Ryan Fitzpatrick On Pace For One Of Greatest Passing Seasons in Jets History

[flgreen]

Ryan Fitzpatrick on pace for one of greatest passing seasons in Jets franchise history
The New York QB has the Jets in line for a playoff push this December

Ryan FitzpatrickRyan Fitzpatrick Getty ImagesPhoto:
Ryan Fitzpatrick is enjoying a season that might just end up among the best in Jets history.

The Jets are 6-5, smack dab in the middle of the race for the Wild Card and with an offense that is better than most expected. It is Fitzpatrick who is leading the way, especially for a passing offense that is far improved from the past three seasons.

With five games left in the season, Fitzpatrick is on pace to post numbers that will be among the all-time best in franchise history. His projected numbers for passing yards (3,601), touchdowns (28) and completions (305) will rank among the best ever in a single season for a Jets quarterback:

--> If Fitzpatrick holds serve and throws for 3,601 yards this season as he is projected, he will have the fifth best passing season in franchise history and will pass (pun intended) Richard Todd's season in 1983. He will also be above Mark Sanchez's third year in the league in 2011 and Brett Favre's numbers during his lone season with the Jets in 2008. Fitzpatrick can very easily move into fourth place on the list as Ken O'Brien's 3,690 yards in 1986 are well within reach.

RELATED: NFL Power Rankings: Where do the Jets land this week?

--> 28 touchdowns would put Fitzpatrick second on the all-time list, just one behind Vinny Testaverde's touchdown total from 1998. That would be more touchdowns in a season than the aforementioned Favre as well as Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. That's not bad company.

--> The accurate short to mid-range game of Fitzpatrick has him on pace to finish the year with 305 completions, which would be good enough for fifth all-time. Ahead of him are Sanchez (2011) and Todd (1983), who both had 308 completions in their best seasons with the Jets. Those are numbers that Fitzpatrick can easily reach.

The fact that his numbers after just one season with the Jets would rank among the best in franchise history is either a positive that Fitzpatrick is in a system that maximizes his skillset or shows how truly bad this position has been for this team for so many years. In fact, for the history of the franchise there are only a couple of truly outstanding years by a quarterback.

If he finishes with 28 touchdowns as currently projected, it would be the most he's ever thrown in any one of his 11 NFL seasons. The passing yards would be the second most of his NFL career, behind only 2011 when he threw for 3,832 with the Buffalo Bills. The 305 completions would be the third most that he's thrown.

All in all, not too shabby for 'Fitzmagic.'

But while Fitzpatrick is on pace for a record-breaking season, his numbers could have and should have been higher. A hand injury in October definitely derailed some of his progress and cut short a game against the Oakland Raiders that he started 4-for-5 for 46 yards before the injury. If he had played that game, the projections for the year would almost certainly be better.

And with five games left, the numbers could also be better than projected.

On Sunday, the Jets play at the New York Giants, the league's worst passing defense. In subsequent weeks they face the Titans with the sixth best pass defense and then the Dallas Cowboys, who are seventh best against the pass – both these games will be a challenge for the Jets to get the ball moving down the field, through the air.

But then they close out with the New England Patriots (No. 19) and the Buffalo Bills (No. 22), pass defenses that are in the bottom half of the NFL statistically.

http://www.metro.us/new-york/ryan-f...ets-franchise-history/zsJolb---NWeqWpVy7gXEw/

 

[jetgreen13]

lies!! all lies i tell you!!

 

[jetfan39]

not bad for the so called "worst qb in jet history". i'm glad some of the so called armchair gm's on this board don't run this team

 

[LGM]

lies!! all lies i tell you!!

not bad for the so called "worst qb in jet history". i'm glad some of the so called armchair gm's on this board don't run this team

Toughest, I guess, for the GPPW&FC to take.

Another sincere thank you to IK for saving the Jets' 2015 season
Sent from my LG-H345 using Tapatalk

 

[jetgreen13]

Toughest, I guess, for the GPPW&FC to take.

Another sincere thank you to IK for saving the Jets' 2015 season
Sent from my LG-H345 using Tapatalk

team MVP is a secret ballot right??

i can see colon voting for IK..

LOLz i'm only half kidding!!

 

[Jet Fan RI]

Before the season I said Fitzpatrick reminded me a lot of Jim Plunkett with the Raiders. With these QB stats, I am reminded even more of the similarities. Seems if the Jets don't replicate the Raiders' two SB wins they got with Plunkett, it won't really be Fitz's fault.

 

[maxmet]

to be fair, the rules have changed, the game has changed and the season is longer.....

but still Fitz has done fair Harvard proud.

 

[JohnnyBaseball1]

Fitz is a good QB; his strength is mental and his weakness physical. I think the hardest part of playing QB is mental and a smart player can do a lot, even with physical limitations. I believe that such a player is more likely to have sustained success than a physically gifted player who does not have mastery of the mental side of the game. Obviously, having a player with both skill sets is optimal. Is he good enough to win the Super Bowl? I think so. But he's not the type of QB who instantly elevates a team to contender status.

All that said, I find QB stats to be misleading because a team with a lead plays differently than a team behind, and a team with a bad defense will comparatively be asking the QB to throw more, score more, I think you guys all know what I'm getting at here, such that it makes comparisons very unreliable. And comparing QBs from today to those in the past is even less reliable due to rule changes that strongly favor QBs and WRs.

 

[Golden Rott]

Lets keep this in perspective. I see this column as more of an indictment on the quality of Jets QB play throughout their history than it is a statement about Fitz. Since 2000, there have been 158 seasons where a QB has thrown for 3,600 yards. Only 1 of those by a Jet, Vinny in 2000. Pennington's only 3,600 yard season came in 2008. For the Dolphins. Favre threw for 3,472 for the Jets that season.

Fitz is currently 25th in the league in yards per game at 225. His 58.5% completion rate is 26th in the league. At 6.9 yards per attempt, he is 24th in the league. He has thrown 11 picks, which is 7th highest in the league and his 3.1% interception rate is 4th worst in the league. He is better than anything we have had recently, probably the best that we have had since Chad (Favre had a lousy year for us in 08) but he is still a below average QB.

I don't mean to slam Fitz, but he is what he is. A below average QB who has played well at times. The one place he has excelled consistently this year, in my opinion, has been in the red zone, where he has been great. He is 11th in the league in TD passes and 9th in % of TDs thrown. The biggest improvement in our offense this year has been red zone play and I think some of that is on Gailey, but Fitz needs to be given credit for it. He has not made the mistakes in the red zone that we have become accustomed to seeing over the past several years. We were dead last in the league last year in red zone offense (36% TDs). This year we lead the league with a 73% TD rate in the red zone.

 

[jetgreen13]

Lets keep this in perspective. I see this column as more of an indictment on the quality of Jets QB play throughout their history than it is a statement about Fitz. Since 2000, there have been 158 seasons where a QB has thrown for 3,600 yards. Only 1 of those by a Jet, Vinny in 2000. Pennington's only 3,600 yard season came in 2008. For the Dolphins. Favre threw for 3,472 for the Jets that season.

Fitz is currently 25th in the league in yards per game at 225. His 58.5% completion rate is 26th in the league. At 6.9 yards per attempt, he is 24th in the league. He has thrown 11 picks, which is 7th highest in the league and his 3.1% interception rate is 4th worst in the league. He is better than anything we have had recently, probably the best that we have had since Chad (Favre had a lousy year for us in 08) but he is still a below average QB.

I don't mean to slam Fitz, but he is what he is. A below average QB who has played well at times. The one place he has excelled consistently this year, in my opinion, has been in the red zone, where he has been great. He is 11th in the league in TD passes and 9th in % of TDs thrown. The biggest improvement in our offense this year has been red zone play and I think some of that is on Gailey, but Fitz needs to be given credit for it. He has not made the mistakes in the red zone that we have become accustomed to seeing over the past several years. We were dead last in the league last year in red zone offense (36% TDs). This year we lead the league with a 73% TD rate in the red zone.

fair point about the lack of big time QB play in jets history but honestly isn't that a given?? what jets fan around 30 years old or older isn't aware of that??

also the categories fitzpatrick ranks in the low 20's, how big of a jump is made once you get to say, top 15??

because i can live with 225 a game with a 58% completion rate with 20 TDs..

you mentioned how fitzpatrick has excelled in the red zone but what about his toughness, running ability & leadership??

bottom line, he's been a major improvement both numbers & maturity wise at the QB position for us in quite some time..

 

[mykcuz]

team MVP is a secret ballot right??

i can see colon voting for IK..

LOLz i'm only half kidding!!

The week ik punched geno I posted ik for mvp, he saved our season, or cost us the number 1 pick next year.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[mykcuz]

Lets keep this in perspective. I see this column as more of an indictment on the quality of Jets QB play throughout their history than it is a statement about Fitz. Since 2000, there have been 158 seasons where a QB has thrown for 3,600 yards. Only 1 of those by a Jet, Vinny in 2000. Pennington's only 3,600 yard season came in 2008. For the Dolphins. Favre threw for 3,472 for the Jets that season.

Fitz is currently 25th in the league in yards per game at 225. His 58.5% completion rate is 26th in the league. At 6.9 yards per attempt, he is 24th in the league. He has thrown 11 picks, which is 7th highest in the league and his 3.1% interception rate is 4th worst in the league. He is better than anything we have had recently, probably the best that we have had since Chad (Favre had a lousy year for us in 08) but he is still a below average QB.

I don't mean to slam Fitz, but he is what he is. A below average QB who has played well at times. The one place he has excelled consistently this year, in my opinion, has been in the red zone, where he has been great. He is 11th in the league in TD passes and 9th in % of TDs thrown. The biggest improvement in our offense this year has been red zone play and I think some of that is on Gailey, but Fitz needs to be given credit for it. He has not made the mistakes in the red zone that we have become accustomed to seeing over the past several years. We were dead last in the league last year in red zone offense (36% TDs). This year we lead the league with a 73% TD rate in the red zone.

So then Fitz is a huge improvement over geno, the worst qb in football last year?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Golden Rott]

So then Fitz is a huge improvement over geno, the worst qb in football last year?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Yes, he is better than Geno was last year. Really no debate on that. My only point is that "One of the Greatest Seasons in Jets Passing History" -- as Brian Costello said in his article above (I think it was Costello's article), is still a below average season relative to other QBs in the NFL in 2015.

I don't mean to sound overly negative, he has proven to be a great leader and his performance in the red zone has been brilliant all season. But I have yet to see him lead a game winning drive or put the team on his back and bring them back after falling behind early.

Still, he was the best option we had this past offseason and the best option we have on our roster right now. And every Sunday, I am rooting for him just as much as anyone else. But so far this season, the only things that have really surprised me about his play is the red zone and his toughness.

 

[Golden Rott]

fair point about the lack of big time QB play in jets history but honestly isn't that a given?? what jets fan around 30 years old or older isn't aware of that??

also the categories fitzpatrick ranks in the low 20's, how big of a jump is made once you get to say, top 15??

because i can live with 225 a game with a 58% completion rate with 20 TDs..

you mentioned how fitzpatrick has excelled in the red zone but what about his toughness, running ability & leadership??

bottom line, he's been a major improvement both numbers & maturity wise at the QB position for us in quite some time..

No doubt he has been a major improvement over what we have sent out there in the last several years. And I agree that his toughness and leadership have been positives, especially relative to Geno and Sanchez.

But the 16th ranked QB in the league has a 63.7% completion rate (Carson Palmer). 16th ranked Int rate is 2.4% (Drew Brees). 16th ranked yards per game 255 (Sam Bradford). To me, those are significant statistical jumps from where Fitz is. And for the record, yes, I would rather have Fitz than Bradford.

That would come to 18 more completions with 2 or 3 fewer interceptions over the course of the season.

 

[flgreen]

Is Fitz going to be named to the HOF? LOL Of course not

Is he the best QB available to the Jets right now, and the best QB the Jets have had in almost a decade? Absolutely.

I feel bad for Petty. Even if he comes on the scene next year and is ranked as the 5th best QB in the NFL, Jets fans will be saying he sucks because he isn't #1, and a candidate as the G O A T.

 

[johnnysd]

Is Fitz going to be named to the HOF? LOL Of course not

Is he the best QB available to the Jets right now, and the best QB the Jets have had in almost a decade? Absolutely.

I feel bad for Petty. Even if he comes on the scene next year and is ranked as the 5th best QB in the NFL, Jets fans will be saying he sucks because he isn't #1, and a candidate as the G O A T.

Geno would have had a better season at QB than Fitz. All the elements that make Fitz able to have a better year for him would also apply to Geno and unlike Fitz, Geno can make all the throws. But people just hate Geno so they refuse to acknowledge his improvement last season. But Bowles has selected and stayed with Fitz so it is moot.

But to act like he has actually been playing well is hysterical. He is average at very very best.,

 

[Elias]

Geno would have had a better season at QB than Fitz. All the elements that make Fitz able to have a better year for him would also apply to Geno and unlike Fitz, Geno can make all the throws. But people just hate Geno so they refuse to acknowledge his improvement last season. But Bowles has selected and stayed with Fitz so it is moot.

But to act like he has actually been playing well is hysterical. He is average at very very best.,

Geno has a better arm but lacks the football iq to be successful. Geno takes bad sacks, holds on to the ball long. Both are drive/momentum killers which has plagued his entire career.

 

[jetgreen13]

Geno would have had a better season at QB than Fitz. All the elements that make Fitz able to have a better year for him would also apply to Geno and unlike Fitz, Geno can make all the throws. But people just hate Geno so they refuse to acknowledge his improvement last season. But Bowles has selected and stayed with Fitz so it is moot.

But to act like he has actually been playing well is hysterical. He is average at very very best.,

do you actually believe what you post about fitzpatrick & smith, or are you just goofing around??

 

[LGM]

do you actually believe what you post about fitzpatrick & smith, or are you just goofing around??

He cant possibly be serious

Probably just a troll like the Tebow fans who infested JI and every other Jet forum when their Messiah was a Jet

It's a good comparison actually.because Tebow, Bollinger and the BUST from WVU argably comprise the Mt Rushmore of really awful QBs in NYJ franchise history




Sent from my LG-H345 using Tapatalk

 

[johnnysd]

do you actually believe what you post about fitzpatrick & smith, or are you just goofing around??

I think QBs are not difference makers because of stats, but because of their ability to perform when it matters. We are like 29th in fourth quarter QB rating, Fitz has zero 4th quarter and GW drives and has consistently come up small when it matters. In the two games previous to the Miami game, Fitz throw really bad picks to end any comeback chance. And he has only beat a team with a winning record once since 2011. As bad as Geno was his first couple years, he has almost as many comeback wins in his career as Fitz (7 to 9). Fitz can win exactly one type of game, which is a game where we have a lead and maintain it. People can continue with this Fitzmagic BS but he is just not a good QB. He is a statistic compiler checkdown artist that consistently comes up small when it matters.