[h=1]Jets concerns growing over Ryan Fitzpatrick's inability to throw deep pass[/h]
Ryan Fitzpatrick spent his training camp shrugging off criticism over his arm strength and lack of ability to throw deep. He was unfazed about the frequent knocks against him and said he had heard it all before.
But three weeks into this Jets season —which has started relatively well for Gang Green — concern has been mounting about the veteran quarterback’s limitations in throwing the ball downfield.
In last week’s loss to the Eagles, Fitzpatrick went 0-for-8 with an interception in passes that traveled 20 or more yards in the air, according to ProFootballFocus.com. For the season, he has completed just three of 20 attempts on passes of at least 20 yards in the air.
MEHTA: JETS STILL BELONG IN PLAYOFF CONVERSATION
By comparison, there are plenty of other questionable quarterbacks with higher completion percentages on passes of 20 yards and beyond such as: Tyrod Taylor (40%), Ryan Tannehill (39%) Jameis Winston (46%) and Blake Bortles (33%), all according to ProFootballFocus.com.
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, now an analyst for NFL Network, said demonstrating an ability to throw deep is important for the Jets.
“You have to be able to take the top off the defense,” Billick said in a phone interview. “It’s not enough (just to throw it deep). At some point you have to connect deep.”
Arm strength, however, is not necessarily the issue, the former coach thought.
“Obviously, when you look at Ryan Fitzpatrick’s total work, he’s never really been with an explosive team,” he said. “Deep balls are not a function of arm strength, it’s a matter of touch and timing. So it’s kind of hard to put a finger on why they haven’t been more explosive.”
Of course, the numbers could be worse: Sam Bradford has yet to complete a pass traveling at least 20 yards in the air this season — though he’s only attempted seven, per ProFootballFocus.com. That might not be much of a surprise to Jets fans, because while the Eagles won on Sunday, Bradford did not look good.
The problem for the Jets against Philadelphia was that, once they fell behind, they needed to rely too much on Fitzpatrick.
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He ended up attempting 58 passes, which, even by the quarterback’s own admission, was too many.
“For Ryan Fitzpatrick, in my opinion you want to keep it to a 30-35 throw game,” Billick said. “You get up (higher) you’re going to get all of Ryan Fitzpatrick, and that means the good and bad.”
Often when fans imagine a successful Jets season, they picture something in the vein of the 2000 Ravens team that Billick coached. With Trent Dilfer as their quarterback, that team won the Super Bowl.
“Anytime a team plays good defense and is marginal at quarterback, that comparison is made,” Billick said. “Which is probably not fair because we’re not talking about good defense, we’re talking about all-time great defense.”
He also pointed out that the league didn’t have quite as many star quarterbacks at that time, and that he didn’t have to go through teams that had QBs the caliber of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Ryan Fitzpatrick spent his training camp shrugging off criticism over his arm strength and lack of ability to throw deep. He was unfazed about the frequent knocks against him and said he had heard it all before.
But three weeks into this Jets season —which has started relatively well for Gang Green — concern has been mounting about the veteran quarterback’s limitations in throwing the ball downfield.
In last week’s loss to the Eagles, Fitzpatrick went 0-for-8 with an interception in passes that traveled 20 or more yards in the air, according to ProFootballFocus.com. For the season, he has completed just three of 20 attempts on passes of at least 20 yards in the air.
MEHTA: JETS STILL BELONG IN PLAYOFF CONVERSATION
By comparison, there are plenty of other questionable quarterbacks with higher completion percentages on passes of 20 yards and beyond such as: Tyrod Taylor (40%), Ryan Tannehill (39%) Jameis Winston (46%) and Blake Bortles (33%), all according to ProFootballFocus.com.
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick, now an analyst for NFL Network, said demonstrating an ability to throw deep is important for the Jets.
“You have to be able to take the top off the defense,” Billick said in a phone interview. “It’s not enough (just to throw it deep). At some point you have to connect deep.”
Arm strength, however, is not necessarily the issue, the former coach thought.
“Obviously, when you look at Ryan Fitzpatrick’s total work, he’s never really been with an explosive team,” he said. “Deep balls are not a function of arm strength, it’s a matter of touch and timing. So it’s kind of hard to put a finger on why they haven’t been more explosive.”
Of course, the numbers could be worse: Sam Bradford has yet to complete a pass traveling at least 20 yards in the air this season — though he’s only attempted seven, per ProFootballFocus.com. That might not be much of a surprise to Jets fans, because while the Eagles won on Sunday, Bradford did not look good.
The problem for the Jets against Philadelphia was that, once they fell behind, they needed to rely too much on Fitzpatrick.
FOLLOW THE DAILY NEWS SPORTS ON FACEBOOK. "LIKE" US HERE.
He ended up attempting 58 passes, which, even by the quarterback’s own admission, was too many.
“For Ryan Fitzpatrick, in my opinion you want to keep it to a 30-35 throw game,” Billick said. “You get up (higher) you’re going to get all of Ryan Fitzpatrick, and that means the good and bad.”
Often when fans imagine a successful Jets season, they picture something in the vein of the 2000 Ravens team that Billick coached. With Trent Dilfer as their quarterback, that team won the Super Bowl.
“Anytime a team plays good defense and is marginal at quarterback, that comparison is made,” Billick said. “Which is probably not fair because we’re not talking about good defense, we’re talking about all-time great defense.”
He also pointed out that the league didn’t have quite as many star quarterbacks at that time, and that he didn’t have to go through teams that had QBs the caliber of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
