National Post (National Edition)
Fitzpatrick benching does not compute
It's hard not to feel sorry for Ryan Fitzpatrick, by all accounts a very likable 37-year old quarterback with the Miami Dolphins. Surprisingly, he had the Fish at 3-3, second in the AFC East. He's had more successes (10 touchdown passes) than failures (seven interceptions), and in terms of passing yardage, he's 12th in the NFL — just five behind Tom Brady and 33 ahead of leading MVP candidate Russell Wilson, who's played one less game.
Yes, things were going swimmingly for the big-bearded Fish until Tuesday, two days after a 24-0 shellacking of the New York Jets, when he was informed by head coach Brian Flores that he was being replaced as the starter by Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth choice of the 2020 NFL draft.
“I was shocked by it,” Fitzpatrick told the media on a zoom call Wednesday. “It was a hard thing for me to hear. Digesting the news, my heart just hurt all day.
“It was heartbreaking for me.”
It was a difficult decision for Flores and his staff to make, too. But they've seen Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert — the first and sixth pick — play well for the Bengals and Chargers. And Tagovailoa was viewed as the most pro-ready QB in the draft. The only question was how his surgically repaired hip would respond. But that's no longer a question.
“We feel through practice and meetings and walkthroughs that he's ready,” said Flores. “Fitz has done a great job. He's been productive. His leadership's been great. It's not an easy decision for me or us as an organization. But we felt like for the team now and moving forward, this is the move we need to make.”
Now there's a whole lot of pressure on the 22-yearold Tagovailoa, whose only NFL-game experience is the two complete passes he made in a mop-up role Sunday. The Dolphins, who have qualified for the post-season just twice since 2001, are just one game behind the division-leading Buffalo Bills. How are the players going to react to their beloved leader being fired, while really doing no wrong?
Tagovailoa was naturally excited about being handed the starter's job, but also admitted some remorse.
“It kind of hurts me in a way, to see Fitz hurt,” he said. “I'm just very, very lucky to have someone like Fitz in my corner.
“I hate to say it, but it's like a father and son (relationship).”
That should make Fitzpatrick feel better.
OFF THE TEE: It looks like the Cleveland Browns still have a long way to go before they're considered a contender in the AFC North. Speaking with the media for the first time since Sunday's thrashing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters that “4-2 has never felt so much like 0-6 before,” adding: “But that's because we have very high expectations of ourselves.”
As a franchise, the Browns are quite familiar with 0-6, and worse. They haven't had a winning season in 13 years. This season, seemingly stocked with talent under rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns have defeated Cincinnati (35-30), Washington (3420), Dallas (49-38) and Indianapolis (32-23). But their losses by a combined scored of 76-13 to divisional rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
“I'm pissed, and at this point I don't really care to keep trying to make myself look like a good guy to the world and all that s--t,” said Odell Beckham Jr., who was seen pacing the sidelines sans shoes after getting pulled in Sunday's 38-7 loss to the Steelers. “Tired of losing. Tired of losing to good teams.”
Unless there's a huge disparity between two teams, it's difficult for one to sweep a season series with the other. The Bengals (1-4-1) aren't horrible. Other than a 27-3 blowout by the Ravens, their other three losses have been a combined 11 points. Wonder what 4-3 will feel like to Mayfield should the Browns fail to get the job done Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.
OFF THE RECORD: The Raiders placed OT Trent Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday — and then sent the entire O-line home because of its contact with him. The NFL is prepared to move the Super Bowl back four weeks into March, if required by COVID-forced cancellations during the season, Packers CEO Mark Murphy told Sports Business Daily.
Elsewhere, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy spent two days answering questions about a report from the NFL Network's Jane Slater that two players on his rapidly sinking 2-4 team have told her his staff is “totally unprepared” and “just aren't good at their jobs.”
As you'd expect, McCarthy is disappointed those sentiments weren't dealt with internally, that the players didn't “handle things as men” as he stressed at his first meeting with the team.
“The anonymous is something we don't want to recognize,” McCarthy said.
In case you were wondering, the distinction of having the shortest coaching tenure in Cowboys history belongs to Chan Galley (1998-99), who was fired after losing the wild-card game two years in a row.