Ryan Fitzpatrick – September 4, 2019
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Monday, August 5, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Now that Week 1 is here and you’re the starter, what is your main objective heading into this week?) – “I’m fired up. I’m really excited to be out there leading this team. The big thing for us this week is communication – getting everybody on the same page, making sure that we’re crisp and executing. I think so far, we’ve got a great plan in place, and we took a step in the right direction today with practice. (We had) good tempo, good energy and there was great communication out there, so we’ll continue to do that throughout the week. I think we’re trending in the right direction right now.”
(How did you find out that T Laremy Tunsil had been traded and what was your reaction?) – “With that stuff, (we) usually (find out) just like you guys or from you guys. You just kind of see it or get a text or a call from somebody. It’s just one of those things, you never know what’s going to happen in the NFL, and that’s probably the thing I’ve learned most. Expect the unexpected, and just go from there. The biggest thing right now is putting our focus and attention on Baltimore, who had the No. 1 defense in the NFL last year, and trying to figure out the pieces to that puzzle of how to do our best on offense and put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
(Do you know who is – I’m not asking you to tell us if you don’t want to – but who the starting left tackle will be on Sunday? Is that still being decided?) – “Yeah, that’s up to Coach (Flores).”
(Can you talk about from a personal standpoint what this means to you? You’re starting for your eighth team at your age. It must be a very rewarding, satisfying feeling. Can you put that into words?) – “You know what it is? It’s something that’s never been done before. Just in terms of who I am and the career that I’ve had and the different places that I’ve been, this means a lot to me. I think being able to do it here with a younger group where it’s going to rely so much on communication, and I’ve got to make sure that I’m at my best on every single play, whether it’s during the play, before or at the line of scrimmage, I’m going to put a lot on myself this week to make sure that everything goes smoothly. I think in terms of me being in this spot and this place right now, I think my career has led me to this, and I fit well in the role I’m being asked to play right now.”
(Is there an extra level of excitement for a season opener when it’s with a new team from the year before?) – “I think in general, just the fact that football’s back and opening day, it’s so much fun. There’s so much energy. We’ve worked so hard throughout the year for this. You work so hard for these games. The Sundays are why we do it. We love being out there, but opening day is always that much more special because of that added element – the energy and being the home opener and everything else is going to be pretty special.”
(You’ve been around for a long time. You know what it should look like from very many different perspectives, so the 2019 Miami Dolphins are going to look like what?) – “I’ve got to do my best (Head Coach Brian) Flores impression, I guess: tough, disciplined, hard-nosed, smart. (laughter) Yeah, smart, tough, disciplined. But, you know what? I think we do. We have to be a smart team, but we’ve got to – the communication part of it. All the stuff – especially offensively – there’s so much in this offense. It’s worked, and you’ve seen it work in so many different places, in so many different ways and the communication between players is so key. A lot of that falls on the quarterback, and that’s why I enjoy playing the position.”
(You all are all competitors, so I know that you want to win. Do you think this is a good team?) – “The Ravens? Yeah, I think they’re…”
(No.) – “Look, here’s the deal. We do (want to win). We’re all professional athletes, and we all love playing. That’s the reason I made the decision to come here because I wanted to be out on the field playing. Some guys either don’t want to do that or pass on that; but that’s who I am, and I think the group that we have in our locker room – we’re all competitors, and we’re here for a reason. We’re ready to go out there and fight.”
(When you were making that decision to sign here, I’m sure you had asked about the vision of this franchise…) – “No.”
(You didn’t?) – “No. I saw it as a job – a chance to get out there and play, and I love playing football. So that was all I needed: a chance to compete.”
(What, if anything, have you or can you tell the very young players on this youngest roster in the NFL about…) – “Gosh, that makes me feel really old. (laughter)”
(About the business side of things and how it may or may not be possible to get past that and like you said, focus on Sunday?) – “I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is no one is going to feel sorry for you on Sunday. No other team is going to come in and say, ‘Man, they don’t have this,’ or, ‘they have this,’ or, ‘they look different from last year.’ Nobody is going to feel sorry for you in this league, so that’s where all our energy and focus has to be put on: going out there and putting on the best performance that we can. There was great energy at practice today, so I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
(Have you had a chance to meet all 13 new players?) – “Maybe. I don’t know. (laughter) I’m trying.”
(What do you see as the biggest challenge this Ravens defense presents?) – “They’re stout up front. They’ve got a great secondary. A lot of playmakers back there and guys that have done it for a long time. They’ve got very fast linebackers – guys that make plays. There’s not really a weakness on their defense. They’re very multiple in what they do, so that makes it tough, too, on a quarterback. They were No. 1 in the league for a reason last year, and they’ve shuffled some guys in and out, but the core of it is the same. They’ve obviously got to replace a few guys – big name guys – but, it’s impressive to watch. Being in Tampa last year, (Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB) Jameis (Winston) started that game, but I got to see firsthand how talented they are, so it’ll be a huge challenge for us, and nothing but respect for those guys.”
(In other words, seeing that defense without LB Terrell Suggs?) – “I played against Suggs in high school. He was a tailback. (laughter) He was a tailback at Hamilton High School. He’s a year older than I was, and ever since then, I’ve been in awe of him and what he does; but yeah, I’m glad he’s on the Cardinals now.”
