How much progress has been made in contract talks between Jets executives and Fitzpatrick?
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“One of the best things with Chan and his system and really just the offense in general is that there’s not an ego”, Fitzpatrick said. “I want to win a championship”. “We understand that, and we’re just going to continue to get better as a team and just take it one game at a time”. Fitzpatrick was masterful again on Sun., throwing for 263 yards & three more touchdowns to raise his season total to 25.
“That’s what you play for”, Bowles added, referring to the postseason.
“The way described him was exactly what I was looking for”, Bowles said. But now that he’s thrown for 930 yards and 9 touchdowns against the 31st, 25th, and 21st-ranked passing defenses over the last three games, the two sides think it’s wise to arrange a longer-term marriage?
Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Bilal Powell each caught TD passes for the Jets (8-5), who stayed on track in the AFC playoff race with their first three-game winning streak since 2011.
The Jets’ final three-game stretch begins Saturday night in Dallas, a struggling non-conference opponent in prime time.
“I think at the end of the year, maybe that’s stuff that you look at or think about it”, Fitzpatrick said.
And, consider this: Fitzpatrick has been playing the last six games with a left thumb injury that required surgery a few weeks ago and has had him in a brace. Fitzpatrick had a handful of misfires and a couple of passes tipped at the line of scrimmage, but it was an otherwise masterful example of a taking advantage of opportunities provided by a substandard foe.
Even when Bowles proclaimed him the starter after IK Enemkpali broke Geno Smith’s jaw in an embarrassing locker-room fight early in training camp, Fitzpatrick didn’t get ahead of himself.
“He’s very intelligent. He can make you feel at home and he’s a amusing guy”, Bowles told the Post. “He just has that persona and that personality around the team that everybody gravitates toward”. Decker has 66 receptions for 875 yards and nine TDs. Marshall has 89 catches, five shy of breaking Al Toon’s team record, for 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns. As standout receiver Brandon Marshall said: “Having a quarterback that can bring guys together and can really put guys in positions to be successful and do his job, it helps out everyone in the whole building”.
Despite all that, Marshall joked that he was giving Fitzpatrick a copy of Keyshawn Johnson’s book, “Just Give Me The Damn Ball!”
Actually, Marshall said the reason he had the book was to dispel the image of the diva wide receiver, and he and several other receivers had planned to take an Instagram photo with each one holding up a copy of the book.
Fitzpatrick was viewed as a veteran who could take over for the Jets should Smith prove ineffective. So he’s given us what we need in our offense right now.
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And, Fitzpatrick has appeared right at home. Bowles and Gailey also deserve credit for learning from past mistakes and keeping the foot on the gas late in the first half up 20-0. “We constantly work at it, still working at it. I wouldn’t say it’s been smooth, but it’s been good that they grew together and that they work together and continue to grow together”.
