Tag: Ryan Fitzpatrick

AFC East offseason: Dolphins ‘likely’ to keep Josh Rosen

Buffalo Bills AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins, will be keeping QB Josh Rosen, reportedly.

The speculation is swirling for the Miami Dolphins and their quarterback position. The Bills’ AFC East rivals have a lot of picks early and often at the 2020 NFL Draft. In total, the Dolphins have three first-round picks and the fifth-overall selection.

So a new quarterback is probably on the way. Everyone is still saying that’s going to happen, but in a twist, the Dolphins actually aren’t going to be getting rid of quarterback Josh Rosen, either.

Dolphins Wire reported this week that Rosen will “likely” be back in 2020. In addition, Ryan Fitzpatrick is already also coming back.

So potentially the Dolphins will have three quarterbacks, including a first-round rookie and a former first rounder in Rosen. Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 5-4 record in their final nine games.

Fitzpatrick is certainty not the long-term answer, but that’s going to potentially be a loaded quarterback room down in Florida.

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Stevie Johnson named head coach of his high school alma mater

Former Buffalo Bills standout wide receiver Stevie Johnson was named head coach of his alma mater’s football program, Rodriguez High School, in Fairfield, California. 

Former Buffalo Bills standout wide receiver Stevie Johnson was named head coach of his alma mater’s football program, Rodriguez High School, in Fairfield, California.

Johnson earned All-state and first-team All-Conference honors for his performance during his senior season.

Johnson went onto Kentucky for college, where he was named to the All-SEC team during his senior year.

The Bills drafted Johnson in the seventh-round of the 2008 draft. His career took off in 2010 when he established a strong connection with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Johnson posted three consecutive 1,000-plus yard seasons for the Bills.

Over six seasons in Buffalo, Johnson ranks ninth in franchise history in receiving yards (3,832), eighth in receptions (301), and seventh in touchdown receptions (28).

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Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick confirms he will play for Miami in 2020

Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick confirmed to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that he will play for Miami in 2020.

Are you ready for a little bit more magic in your life, Dolphins fans? We sure hope so, because it is now official. “Fitzmagic” is running it back again in 2020 for another go with the Miami Dolphins. After some speculation about potentially hanging up the cleats, Ryan Fitzpatrick has confirmed that yes, indeed he will be back behind center for the Dolphins in 2020. The decision comes via a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Coming off of his best professional season in nearly two decades, it is hard to blame Fitzpatrick for wanting to take another go with the Dolphins — especially after the team made a conscious decision to bring in several key coaches that have helped to enable Fitzpatrick in years past. Before 2019, Fitzpatrick’s best play came under the watch of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey — who is now serving in the same role in Miami.

How convenient.

The news won’t change a single thing about Miami’s search for a franchise quarterback, except for maybe removing any sense of urgency Miami may feel to force a pick if they’re not enamored with Tua Tagovailoa’s medical reports or the prospect of drafting Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Utah State’s Jordan Love.

With Fitzpatrick officially back for 2020, the Dolphins can take the information as it comes their way and make the best decision possible for the future of the team — no matter what that does for the timetable of finding a franchise quarterback.

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Giants’ new QB coach comes with rave reviews

New York Giants QB coach Jerry Schuplinski arrives in East Rutherford with rave reviews in tow, including from Dan Marino.

When the New York Giants hired Jerry Schuplinski to be Daniel Jones’ new quarterbacks coach, the New York media and fans all reacted the same way.

Who?

Well, as it turns out, Schuplinski has gotten that reaction from just about everyone during his career as a coach and teacher. But those who have been around him will tell you he’s a commanding presence who leaves an indelible impression.

In his last stop, Schuplinski coached the Miami Dolphins quarterbacks under new head coach Brian Flores and gained the respect of everyone  in the building, including Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, a well-traveled 14-year NFL veteran who has seen just about everything there is to see in this league, has nothing but praise for Schuplinski.

“He does a great job of slowing things down and explaining on each play the pre-snap keys, what’s happening post-snap,” Fitzpatrick said, via the New York Post. “We have to process so much information at the line of scrimmage that finding ways to simplify it and little cheats to speed up the way you are thinking about things, he does a nice job of teaching it that way.”

New head coach Joe Judge is emphasizing that his coaches be teachers as well as strategists. It won’t be much of a stretch for Schuplinski, who is a former math teacher. He and Giants’ quarterback Daniel Jones, an economics major at Duke, should get along swimmingly.

:More so than being a football-lifer, he is an educator,” said Fitzpatrick. “For me, as a veteran guy who has had a ton of quarterback coaches, he understands the game really well so we were able to talk about it at a pretty high level. It’s a tough loss for the Dolphins, but I think it’s a great move for New York.”

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Ryan Fitzpatrick 2019 montage has us ready for more Dolphins football

The Dolphins have released a new 2019 Ryan Fitzpatrick montage and it has us ready to run through a brick wall.

They don’t call Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick “Fitzmagic” for nothing. The Dolphins surprised some this past spring with the decision to sign Fitzpatrick — many joked he was the perfect tanking quarterback. But then, something odd happened. After a brief stint on the bench, Fitzpatrick returned to the field and the switch flipped.

It wasn’t a caricature of a swashbuckler anymore — Fitzpatrick was actually playing good football. And not just for a possession here or there, either. No, the argument could be made that Fitzpatrick was the best quarterback in the AFC East for the second half (or final two-thirds) of the 2019 season.

And on the way, a Dolphins team that was supposed to be punchless wrestled away 5 wins and nearly stole two more against Washington and the New York Jets — with Fitzpatrick leading the way. The Dolphins have pieced together some clips of Fitzpatrick’s stellar run this season and we don’t know about you, but it definitely has us fixing for more Miami Dolphins football.

…any chance we can get the gang to suit up next week? Could they possibly play against one of the two Pro Bowl rosters?

Note: That would actually work, considering the AFC continues to snub DeVante Parker — leaving the Dolphins without a single Pro Bowler. But that’s another story. 

Fans that want to see Miami add a quarterback of the future, rest easy. For as fun as he played this season, Fitzpatrick is still 37-years old. He’s not the team’s long-term answer and they know it. So enjoy the highlights and let’s get fired up to hopefully see Fitzpatrick mentoring a young quarterback for the Dolphins again in 2020. If he can get a little of the “Fitzmagic” to rub off, the Dolphins could be in business.

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Jets QB Sam Darnold has surgery on injured left thumb

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold had surgery on his left thumb to repair a ligament.

Just when you thought Sam Darnold’s injury plagued season was over, it turned out he needed to undergo one more procedure.

According to the New York Post’s Brian Costello, Darnold underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a ligament in his left thumb. He Darnold is not expected to miss any time in the offseason.

The initial injury occurred in Week 8 against the Jaguars, but Darnold was able to play through it for the rest of the season. He did have to wear a brace under a glove on his left hand and it did affect his ball handling skills at times. Sometimes on handoffs, Darnold would use two hands rather than one.

Darnold didn’t think he’d need surgery when he met with reporters at the end of the season. Following further testing on the thumb, team doctors determined surgery would be required.

Former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had a similar injury as Darnold in 2015 and only missed nine days, so this is not a serious procedure for Darnold.

For Darnold, his sophomore season was ridiculed by injuries. It started off with mononucleosis that had him out for about a month. Darnold also battled through bruised ribs, a bum ankle, knee issues and the thumb injury. In 13 games, Darnold was able to throw for over 3,000 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

The Jets don’t begin offseason workouts until April, so Darnold has plenty of time to heal and get ready for his third season in the NFL.

Was Dolphins’ Ryan Fitzpatrick the AFC East’s best QB in 2019?

Hear us out…but was Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick the best in the AFC East in 2019?

Now hold on. Let’s go ahead and acknowledge that Tom Brady is the best quarterback in NFL history. His place near the top of every passing record and his championship exploits place little question to his overall greatness, whether Dolphins fans care to admit it or not. But 2019? It wasn’t Tom Brady’s best go-round. And as a matter of fact, the argument could be made that based strictly on the 2019 NFL season, Tom Brady wasn’t the best quarterback in the AFC East?

Who was? A pretty compelling case could be made for Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Hear us out. For the season, Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 3,529 yards and 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Along the way, Fitzpatrick was sacked 40 times (7.4% of his drop backs) behind the NFL’s worst offensive line and added 243 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

Fitzpatrick’s 85.5 passer rating was 2nd best in the division behind Brady’s 88.0 — but all of these numbers are bogged down by Miami’s abysmal start to the season. Through the first four games, Miami stumbled over their own feet as a team, desperately trying to find their footing after trading away Kenny Stills and Laremy Tunsil at the start of the season.

Over the course of the final 13 weeks of the NFL season (12 games for the Dolphins), Ryan Fitzpatrick posted the following stats:

  • 3,226 passing yards (5th in the NFL, 1st in the AFCE)
  • 19 passing touchdowns (12th in the NFL, 1st in the AFCE)
  • 7.17 yards per attempt (14th in the NFL, 1st in the AFCE)
  • 63.1% completion (T14th in the NFL, 1st in the AFCE)

And posted all of these numbers despite being sacked 34 times of that timespan, which was 5th most in the NFL and the most in the AFC East.

Pair the strong play after Miami’s bye week with some of Fitzpatrick’s more advanced stats courtesy of NFL’s Next Gen Stats and you can build a pretty fascinating argument.

Fitzpatrick was the NFL’s 4th most aggressive quarterback in 2019, with 20.9% of his pass attempts going to targets with a defender within 1-yard or less on the play. Brady (15.2%) and Buffalo’s Josh Allen (15.4%) found open targets much easier to come by. The average Ryan Fitzpatrick completion this season was 7.1 “air yards” downfield — the 5th highest average in the league and, you guessed it, tops in the AFC East. Josh Allen’s average air yards per completion was nearly a yard shorter at 6.2 yards downfield and Tom Brady’s was even shorter still at 5.6 — tied with the Jets’ Sam Darnold.

Say what you will about Pro Football Focus, but the company graded Brady out as the best AFC East quarterback with a season grade of 80.3. Fitzpatrick? His grade for the season finished at 76.5 — and that grade comes despite scoring grades of 64.2 and 49.6 in his first two starts of the year against Baltimore and New England.

New York’s Sam Darnold and Buffalo’s Josh Allen have scores that are lingering in the mid-60s.

And remember, Fitzpatrick is doing more with less in Miami. Each of the Jets, Bills and Patriots entered the season with the expectation to compete. The Dolphins? They’d stripped their roster down to the studs in preparations for a total rebuild.

One last stat to ponder over for Fitzpatrick’s 2019 resume: The Miami Dolphins scored 280 points over the final 12 games of the 2019 season, second most in the AFC.

New England: 298 points
Miami: 280 points
New York Jets: 243 points
Buffalo: 238 points

We’re not saying Ryan Fitzpatrick is a better overall quarterback than Tom Brady. But we’d definitely ponder a “yes” if you asked us if he had the best 2019 season of each of the AFC East quarterbacks.

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Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick named NFL Air Player of the Week

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been named the NFL’s Air Player of the Week for Week 17.

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s long pursuit of the NFL Air Player of the Week award is finally over. Fitzpatrick was named the NFL’s winner of the weekly recognition for his performance in Week 17 against the New England Patriots — the first time he’s won this season despite being nominated on several other occasions. Most recently, Fitzpatrick was nominated in Week 16 and had the most dominant stat sheet of the three finalists, but the award was given to rookie quarterback Daniel Jones for his performance against the Washington Redskins again.

There was no one left to swipe away to honors of Fitzpatrick’s stellar showing against the New England Patriots, however — and Fitzpatrick has secured the honor.

It has been a good week overall for Ryan Fitzpatrick — the Dolphins upset New England courtesy of Fitzpatrick’s play and in the following days saw Miami bring in his former offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, to serve in the same role for Miami going forward. With Fitzpatrick under contract for 2020, the writing appears to be on the wall that Fitzpatrick is the team’s short-term answer at the quarterback position.

And given how he played throughout the final 10 games of the 2019 season, who can blame the Dolphins? Fitzpatrick was terrific. He quarterbacked Miami to 5 wins over the final 9 games and passed for 2,622 yards throughout that same timeframe — an average of 291.3 yards per game — to go along with a 15:6 touchdown/interception ratio.

Extrapolating Fitzpatrick’s stats over a full 16 game season? 4,661 passing yards, 27 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. That level of play is unquestionably the best quarterback production the Dolphins have seen since Dan Marino.

The NFL’s Air Player of the Week for Week 17 and Miami’s short-term franchise quarterback, no backed by his old offensive coordinator. Not a bad week at all for “Fitzmagic”.

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Chiefs fans petition to honor Ryan Fitzpatrick for beating Patriots

A petition to having Ryan Fitzpatrick bang the pre-game drums at Arrowhead Stadium is picking up steam.

When the Miami Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots in Week 17 of the 2019 NFL season, the win served as a monumental swing in the Dolphins’ rebuild — a staple win over a playoff team to close a trying season. But the ramifications of the Dolphins win expanded far beyond South Florida. All the way to Kansas City, as a matter of fact.

Miami dealing the Patriots a home loss in Week 17 cost the Patriots a 1st-round bye in the 2020 AFC Playoffs, pushing Kansas City ahead courtesy of the Chiefs’ head to head win over New England this season. The buildup was spectacular — Chiefs fans were chanting “Let’s Go Dolphins” in Arrowhead as they monitored the scoreboard in real time as the Chiefs played the Chargers. And now that the deed is done, Kansas City fans are petitioning to thank the hero of Miami’s dramatic upset.

A petition has been started to get Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to serve as an honoree at a Kansas City Chiefs game for his part in aiding the Chiefs’ 1st-round bye this postseason. And that petition is nearing 35,000 signatures.

The petition reads: “Let’s show our gratitude with the greatest honor to be given at Arrowhead Stadium. Let the man bang the drum!”

Chiefs fans have also taken the initiative to thank Fitzpatrick for his hand in Miami’s upset by making donations to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

If you’d like to see Fitzpatrick honored, throw a signature on the petition here — it can’t hurt, right? If the movement gains enough traction, perhaps this could get done in time for Fitzpatrick to appear at the Chiefs’ first playoff game in the AFC Divisional Round. With a New England Patriots win over the Tennessee Titans this weekend, Fitzpatrick would be banging the drum to lead Chiefs fans cheering against the same team Fitzpatrick knocked off just two weeks earlier.

Yep, we’re officially signing.

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Soundbites from the past provide clues on Dolphins new OC Chan Gailey

Soundbites from Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s past time with Chan Gailey provide some clues as to what Miami can expect.

 

The Miami Dolphins’ unexpected offensive coordinator change has left fans scrambling to try to decipher what this means for the Dolphins’ offense in 2020. How will the personnel change? What new traits and qualities need to be accounted for in free agents and the draft? Will there be prominent tendencies in how the Dolphins’ offense operates?

These are all great questions — and don’t come with timely answers as Miami shifts into offseason mode and faces a 10-week lull before the opening of free agency in March. For any clues as to what the hiring means for Miami, fans must look into the past. And, fortunately for those eager for clues, new Dolphins OC Chan Gailey has worked with Miami’s quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, before. Several times as a matter of fact.

So what do past soundbites offer in the way of perspective? Here’s what Ryan Fitzpatrick had to say about Chan Gailey’s offense back in 2015, when the two were reunited in New York with the Jets.

“I was excited to reunite with Chan and this is an offense I’ve had a lot of history in and really enjoyed playing in it,” said Fitzpatrick.

“It’s a fun offense to be in. He does a great job of highlighting his talent. We’ve got some talented receivers here, we’ve got some talented guys in the backfield…he does a great job of utilizing team strengths and putting them in the best possible situation to win. And that sounds funny because you would think everybody does that but he’s got a knack for finding way to get your players the ball.”

That’s great news for the likes of DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki, for starters. The duo of young pass catchers teamed up to combine for 1,772 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on the season for Miami — and with Gailey’s high utilization of spread sets, Gesicki figures to continue to benefit from this move. The expectation should be that Gesicki spends even less time attached to the line of scrimmage and even more time where he won in college — flexed into the slot.

As far as the rest of the personnel? Well, we’re going to need more time to comb through the clues and find out what missing pieces the Dolphins are looking to address this offseason.