Ever hear of the saying, “the quarterback gets too much credit when a team does well, and too much blame when things go wrong”? Well what’s going on with Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jet fan base is that the quarterback is getting no credit for the success of the offense, and ALL of the blame for the team not making the playoffs. The amount of times I’ve heard the phrase, “anyone can quarterback in this Jets offense” is beyond nauseating, and I’m hear to kill that narrative, bury it, and hope it never comes up again.
Since when was the 2015 New York Jet offense the reincarnation of the “greatest show on turf”? I’ll tell you when. Never, because outside of the two stud receivers, the offense wasn’t that good! The Jets operated an entire season with an offensive line that graded out as one of the worst in all of football according to Pro Football Focus. They played an entire season with the WORST core of tight ends this league has ever seen. They couldn’t even use their tight ends they were so bad. Jeff Cumberland, Zach Sudfeld, and Kellen Davis should never see snaps in this league again unless the Cleveland Browns have any bright ideas. Chris Ivory was good… when he was on the field. The guy just could not stay healthy and laid numerous eggs throughout the season. The same could be said for Bilal Powell who struggled with an ankle injury for a good portion of the year.
What does that leave you with? The last time I checked, a productive offense in this league needs more than just two really good receivers to succeed. What Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to do for the 2015 New York Jets was just what the doctor ordered. Was he great? Of course not. But did he keep the Jets competitive up until the last week of the season? He sure as hell did. I can’t even count the amount of times the pocket collapsed on Fitzpatrick during the season, and he either A.) avoided the rush for a 10-15 yard scramble or B.) stayed in their to get pummeled but not before completing a pass. You know who has ZERO pocket awareness and can do neither of those things that Fitz did? Geno Smith. So cross him off the list of “anyone can quarterback this Jets offense.” Marshall/Decker are an awesome tandem, but all three of these guys (Fitzpatrick, Marshall, Decker) deserve an equal amount of credit and those two wide receivers would be the first ones to tell you that. The Jets had an explosive offense because of Ryan Fitzpatrick and those two wide receivers, not in spite of Ryan Fitzpatrick and because of Marshall and Decker. There are certain things that Ryan Fitzpatrick can do that Geno can not: lead a football team, have pocket presence, know when you can and can not take a sack, never miss team meetings, never get in a fist fight with a teammate, and those are just a few that come to mind. And I’m not trying to pick on Geno Smith here but he is the perfect example because as it stands right now on March 29th, 2016, there are no better alternatives for the Jets at quarterback.
The two sides need one another. They just need to settle their differences on a contract, and then the team can go back to being competitive and having a real chance at the playoffs.