IMO a lot of Fitz's sucess last year was because of Brandon Marshall. He made some unbelievable catches last year, many on poorly thrown balls. Keep Wilk this year on franchise tag. If Fitz comes back and plays for jets offer , fine. If he holds out much longer move on--he is a one year rental even of he comes back this year, and he played poorly both games last year against Buffalo when we really needed him.
Mario's off year can be attributed to Rex being Rex and trying to fit players to his system and not playing to his players' strengths. Next offseason we'll see if the owner is a man of his word.
Fitz had one good year ever and the Jets are reportedly offering him $10 mil per year and he would rather stay home and make nothing than to rejoin his team for this generous sum. If so the man is delusional. Also, actors, government employees (especially congress), unions, etc. are also groups that get criticism about their compensation or tactics.
Ryan Fitzpatrick's value is not being established by the Jets, it's being established by the NFL. He may well choose to retire over taking the Jets offer in the end but that won't be because the Jets low-balled him, it will be because he didn't want to play for his market value. Given the risks he's taking with his health on the field I would completely understand that decision on his part. I'm not going to hold it against him for not wanting to put his body on the line for another NFL season at his advanced age with 5 young kids he wants to be able to ambulate around for a decade or so to come. I'm also not going to hold it against the Jets because they decided not to pay him more than he was worth to take that risk.
Follow the money. Every player does. As he should. The greedy tag people put on NFL players is short sighted, at best, imo.
I don't think Fitz is greedy. But I am beginning to think the "retire" issue might be real. There is just no way they are going to make enough cuts before camp to free up his desired salary. Thr FO would have done it by now. And honestly, what does he have realistically can he do. That he doesn't have what it takes to make the playoffs? Short of Elway making a late offer (ha ha.) Maybe it's just not worth it any more. Geno may be a foregone conclusion. Although that truly sucks.
If you're talking about a receiver going over the middle, a back running up the gut or a linebacker going helmet to helmet when they are engaged by an offensive lineman every play then I could see your point. You're talking about a player that receives the protection of a penalty flag if they're sneezed on too hard and the long term concussion risk is much less than it was 15 years ago for a quarterback because that 15 yard flag gets thrown if a fingernail scrapes the facemask. If I'm him, I'm playing at least the one more season for $10 million a year and it's a no brainer. He's only made a little over $10 million in the past 3 years combined. 6 mouths is a lot to feed.
Fitzpatrick plays with reckless disregard for his body. I wouldn't be surprised if his wife is on the no train every year. One of these years she's going to win out. No point in having your fortune if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it.
The dude already has enough money to feed way more then 6 mouths. He made $24 mil guaranteed in that one contract with BUF. Call me crazy, but I don't think it is a huge deal if Fitz signs or not. I think if he walked into the QB room today, he is the best option. But not by far. Geno only got a chance to play in this system for one game, and he looked pretty good. He never had any O around him when Rex was here. I'm at least curious. Do I think Geno is the long term answer? NO. Do I think Fitz is a better option then Geno? YES. Do I think it is a dramatic difference? NO. I think they both suck in crucial moments personally. Fitz is just a smarter QB with way more experience and less of an arm. HOWEVER, you also have to pay fitz. So you have to take into account the other players contributions they would lose to afford that contract. (Breno?, etc.) So is ALL that worth the player? My personal opinion is the Jets knew this was coming long before the notion stimulated some beat writers brain. They knew Fitz outperformed what they could afford. They offered a team friendly deal and he balked, as they probably anticipated. I'm not blaming Fitz or the Jets. It's the situation. The reason NOBODY else is calling Fitz is the same reason the Jets are offering what they are. He is no more then a stop gap QB where ever he lands. He's too old to be a long term answer and he's not good enough at his requested salary to be a difference maker. His only other chance was Denver, and they never gave a sniff after hearing his contract demands.
If the GM thinks choosing a young (ish) player who's one of the tops at his position(one of the more important positions on D) vs an aging journeyman QB who caught lightning in the bottle last year is a tough one for the future of this franchise..... then the JETS are even more fuct than usual.
Lol. Why so you have someone else to boo? Off the top of my head the most TDs he threw in a season was 21.
This is the second time you've referenced an obscure fact as being off the top of your head. With this much football knowledge your other posts should be better. Do better.
Fitz is not a franchise QB and has never made the playoffs in his entire career. Signing up for him means signing up for mediocrity for the foreseeable future. I think looking at it as "Fitz gives us the best chance for this year" is a dangerous and short sighted proposition. Don't give up your future for one year of probably not making the playoffs again. Just MO
I really agree with almost all your post but you should familiarize yourself with the salary cap and cap strategies. They won't have to lose anyone to afford Fitz. It would be prudent to drop some dead weight but it's certainly not a requirement. To reiterate, I do agree with your opinion and certainly appreciate that you called them opinions as opposed to some people who get facts and opinions confused.
they can sign Fitz without locking into some long term 'foreseeable future' type of contract. a 2 year deal would likely be the maximum of anything guaranteed, and that type of timeframe makes a ton of sense for the Jets.
The difference between Trent Dilfer and what we have on the roster right now is not about quality. It's about age and experience. Dilfer was a 28 year old QB in his 7th NFL season with 76 NFL starts under his belt when he was called on to lead the Ravens in the middle of 2000. That's why he and Sanchez are a good comparison and he and Geno, Petty or Hackenberg are not.
