TODD TO FITZ: STAY ‘PISSED’
QB’s digs don’t offend coach...only his turnovers
Jets coach Todd Bowles didn’t seem to mind that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick called out team management for not believing in the quarterback.
In fact, a day after Fitzpatrick came off the bench to lead the Jets to a 24-16 win over the Ravens, it seemed like Bowles kind of liked his QB’s feistiness — especially since the coach had a zinger ready to fire back at him.
“If pissed off is going to stop the turnovers, then I’m happy, I’m more than happy to have him pissed off the whole time,” Bowles said on Monday.
Brandon Marshall echoed his coach’s sentiment.
“He seems pissed off,” the receiver said of the QB. “If this is the thing that helps us all play better, then I’m for it.”
Fitzpatrick was benched a week ago in favor of Geno Smith after throwing 11 interceptions in six games, five of them losses. After Smith suffered an injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, which turned out to be a torn ACL, Fitzpatrick took over.
Afterwards, the veteran quarterback was defiant in his postgame press conference, lashing out at Bowles, owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Maccagnan.
“The biggest thing in this game, in order to last, is to have belief in yourself,” Fitzpatrick said. “Because when the owner stops believing in you and the GM stops believing in you and the coaches stop believing in you, sometimes all you have is yourself. That’s something that I’ve had to deal with before. That’s something I’m dealing with now.”
No matter what Jets brass felt before, it must believe in him now. Bowles announced Monday that with Smith out for the year, Fitzpatrick is the team’s starting quarterback again.
“Fitz is our best option to go and win this week,” Bowles said. The head coach dismissed the possibility that second-year
QB Bryce Petty could start now.
“Bryce has only been in practice for two full weeks since his injury. Bryce has to get his reads and his timing and everything else back down,” Bowles said.
The coach said the team will determine later in the week if Petty or Christian Hackenberg will be the backup in Cleveland on Sunday. He said he will continue to have only two quarterbacks active this week.
Bowles had plenty more to say about Fitzpatrick’s postgame comments.
“This is a show-me game. (It’s) nothing about belief or non-belief,” Bowles said. “People get assigned to do jobs and they do ’em. If I don’t do my job or the GM doesn’t do his job or the quarterback doesn’t do his job or the team doesn’t do their job, eventually they’ll replace us all. It’s a show-me game.”
Bowles said he didn’t think Fitzpatrick’s criticism of team officials took away from the Jets’ victory.
“Whatever fuels the fire for a person to play and be competitive, that’s what it is,” Bowles said. “I know Fitz and I know what he means and I have no problem with him venting his frustrations. Just use it as a positive. If that’s going to cause us to win more ballgames, (playing) pissed off, so be it.
“As a player I was pissed off at my coaches sometimes. That’s just part of being an athlete,”
Fitzpatrick has been criticized for being selfish for his comments, but Marshall cautioned that players shouldn’t be attacked for expressing how they feel.
“Sometimes...we crush people when we show emotion,” Marshall said. “To me, the thing that makes our game special is how important a game is and how much emotion goes into it. Football isn’t about always (being) so politically correct, you know?”