FitzMagic Era Ends in New York

Published on 12-Feb-2017 by CJ

Football - NFL    NFL Daily Review

Share this article


FitzMagic Era Ends in New York

Now is the winter of our discontent, football fans.

The Super Bowl and its damn pretentious Roman numerals will have to hold us over until the dog days of August.

However, this doesn’t mean football is finished for the year.

Now begins the off-season, a pivotal time for all 32 teams to restock or rebuild.

In the case of the New York Jets, it’s the latter.

The 2016 Jets were quite possibly the NFL's biggest disappointment last season. A team that won 10 games in 2015 -- one short of a post-season berth -- saw itself fall to 5-11 in 2016.

The man who was the face of the Jets fall from grace: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

For the 2015 Jets, dude was FitzMagic, getting his starting call after OG Geno Smith was KO’d by a teammate. With the Jets already dubious of his abilities, Smith as good as knocked himself outta the lineup.

He lived up to the nickname, tossing for 3,905 yards as well as 31 TD’s, a single-season Jets franchise record.

But as many a Jets fan knows, FitzMagic’s final game in 2015 didn’t turn so well. It was Week 17  with the playoff’s on the line, and Fitzpatrick threw three picks in a loss the lowly Buffalo Bills.

Despite that failing at the finish line, Jets fans cried out for the return of FitzMagic to New York, and after months of tense negotiation, dude returned to the fold in hopes of building on his previous year’s success.

However, 2016 was not so kind.

In a Week 3 game against the Chiefs, Ryan was FitzTragic, throwing not 1, not 2, not 3, 4, or 5, but 6 interceptions.

After a 1-5 start, the Fitz was on the fritz, benched in favor of Smith. This was a change that wouldn't even last a game due to Smith’s season-ending knee injury.

Fitzpatrick would return to start the next two games before being benched again, this time in favor of second-year slinger Bryce Petty.

Petty would last a mere three games, before he too went down with a season-ending injury.

Fitzpatrick was given the dubious honor of starting the Jets' finale, ironically enough against the Bills. With nothing on the line, dude put together one last FitzMagic performance, completing 20 of 30 pass attempts and throwing 2 TD’s in a 30-10 Jets win.

With the Friday after the Super Bowl come and gone, so to is the Fitzpatrick era in New York Jets history. His contract has come due, leaving both the Jets and him to pursue greener pastures.

In his short two year stint with the team, Fitzpatrick proved to be both FitzMagic and FitzTragic at times.

While some may be glad to see the 34-year-old Ivy Leaguer gone from the Jets org, but they shouldn’t be so quick to celebrate.

Without Fitzpatrick, the only other chuckers on the Jets roster are Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg.

Don’t expect Tony Romo to save you, Jets fans.