Fitzpatrick Proves He Was A Free Agent Score
November 12th, 2017
Dirk Koetter and Jason Licht set out in search of a backup quarterback in free agency this offseason and today proved they succeeded.
Yes, Joe watched the game and the rather inept Bucs offense. But that’s not the point at all.
A good backup is supposed to be able to win games, not just be a live body saying prayers. There are a heck of a lot of backups in the league that can’t win. Fitzpatrick helped settle the Bucs today when the team was teetering in apparent disarray. He did his job against a solid defense. He did enough.
He won.
He looked better than Mike Glennon.
Joe doesn’t take winning lightly.
Fitzpatrick finished 17-of-34 with one touchdown and an interception, and no fumbles. He was dropped just once despite the Jets coming after him.
He scrambled.
He battled.
Again, he won.
Don’t take this as any slight to America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, and his future as the franchise QB. But it’s a breath of fresh air to see a veteran come off the bench and get the job done while playing with the right mentality in a challenging spot — for a team desperate for a steadying hand following coming unglued in New Orleans last Sunday.
Joe’s also confident the Bucs will be the team with the best QB on the field next Sunday in Miami.
Just keep winning, Fitz.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:15 pm
Joe that’s not saying much the Dolphins have horrible qbs and they are the worst offense in the league. Fitzpatrick sucks
November 12th, 2017 at 4:16 pm
But it is a slight. RF actually hit receivers in stride and moved the chains. Imagine if the Bucs didn’t have the worst run blocking OL in the league.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:17 pm
it was better than losing 4 straight…
November 12th, 2017 at 4:17 pm
Shameful, The defense plays lights out, and Joe post a story of the backup QB first???????????????????????? SMDH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 12th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
Donovan Smith almost put him on the IR. Dude is not a NFL tackle.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
Just possibly the 2 worst teams in football.
I don’t consider Cleveland a team
November 12th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
While I agree with the thrust of your post Joe I disagree in one area.
Franchise QB’s are supposed to be able to win games for you.
Backups and journeymen are expected to NOT lose and if they’re really talented they are good game managers.
I thought Fitzpatrick did an excellent job of managing the game. He was clearly rusty as reflected in his accuracy and some bad decisions…but overall he played within himself. I hope #3 learned from watching today. This is exactly the kind of game we need for #3 to master!!!
November 12th, 2017 at 4:25 pm
Ok…I am a hypocrite. Good job Fitz!
November 12th, 2017 at 4:29 pm
Gee williekers….the team played for it’s QB….I’ve been pounding the reset button…it is not the coaching…fill in the blanks
November 12th, 2017 at 4:29 pm
This game in my opinion is an indictment on Dirk. In this game I finally saw a coach who realized quickly he QB was struggling, and what did he do for him…. Designed screens, quick slants, limit him to only 3 step drops. Dirk clearly went to his old bag of tricks today and it worked well, but this should have been how the offense was operating since week 3.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:37 pm
Nice job by a seasoned pro.
Team seemed more fired up today than they have been. Of course it was the jets.
But still, it was good to see.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:38 pm
Is anyone watching ATL-Dallas?
They said “Claborne is a beast coming off the edge”…
Do give up on players too early?
Are we going to push more young talent out the door?
November 12th, 2017 at 4:39 pm
Umm, no Joe. No. Fitz was average if you are being generous. I respect the man’s heart but come on man.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Did the Stick Carriers riot as they left the stadium?
November 12th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Yeah for a minute, I had confuse Fitz for Tim Brady. That’s how sharp he look on his throws.
My joke of the week
November 12th, 2017 at 4:45 pm
Adrian Clayborn was a beast for the Bucs, when he was healthy.
His problem was staying healthy
November 12th, 2017 at 4:46 pm
**Tom Brady** lol
November 12th, 2017 at 4:46 pm
A real smart organization..would sit jameis for the rest of the season. let him have surgery and rehab. that is a smart organization mind you……..Are they afraid Fitz will do well?
November 12th, 2017 at 4:47 pm
GJ Fitz!!!
November 12th, 2017 at 4:48 pm
The defense played lights outbcausebthey didn’t play the whole game, time of possession
November 12th, 2017 at 4:48 pm
Our defense won that game, and our offense nearly lost it.
But, a win is a win, and we’ll take it!
Yea Tampa !!!!!!!!!!
November 12th, 2017 at 4:49 pm
Mike Johnson,
I would be totally shocked if Jameis Winston play anytime soon
He may be Jason Licht way out of this mess
They can always use Winston injury excuse for a miserable season
November 12th, 2017 at 4:49 pm
The key point is the team rallied under Fitz and he was just good enough to lead them to victory. I guess you guys still can’t see the look of this team watching Jameis sucked his fingers…
November 12th, 2017 at 4:50 pm
Fitzpatrick’s performance should put to rest any ridiculous notions that Jameis should be benched.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:51 pm
Donovan Smith either doesn’t care or he’s lazy or he just flat out sucks (or a combination of the above). Getting rid of Penn was typical retard move the that the Bucs have become famous for. Can’t help but think the Glazers are behind some of these bad moes as they constantly try to get deals on player salaries. ……Hey Glazers, How’s that working out for you??? (Lol)
November 12th, 2017 at 4:54 pm
The problem with bucs fans is we get to high on wins and to low on losses. Look at the team objectively, if we would of loss this game y’all would want Fitz’s head on a stick.
November 12th, 2017 at 4:54 pm
Yeah get a clue……..good point I was thinking the same thing during the game. Sometimes it seems like Dirk Koetter doesn’t even care about TOP. Today’s game felt a bit different of offense with a more methodical approach which we never see with Winston under center.
While we are on Dirk he wasted yet another opportunity on offense by sitting on his first half timeouts. This is starting to really piss me off about the guy. Don’t they have a retreat we can send Dirk to about the importance of time and how to manipulate it?
November 12th, 2017 at 4:56 pm
Jameis wasn’t eating his fingers
He was just licking the juice from the crab legs
November 12th, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Winston is not the problem at all.
Bad personal decisions through 3 straight GM’s REEK of OWNER MEDDLING. In our case the meddling is due to cheapness (unlike Dan Snider where the meddling is because he thinks he knows more than the GM)
November 12th, 2017 at 5:01 pm
And I though we saw last week that P.Barber deserves more carries? Why can’t they let this guy get a workload. Doug got to the second level several times today. He doesn’t seem capable of breaking off a long one.
It just ain’t working
November 12th, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Mike Johnson why would they pay 4.5 mill for Fitz and then be afraid of him playing well. Do some of you even think before speaking or do u guys just spew stupidity
November 12th, 2017 at 5:02 pm
@ Lakeland… IMO it was funnier with Tim Brady haha
November 12th, 2017 at 5:03 pm
@ Howard- I agree Smith sucks. He shouldn’t be starting at tackle
November 12th, 2017 at 5:25 pm
Right smith terrible on the blindside and jason licht asleep at the wheel cant evaluate nfl caliber players and see where the bucs need help which is all over… high prices not needed wr then unused 1st round pick at TE
November 12th, 2017 at 5:46 pm
RF beats a team widely regarded as the team that was supposed to have the 1st pick in the draft next year. He’s a “free agent score.”
Still no pass rush
Still no running game.
Still no pass protection.
But the backup QB that beats a team that is pretty much on life support…. “free agent score.”
November 12th, 2017 at 5:59 pm
Fitzpatrick has a very bad habit of stepping stepping out to his left on his throws instead of toward the target, which I think was responsible for one interception and several other incompletions. Habits are hard to break, but doing so would have made a possible huge effect on the offensive production and final score.
November 12th, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Season Is Over Says:
November 12th, 2017 at 4:16 pm
But it is a slight. RF actually hit receivers in stride and moved the chains. Imagine if the Bucs didn’t have the worst run blocking OL in the league.
You do realize that you type, “RF actually hit receivers in stride.” “But it is a slight…” Not English!
November 12th, 2017 at 6:21 pm
The Bucs are just missing a head coach. Talent is not the problem and neither is Jason Licht. Mike Smith will never get another head coaching job in the NFL. Dirk Koetter is just not an NFL head coach.
November 12th, 2017 at 6:37 pm
Jim Says:
November 12th, 2017 at 4:49 pm
The key point is the team rallied under Fitz and he was just good enough to lead them to victory. I guess you guys still can’t see the look of this team watching Jameis sucked his fingers…
We can see you attempting to make a mountain out of a molehill. Fitzpatrick’s performance was terrible for the same reason that Jameis’s play is periodically terrible: Dirk’s offense sucks. Fitzpatrick performance was not good enough. The Jets were just that bad!
Explain why you think Fitzpatrick played good enough.
November 12th, 2017 at 6:43 pm
StPeteBucsFan Says:
November 12th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
While I agree with the thrust of your post Joe I disagree in one area.
Franchise QB’s are supposed to be able to win games for you.
Backups and journeymen are expected to NOT lose and if they’re really talented they are good game managers.
I thought Fitzpatrick did an excellent job of managing the game. He was clearly rusty as reflected in his accuracy and some bad decisions…but overall he played within himself. I hope #3 learned from watching today. This is exactly the kind of game we need for #3 to master!!!
It is sad that you have no idea how stupid you are!
November 12th, 2017 at 7:31 pm
Fitz did exactly what I thought he would….against possibly the worst team in the NFL!! Take a Knee…KEEP AMERICA FREE! TAMPA YOU STILL HAVE A PROBLEM!!
November 12th, 2017 at 7:37 pm
loggedontosay
No what’s sad is how freaking arrogant you are and without demonstrating any reason for that arrogance.
November 12th, 2017 at 9:15 pm
Man, I can’t lower my standards any more.
November 12th, 2017 at 11:34 pm
“Stats are for losers”…
November 13th, 2017 at 12:01 am
Fitz was completely irrelevant in this game, as was most of the Bucs offense. For whatever reason, the Bucs defense finally showed up for the first time this year.
That is the ONLY thing that anyone should be talking about…. if any rational person had looked at Fitz’s numbers for this game and no other stat, they probably would’ve guessed we LOST.
November 13th, 2017 at 8:36 am
Yeah a win over the hapless Jets. If the Bucs were worth a sh*t it would have been a blow out. You could give this team 10 first round picks every year and they would still be garbage…