D looks to get back on track Veteran QB Fitzpatrick a master of FitzMagic
All Matt Burke could do was throw his Microsoft Surface tablet to the ground in disgust.
In the midst of giving up six touchdowns to the Houston Texans a week and a half ago, the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator grew frustrated as his defense surrendered big plays in a second straight loss in the span of five days.
The Dolphins (4-4), teetering on the edge of disappointment while still in the midst of the AFC playoff discussion midway through the season, hope to get back on track in Sunday’s Week 9 game against the New York Jets at 1 p.m. in Hard Rock Stadium.
First, the Dolphins need to avoid giving up big plays that have resulted in costly points for opposing teams the last two games.
“Obviously, I was frustrated. I was frustrated. Very frustrated,” Burke said this past week.
“We were just cutting guys loose. [Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson] had five touchdown passes and four of them were to uncovered players. It’s not like they were contested catches or something got schemed up. We were just not even covering guys and dropping guys loose and getting out of things. So as that just kept building, it was a level of frustration.
“Obviously I didn’t realize I was going to get captured [on camera]. … Unfortunately that was the closest thing I had in my hands and I took it out on an inanimate object.”
During their Thursday night tilt in Week 8 with the Texans, the Dolphins gave up three touchdowns on drives that lasted only two plays.
Two other Texans touchdown drives lasted six plays each.
The Dolphins, who used interceptions and 14 11 turnovers overall to keep points off the board earlier this season, have given up 31 and 42 points in their last two games without forcing a turnover.
They have also allowed more than 400 yards of total offense in five of eight games this season with a 2-3 record in those instances.
The most troubling statistic may be Miami’s thirddown defense, which ranks 29th among 32 NFL teams. They are allowing opposing teams to convert on 46.3 percent of thirddown plays to continue drives and stay on the field.
“When you give up the yards you give up and the points you’ve been giving up, that’s systemic, and there’s issues at all levels that have to be addressed,” Burke said.
The Dolphins have not been getting ideal pressure on the quarterback by their defensive line, evidenced by just 11 sacks this season: with one each from defensive ends Cameron Wake and Robert Quinn.
Rookie linebacker Jerome Baker had two sacks against Cincinnati in Week 5.
Defensive end William Hayes and defensive tackle Vincent Taylor each have two sacks, but they suffered season-ending injuries. Former defensive tackle Jordan Phillips had a sack before being waived and signing with Buffalo.
“The first job is to do your job,” Wake said.
“The second job is to stop the run. Then if you do that, I think that creates pass-rush opportunities and then bunches will come.”
Linebacker Kiko Alonso has played like a potential All-Pro player during the first half of the season, but Baker and fellow first-year starting linebacker Raekwon McMillian have not been stout against the run.
And while the Dolphins secondary has been able to get interceptions this season, it was beaten badly by the Texans.
A rebound performance against the Jets (3-5), who have struggled at times behind rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, could be the right recipe for the Dolphins defense to get back on track.
“We’ve got to be better. There’s no time to hit the panic button right now,” safety Reshad Jones said.
“We’ve got a lot of football left ahead of us. We’ve just got to come out to practice and continue to work and get it done on the practice field, and continue to put the work in.”
TAMPA — Ryan Fitzpatrick says it’s almost impossible for him not to turn into the Magic Man.
The Tampa Bay quarterback claims he has stopped listening to his better angel and has given into the devil perched on his other shoulder pad.
As the years have passed, FitzMagic has become more than an illusion. It’s the result of experience and experimentation, instinct and intuition. The formula for the potion has been perfected over 14 seasons. But never has it worked better than right now.
“I said this and maybe you guys will believe me now, but I’m better right now than I’ve been at any point in my career,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s no doubt about that. I’ve never been fast, but I can move well enough to do what I need to do. I feel great throwing the ball. Mentally, I’m sharper than I’ve ever been.”
That’s why the Bucs are counting on Fitzpatrick’s sleight of hand to lead them to a win Sunday at Carolina.
The Harvard alum earned the re-start by bringing the Bucs back from the brink last Sunday at Cincinnati after Jameis Winston was benched in the second half.
Like any good magician, he doesn’t share secrets.
But Fitzpatrick offered some clues as to how he keeps tricking defenses.
Play like the devil
Fitzpatrick has played for seven teams in 14 years. All those experiences have taught him to trust his instincts. Because he can diagnose almost any defense, he is quick to change a play to something he feels more comfortable doing. 11-3 (6-71 vs. spread) 77-42-2 (53-61-7 vs. spread)
The Bills fought gamely for three quarters against the Patriots, but they’ll have a tough time moving the ball against the Bears. The Bears are creative enough offensively to put this out of reach pretty early.
“One thing that I’ve learned about myself is I have to trust what I see,” Fitzpatrick said. “And that maybe sounds silly, but there’s things that I feel or see during a game that, you know, I used to explain it as I have an angel on one shoulder that’s telling me to run the play and the devil on the other shoulder that’s telling me really what I should do. And you know what? It’s a battle every game.
“I know myself so well. So I know if I’m not confident in the play, it’s not going to be a good play.“
Take Fitzpatrick’s comeback against the Bengals. It doesn’t happen without a 72-yard touchdown strike to receiver Mike Evans, who used a double move to beat his defender.
“That was all Fitz,” coach Dirk Koetter said. “We had a play going to the left, Fitz saw what they were in, switched it to something going to the right and a double move. That’s an impressive play. He recognizes stuff out of his past that are maybe unscouted looks and maybe stuff we didn’t work on but that’s just experience.”
Bucs guard Ali Marpet describes it another way.
“He’ll make stuff up on the fly,” Marpet said.
Be an opportunist
Fitzpatrick never met a wobbly starting quarterback he couldn’t topple: Trent Edwards, Jake Locker, Case Keenum, Geno Smith.
Until 2017, he had started at least eight games for nine consecutive seasons. The reason is because he can play.
Fitzpatrick has been productive nearly every stop he has made in the NFL. Mostly, he’s played on bad teams — the Rams (2005-06), Bengals (’07-’08), Bills (’09-’12), Titans (’13) and Texans (’14). Fitzpatrick’s best season came with the 2015 Jets when he went 10-6 but missed the playoffs. He went 3-8 for the Jets the next season.
But with the Bucs, Fitzpatrick has played pretty well. He went 2-1 last season as a starter, beating the Jets and the Dolphins. This season, with Winston serving a three-game suspension, he upset the Saints 48-40 and beat the Eagles 27-21. His third straight 400-yard passing game in a 30-27 loss to the Steelers set an NFL record.
Fitzpatrick told his dad he would either be the league MVP or head back to the bench when Winston returned.
“I put the team in great positions to win those games and in doing so and playing well, I just enjoyed it,” Fitzpatrick said. “I got that feeling, I got that spark back, that feeling, whatever it was.”
And when Winston was named the starter after a crushing loss at Chicago, Fitzpatrick was disappointed but not disillusioned.
“I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t like it. I didn’t have to like it,” he said. “But I also was going to slide back into that role. I understand it.
“This league is all about opportunities and taking advantage of them and I think that’s something I’ve always been able to do wherever I’ve been in my career and that’s why I’m still playing.”
When Fitzpatrick came in last Sunday down 18 points, the first thing he did was tell a joke to lighten the mood in the huddle.
“That’s sacred ground in there. I don’t really like to divulge what happens in the huddle,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t even remember what it was. It’s not like it was a knock-knock joke.”