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New Jersey – A couple of items on the menu today including a key to Fitz being successful and Mike Maccagnan’s challenge at a certain position right now . . .
I was at CBS Sports Media Day today.
They do this every year.
They bring all their NFL broadcasters to New York and make them available to the media to talk about the upcoming season.
I was talking to former St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher and I asked him for his thoughts on Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“I picked him off,” Fletcher said laughing.
And this brings up an important point.
This is a complaint you heard a great deal in Buffalo – the guy threw too many head-scratching picks.
One of the quarterbacks told me today Fitzpatrick tried to fit the ball into tight spots he should avoid.
So it will be interesting to see if Fitzpatrick has learned from his past, and is in a better place now as far as avoiding unnecessary picks.
Of course you are going to throw picks. The opposing defense gets paid also. The issue here is avoiding ridiculous picks where he’s trying to thread the needle and he’s playing with fire.
I was talking to Steve Beuerlein today, and he made a very good point about Fitzpatrick generally not having a great supporting cast around him over the years.
It was a salient perspective.
That is why I think this can work.
With a Jets’ defensive which should be pretty darn good, along with an offense that could have an excellent offensive line and running game, “Fitz” might have the best supporting cast of his career, and could be in an ideal position to manage the game, and play within himself. As Beuerlein said today, “he’s not a guy who can put a team on his back.”
So with a strong supporting cast, and a tremendous comfort level in Chan Gailey’s offense, Fitzpatrick could be just what the Jets need this year.
As long as he avoids ill-advised picks . . .
So much was made of the IK Enemkpali punching Geno Smith, and rightfully so, but what got lost in the weeds was the impact of losing the linebacker.
I’m not condoning anything he did, and I completely understand the Jets cutting him, but from a football standpoint, they could definitely use him now.
As I’m writing this, they Jets GM Mike “Mr. Coffee” Maccagnan (he drinks 10-12 lattes a day) signed outside linebacker Bryan Johnson. He’s was with the Bills last year.
Calvin Pace and Lorenzo Mauldin are both nursing injuries.
If IK was still with the Jets, he might be starting for Pace right now.
IK was a player on the rise in Jetsville.
I remember when the Geno-IK story broke a local radio host said, “The Jets starting quarterback just got his jaw broken by a guy who wasn’t going to make the team.”
Not true.
He was going to make the team.
He was in the plans.
They could use him now.
August 25, 2015
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