) a guy that if you give him some space, he’s going to be able to make some plays. As we go here, we’re just going to continue to find our playmakers and our playmakers are going to continue to have the ball find them. That was a good step in the right direction for him, in terms of taking advantage of some of the opportunities that he got, and I’m sure more will come as he continues to make plays like that.”
(Last year, you went through a similar situation with QB Josh Rosen, and we could tell when the change was made, you were not happy about it – that for whatever reason, and we have our suspicions why, you were not happy with the change. If that change comes in 2020 at some point, how would you react, do you think?) – “I don’t want to do the hypothetical thing. I think last year was last year, and that was definitely a much different situation in who was in the room and who is in the room this year. I’ll just stick with my line, which is I’m going to do my best for this week and hopefully continue to lead this team and whenever that day comes, we’ll cross that bridge.”
(Two questions ago, you made a comment there about the ball will find your playmakers. Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey has talked about how there are plenty of mouths to feed in this offense. Is that something that you’re conscious of? When you go into a play and break the huddle, are you thinking that you need to get so-and-so involved? Or is it 100 percent of the time is it read-based and not worried about which jersey number you’re throwing the football to?) – “Sometimes when it’s man coverage across the board and you’ve got five one-on-ones, then sometimes you’re forced to make those decisions. Where is my best matchup? Sometimes it’s dictated by who is covering our guy and a lot of times it’s dictated by the particular route that we have our guys on and if we like them or not, and if they’ve shown in the past that they can win on that route. Sometimes it is, when it’s a bigger zone game, then it is going through your reads and guys being in the right spots and making some run after the catch. I think the confidence that I have in our group is high. There are guys like Preston (Williams), he hasn’t started off this year the same numbers-wise as he did last year, and some of that is definitely on me and looking to get him more involved. DeVante (Parker) is always going to be a guy we’re going to try to get the ball. Jakeem (Grant) has shown some really nice things for us. As you mentioned, Matt (Breida). (Mike) Gesicki had a great game, and is a guy that I need to continue to get the ball to. It’s a good problem that we have. We’ve got guys that aren’t getting enough touches. That means we have a lot of playmakers and I’ll continue to try to do my best to spread it around.”
(A few minutes ago when you were talking about how you are sort of insulated in the quarterback room, it sounded like there’s a good deal of support for one another. I feel kind of odd asking you this because you’re the veteran and QB Tua Tagovailoa is the rookie, but has there been a moment this week when maybe Tua is kind of lifting up your spirits? Or has it been sort of a normal week between the two of you?) – “The week is young but it’s just been a normal week. He is just a very positive guy in general. (He’s) a guy that it doesn’t seem like he’s ever had a bad day. I just think it’s important, especially in the NFL, every week is so extreme whether you won and you’re on your way to the Super Bowl or you lost and the sky is falling and everybody needs to be fired and benched. Staying level and keeping that good vibe, those good feelings – sometimes when you lose, it’s tough to do but it’s an important thing to have in the building. I would just say with him, that’s kind of his personality. Every day he kind of comes in and has a smile on his face. In times like this where you’ve lost a few and the outside world thinks the sky is falling, it’s nice to have those guys walking through the locker room upbeat and with a smile on their face.”
