In the 1988 Movie Rain Man, Tom Cruise’s character listens to a man reading him his father’s will. His millionaire dad leaves him rose bushes. Cruise loses it and says, “I got the rose bushes. I definitely got the rose bushes. Those are rose bushes!” You see, rose bushes are nice, but he wanted more. This is exactly how I feel about the Jets signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a 1-year contract worth $12 million.
Fitz is coming off the best season of his career. The 34-year-old journeyman quarterback threw for 3,905 yards, 31 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. But, when the Jets needed him most in game 16 against the Buffalo Bills, he was 16-37 and threw 3 interceptions. The recurring thought for Jets fans all offseason was, “We have to sign Fitz if we want to win.” Well, Gang Green, be careful what you wish for.
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Does Fitz make the Jets better? Maybe, in the short-term, but he is not the franchise quarterback of the future. Fans have to ask themselves, if the former Harvard QB is such a good player, why didn’t other teams sign him? When I look around the NFL, there are only 3 teams where Ryan Fitzpatrick would be the undisputed starter: The Cleveland Browns, The LA Rams and the Denver Broncos. He wouldn’t start for the other 29 teams.
General Manger Mike Maccagnan played his “poker hand” perfectly. Fitz wanted a 3-year deal worth anywhere from $36-$45 million. But “Big Mac,” as he is called, waited and waited and didn’t budge from his conviction or his beliefs. He didn’t sacrifice the team going forward by signing Fitz to a long-term deal.
This is a win-win for both parties. The Jets get a quarterback who will battle Geno Smith for the starting job, and now they have another veteran presence who can lead in the locker room. There is now some serious competition in training camp to see who will lead the team out onto the field every Sunday, and that always brings out the best in athletes.
I fully expect both QB’s to get a ton of reps during training camp. I am anxious to see how Smith will do with two great WR’s, plus Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and RB Matt Forte. I never look at situations like this as a quarterback controversy. I look at it as a quarterback competition.
As a lifelong Jets fan, I am rooting for Smith to win this battle. With Geno starting, we have a 25-year-old quarterback who can be under center for the next 5-7 years. But, I have to give the edge to Ryan Fitzpatrick. My guess is he will be the starter on opening day. The Jets will likely be good, but Fitz will not lead them to their first Super Bowl since 1969. Remember Jets fans: We got the rose bushes.
For more from Monte Perez, follow The Sports Whisperer on Twitter @Montetjwitter11, and listen to the Monte Cristo Sports Thing on WRNJ Radio.
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