Pretty awesome read! "Ryan Fitzpatrick hasn’t been showered with this much adoration since his supporting cast included guys like Clifton Dawson, Brian Edwards and Corey Mazza. Back then, the beardless college quarterback was kicking Columbia, Penn and Yale’s collective derrieres during a magical perfect season. The lovefest these days for the savvy facial-haired wonder knows no bounds. A fan base starving for a competent signal caller has latched on to the big-brained journeyman, who has helped the Jets to a promising start. Fitz Magic is more than a stenciled slogan or catchy hashtag. It’s a symbol that maybe these Jets are, indeed, for real. Eric Decker is all-in with the Harvard Guy, so on the trip to London he wore a green “FITZ MAGIC” t-shirt with an image of a Jets helmet and overgrown red beard. “Obviously I wanted to show my support of Fitz and grabbed a T-shirt,” Decker said with a half-smile. “My wife helped me find it. So I ordered it.” Jets fans have a crush on Fitzpatrick, who has brought a semblance of calm to what has typically been an unsettled position for this star-crossed franchise. ody harbors any illusions. The 32-year-old Fitzpatrick isn’t a long-term solution, but who cares? Fitzpatrick might just be the right man at the right time for the right team to make the playoffs this season. “He deserves it,” Brandon Marshall said of the praise for his quarterback. “I always pull and root for guys like that. Everyone has their opinions and thoughts. I know how much work he puts in every single day. There’s no days off with him. It’s good to see guys like that succeed. I know it’s a team game, but he really is leading us.” Fitzpatrick’s supposed shortcomings have been dissected for the better part of a decade: too reckless,questionable deep ball, not good enough. Blah, blah, blah. Fitzpatrick isn’t a carbon copy of his younger self. His game has grown. “He understands now that he doesn’t have to win the game by himself,” Todd Bowles told The News. “He has a run game. He has guys to throw to. It doesn’t have to all fall on him... Early in your career as a quarterback, you try to take over the game and be ‘the guy’ no matter what. He’s matured and grown out of that and become a guy that can command a game and make throws when he has to and when he needs to… and not when he’s forced to.” Dawson, Edwards and Mazza – who probably turned into a doctor, lawyer and investment banker – have been replaced by Marshall, Decker and Chris Ivory. Fitzpatrick has leaned on his new trio to help the Jets to a 3-1 record entering Sunday’s game against Washington. Ex-Jets linebacker Bart Scott often made reference to Fitzpatrick’s oversized head, playfully nicknaming him “Evolution” and “Pinky and The Brain.” Not surprisingly, Fitzpatrick’s mind never rests. “He thinks so three-dimensionally,” quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo said. “It’s nonstop communication,” Marshall said. “He does a great job of letting us in his head.” Quarterbacks ultimately are judged by wins and losses, but Fitzpatrick knows that “the turnovers... have to come down a little bit.” He’s on pace for career highs in touchdowns and interceptions. Fitzpatrick’s stats – 231.1 yards per game, 60.7 completion rate, 78.1 passer rating, seven TDs, six INTs – won’t wow anyone, but his chemistry with Decker and Marshall coupled with the reassuring veteran presence in the huddle can’t be overstated. “That’s the benefit of playing a lot of football,” Decker said. “He’s been around for a while. Brandon’s been around for a while. I’ve been lucky to play with one of the greats in Peyton (Manning). So I think we understand the game cerebrally. We see it. That helps... If he’s smart with the football and makes some plays, this could be a fun year for us.” Decker is the only one in the locker room so far to wear the unofficial gear celebrating Fitzpatrick. “I wanted to introduce it,” the receiver said before suggesting that he might buy t-shirts for everyone. “Maybe a Christmas present.” Bowles has no problem with the hoopla for his veteran quarterback. If it works, he’s happy. “Hey,” Bowles said with a laugh. “Fear the Beard.” The magic is real."
I'm happy we're 3-1 but even off to this start, and also happy we have a likable hard-worker under center that is capable of being the centerpiece of a feel good story like this, but stripping all that away and the reality is I'm left with little to no confidence in Fitzpatrick being good enough for the Jets to do anything enjoyable this year. For a smart guy he plays relatively dumb from what I've seen. I'm enjoying these stories/articles though - it's fun to read happy writing about camaraderie and reverence concerning the Jets no matter how much you actually buy what they're selling.
It's actually Odie. But I don't want to fight about it. I've spent enough time in prison due to arguments about Garfield already.
There are plenty of other threads for you to be negative in. Why bring that sh*t in here? Fitzmagic gunn prove you wrong, boy.
I agree. I'm happy about the present, but I'm not expecting the Jets to squeeze anymore out of Fitz then they are already getting. Less INTs is a potential improvement so long as they continue taking shots down field. It's cool that Decker and Marshall are so supportive of their QB. As a fan, I'll jump on the Fitz magic train if he can overcome NE. Until then... meh. Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk
Fear the beard.....lol Yea I'm sure opposing defenses are gonna shit themselves thinking about Fitz.People are already getting lost on "Planet Homer"
Agreed. With Sanchez and Geno every single throw they made, I'd cringe and pray that it wasn't picked off. It's nice to have a little stability at the position even though he's obviously not the QB of the future. So far this year, the only time I have screamed at the TV was during that Marshall lateral.
Well while I am happy he is in there instead of Smith I still worry on every pass over 25-30 yds. When he puts up a deep ball he looks like he is about to give himself a hernia. I am hoping they limit his long throws. Keep him with the short and intermediate throws, limit the long ball and I think his interceptions come down to a level the team can deal with.
