Tag: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Series history: Broncos seek first win of season, eighth all-time vs. Dolphins

The last time the Broncos faced the Dolphins, then-rookie Tua Tagovailoa was benched.

Week 3 of the NFL season brings the Denver Broncos to South Florida for a matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

This week will be no beach vacation: the Dolphins are 2-0, and the leader of the AFC East over the Patriots, Bills and Jets.

Week 3 will be the 21st meeting between these two franchises, dating back to 1966. The Dolphins lead the all-time series, 12-7-1.

The last game between these two was during the COVID-19 season in 2020. Then-rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa started for the Dolphins, but the Denver defense proved to be a tough foe. Tagovailoa was pulled late in the game in favor of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick led a valiant Miami effort in an attempt to tie the game, but an end zone interception by Broncos Justin Simmons sealed the game for a 20-13 win.

Denver’s quarterback was Drew Lock, who went 18-of-30 for 270 yards and an interception. Then-starting running back Melvin Gordon scored two touchdowns and led the Broncos rushing attack with 84 yards.

The Broncos will look to get Sean Payton’s first win of the 2023 season against this talented Miami team this weekend.

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Commanders Terry McLaurin learning what it means to be a leader

McLaurin loves what Bieniemy has brought to the Commanders.

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Terry McLaurin learned this week he is the longest tenured Washington offensive player.

Julie Donaldson informed McLaurin when the two sat down for a chat this week.

McLaurin expressed he has focused on maintaining the standard set by coaches, has been learning to become more comfortable as a leader and have the courage to say what needs to be said.

Eric Bieniemy, the new offensive coordinator, has brought in his new offense, and McLaurin is busy learning it as quickly as he can. “It’s been fun, challenging at times. But it has forced us to come in with a different level of focus each and every day because you’re learning something new.”

McLaurin spoke of the team having a new offensive coaching staff and two new quarterbacks being a challenge in itself. “It’s your job, so you gotta figure it out.”

“He (Bieniemy) definitely coaches hard… I wanted to put my best foot forward and make a good impression, knowing that he can trust me as a leader, as a player; I am going to do my job.”

“I think his intensity is something we all feel so far.”

When Donaldson spoke that this season means for McLaurin another new quarterback, McLaurin paused, simply nodded in the affirmative, and calmly said, “Yeah.” Donaldson responded, “That says enough right there.”

Donaldson then inquired if McLaurin knew how many quarterbacks from whom he had caught passes since coming to Washington. McLaurin replied, “It’s got to be double digits now, right?” Yes, it’s ten, affirmed Donaldson.

The ten quarterbacks to whom Donaldson was referring are: Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell.

Sometimes we have our own idea of what leadership will be for us. We imagine how others will need to adjust to us. However, McLaurin has had to learn the hard way that for him, it is himself adjusting to change and leading teammates to follow his example.

 

Jacoby Brissett and Commanders’ Ron Rivera hope the sixth time is the charm

Six is the number for Ron Rivera and Jacoby Brissett.

Jacoby Brissett becomes number six for Ron Rivera.

Most recently with the Cleveland Browns, Brissett becomes the sixth veteran quarterback that Ron Rivera’s Commanders have obtained since his arrival in January 2020.

Brissett is certainly no stranger to change and the need to be flexible and adapt. The 30-year-old from West Palm Beach, Florida, has made NFL stops with the Patriots, Colts, Dolphins, Browns and now the Commanders.

Even more, Brissett was under center for the University of Florida in 2011 and 2012 before transferring to North Carolina State from 2013-15. He was a third-round choice of the Patriots (No. 91 overall) in the 2016 NFL draft.

Rivera has had plenty of adapting to do himself since coming to Washington. The quarterback position has been a rotating door for him for much of his three seasons.

Upon arrival, Rivera inherited Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. The first trade he made as head coach was for Kyle Allen. In December, he obtained Taylor Heinicke to be the quarantine quarterback.

The third and fourth quarterbacks Rivera obtained were Ryan Fitzpatrick and Garrett Gilbert for the 2021 season; however, each played in only one game.

A year ago, Carson Wentz became the fifth veteran quarterback Rivera brought to Washington. After his trade from Indianapolis, Wentz started seven games, but the team only won two of those. He was released after the season.

In summary, the pairing of Rivera and Brissett is of a coach and a quarterback for whom change has been the only constant. Both must be hoping for some stability — and soon.

Free agency often brings excitement to Washington/Commanders fans

It’s easy to get excited about free agency, but it often brings less than anticipated.

The NFL new league year begins March 15 and NFL fans will become upbeat knowing their team has made some great signings.

Recent history reminds us of how hopes are lifted and dashed.

Washington in 2020 had won the NFC East at only 7-9, their offense had struggled mightily playing four quarterbacks during the season (Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke).

The next offseason when Washington signed cornerback William Jackson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick the majority of the fan base was excited, knowing for certain that Fitzpatrick would provide veteran leadership to the offense and Jackson was most definitely one of the better man-to-man corners in the league.

Neither materialized.

Fitzpatrick didn’t last one half of the first game. Jackson on the other hand did play and start in 12 of 17 games but was much less than had been expected. He was certainly nothing to brag about in pass coverage.

Jackson’s second season with Washington (2022) was a frustrating one for both coaches and fans. Jackson more than once talked of being a man corner who was being forced to play more zone.

It was frustrating to hear a professional athlete cast blame on the scheme when he was being beaten in coverage more than a few times. Lasting only four games, the threesome of Rivera and Del Rio determined the team was better off without Jackson.

Jackson only defended two passes in 2022 while defending himself more often. He was compensated handsomely, being paid $16,562,500 in 2021 and $7,648,693 in 2022 by the Commanders.

He was a cap hit of $4,656,250 in 2021 and $10,648,693 in 2022. Unfortunately, Jackson will also affect the 2023 team in the sense that he is a $9,000,000 cap hit despite being released during the 2022 season.

Jackson will not even bring anything to Washington via his being traded to the Steelers. The Steelers have already waived Jackson themselves; thus the Commanders will not receive the conditional draft choice from Pittsburgh.

During this upcoming free agency remain level-headed not expecting too much from whomever the Commanders do sign.

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Add Carson Wentz to long Washington QB list

What a brutal quarterback stretch for Washington.

Carson Wentz unfortunately joined the long list of Washington quarterbacks who experienced much disappointment.

In 1994, though he was drafted third overall in the draft, because Norv Turner wanted him, Heath Shuler was simply in over his head. He was a huge disappointment.

Jeff George was the mega-hyped free-agent signing by Daniel Snyder in 2000. But George disappointed, not improving the offense and was actually released early in his second season by Marty Schottenheimer.

Patrick Ramsey was a first round choice (32nd) in 2002 out of Tulane. In four seasons, Ramsey passed for 34 touchdowns and 29 interceptions.

Mark Brunell came in 2004, immediately revealing he was a shell of what he had been — a dynamic, mobile quarterback earlier in his career. Brunell did have some fine games in 2005 but was having difficulty staying healthy.

Jason Campbell was the 25th overall selection in the 2005 draft (Aaron Rodgers was taken 24th). Campbell often could move the team up and down the field until he reached the red zone, where he encountered problems.

Donovan McNabb came in a 2010 trade with the Eagles. If McNabb had been an efficient quarterback, why would Andy Reid have traded him to a divisional rival?

Rex Grossman loved to sling it as the 2011 starter, but the results were often not advantageous, so the owner traded 3 first-round choices and a second-round choice to select a Baylor rookie though he had won the Heisman Trophy, had not proven he could play in the pocket in college.

Robert Griffin III had a remarkably fun season in his rookie year, running the Shanahan zone-read offense. But following his bad knee injury, Griffin refused to run the offense that made him successful and never developed as a pocket passer in Washington or anywhere else.

Alex Smith was traded for in 2018 to help fans forget Kirk Cousins passing for over 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. But Smith struggled, seemed to check down an awful lot, and sadly experienced a gruesome injury against the Texans.

Case Keenum was traded for in 2019 to replace the horribly-injured Smith. Keenum led the team in passing with only 1,707 yards. The other quarterback seeing action was Dwayne Haskins because Mr. Snyder insisted he would be the 15th overall selection in the draft. It was a dismal 3-13 season and Haskins was cut during the 2020 season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was signed to be the veteran who would manage games and bring a winner to Washington.  He injured his hip and never played after the first quarter of the opener.

Washington was the third team for Carson Wentz in three seasons. Wentz never looked comfortable. All season he was a model teammate but a struggling quarterback.

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Commanders, Rivera searching elsewhere this offseason

The Commanders will have a different approach to the game’s most important position this offseason.

The third year will bring a third approach by the Washington Commanders to their offseason program of obtaining their next quarterback.

Following the 2020 season, the Commanders liked what they had seen from Taylor Heinicke in the playoff game loss to Tampa Bay, so the Commanders signed Heinicke to a two-year contract to be the veteran backup. They also went out and signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to be the starter.

However, when Fitzpatrick could not make it through one half of one game during the 2021 season, Heinicke started 15 games, and Washington went shopping again in the offseason. Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew informed all of the league they would be calling to see if there was a quarterback available for the Commanders.

The Colts wanted to rid themselves of Carson Wentz, and the Commanders were more than happy to take Wentz off the Colts’ hands, offering to swap down five spots in the 2022 NFL draft’s second round and unload two third-round choices that could become second-round choices based upon performance.

However, the Carson Wentz experiment did not go well for Washington. He was injured in the sixth game at Chicago. Heinicke then started 9 games as the Commanders went 5-1-1 in his first seven games. However, an 0-2-1 stretch resulted in Heinicke being benched against the 49ers and Rivera turning back to Wentz against the Browns.

Sam Howell started the last game though it had been leaked that week that Rivera and the coaching staff did not believe Howell was ready. Yet, Howell performed well enough that Rivera suddenly did a 180, announcing Howell would be the starter going into the offseason programs.

Thus, Wednesday, Rivera let it be known the Commanders will not be shopping this offseason, looking to spend big bucks for a starting quarterback. They are really going to give Howell every opportunity to win the job.

Will Taylor Heinicke be re-signed to a veteran backup-role contract? Will the Commanders draft for a backup on day two or three of the draft? Will the Commanders look for a veteran on the cheap who can mentor Howell and be on-call if needed?

Perhaps this year, what they are going after is not a quarterback but an offensive coordinator who will require a big salary?

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LOOK: Bills QB Josh Allen wears Ryan Fitzpatrick jersey during warmups

Josh sporting Fitz Magic during warmups:

Bills quarterback Josh Allen knows how to step up in many of the right moments.

He did so on Thursday… even before the game began.

Ahead of facing the Patriots in Week 13, Allen took the field for warmups. The QB catered to both Bills Mafia and the broadcast.

Thursday Night Football is now broadcast on Amazon. One of the pregame hosts for their broadcast? Former Bill Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Seizing the right moment, Allen put on Fitzpatrick jersey as he warmed up for the game.

Check out images of Allen in the Fitz Magic threads below:

Josh Allen warmed up in a Ryan Fitzpatrick jersey, and NFL fans loved the ‘Fitzmagic’

Allen wanted to channel some “Fitzmagic” of his own.

As the Buffalo Bills try to keep their Super Bowl alive amidst a somewhat adverse season, they’ll continue to lean on their talisman QB, Josh Allen. With Buffalo set to take on the rival New England Patriots in a pivotal matchup that could weigh a lot on the AFC playoff chase, Allen seemed to be as cool as a cucumber in warm-ups. (It does help that he has a thankful Stefon Diggs to throw to.)

How do I know that? Well, Allen wore the No. 14 jersey of former Bills quarterback turned Thursday Night Football analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick while he got loose. Given that Fitzpatrick was also on hand to make sense of the night’s events, it was a cool way to honor a past beloved Bills player:

Here’s another couple of looks at Allen donning the famous Bills No. 14 of one “Fitzmagic”:

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Allen had a pregame over/under of 1.5 passing touchdowns against the Patriots and Defensive Player of the Year contender Matt Judon.

That line honestly might be too low after seeing the Bills superstar’s perfect homage to Fitzpatrick.

 

Strong irony surrounding Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke

Taylor Heinicke is poised to become Washington’s quarterback for the remainder of the season. There’s something ironic about that.

Oh the irony.

Washington stood 1-4 and winning 12-7 in Chicago, starting quarterback Carson Wentz broke a finger on his passing hand. Enter Taylor Heinicke who has led the Commanders to three wins in their last four games, evening their record at 5-5.

Coach Ron Rivera has yet to make a public statement on whom his starter will be when Wentz can compete for the job. Initially, the consensus opinion was when Wentz returned he would play. And why not? Washington had spent a third-round choice and one that could become a second-round choice. They needed to justify their trading two choices for Wentz.

Yet, here we are, and Heinicke has done enough (yes, he has had his struggles) that the Commanders are 5-5, fighting for the final playoff spot.

The irony?

Taylor Heinicke had played well in the 2020 playoff loss to Tampa Bay. Following the game, Washington did sign Heinicke to backup money, and it was a significant raise for him.

But make no mistake, following that playoff effort, Rivera has expended great effort to replace Heinicke. In the 2021 offseason, the front office went out and signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to be the starter.

But Fitz went down in the first half of his first game in Burgundy and Gold. Heinicke ended up taking over the starting role for the 2021 season. He had some great moments, but he also struggled mightily at times.

So, what did the Washington brass do following the regular season? They made it absolutely clear they were looking elsewhere turning over every rock to replace Heinicke as the No 1 quarterback for the Commanders.

So, here we are, the Commanders are 5-5, and if Heinicke has a decent game this week, and is healthy, the general consensus across the DMV and NFL media is that Rivera will turn not away from Heinicke but to him, spurning Wentz for whom he traded those two day-two draft choices.

Taylor Heinicke has been released by the Vikings, Patriots, Texans, Panthers and even the St Louis Battlehawks of the XFL would not name him the starter.

Life is so ironic sometimes, isn’t it? Sometimes it takes drought to better appreciate rain and rejection to appreciate acceptance.

Just ask Taylor Heinicke.

LOOK: Ryan Fitzpatrick brings back the DeSean Jackson fit for Bucs-Ravens

With DeSean Jackson in the house for Thursday night’s game, “Fitz-Magic” had to bring back the look

It was 2018, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had just become the first quarterback in NFL history to open a regular season with back-to-back games of 400 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

DeSean Jackson, then a wide receiver for the Bucs, enjoyed his share of the spoil, including a 75-yard touchdown pass from “Fitz-Magic” on the first play of the game as the Bucs upset the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Fitzpatrick showed up to his postgame press conference wearing Jackson’s outfit, an image forever burned into the NFL history books.

Fitz and Jackson are both back at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday night, but not as teammates. Jackson is playing for the Baltimore Ravens, who face the Bucs, while Fitzpatrick is part of the on-screen team bringing the game to the masses on Amazon Prime.

And you know Fitzpatrick couldn’t resist the urge to bring back the look:

Iconic.

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