How Short Is Ryan Fitzpatrick's Leash as QB of the New York Jets?

Everyone knew what the New York Jets were getting when they traded for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this offseason. His performance on Sunday was the first reminder.

There's a "good Fitz" and a "bad Fitz." We got "good Fitz" for two games before we got "bad Fitz" for one against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions, and the Jets fell behind by 24 points in the first half and went into pass-crazy mode with 58 attempts.

The problem is, "good Fitz" isn't the type of quarterback who will elevate the performance of the players around him, but "bad Fitz" is exactly the type of quarterback who can drag the whole team down with him.

That being said, there's no reason to start calling for Geno Smith to supplant Fitzpatrick as the starter—not yet, at least. 

Opponent	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	Rate
Browns	15	24	62.5	178	7.5	2	1	95.7
Colts	22	34	64.7	244	7.2	2	1	93.3
Eagles	35	58	60.3	283	4.9	2	3	62.6

For starters, the Jets were without two of their three best skill position players on offense against the Eagles. Both wide receiver Eric Decker and running back Chris Ivory were absent from the game. The evaluation should focus on his performance with those two in the lineup, not without them. 

All the Eagles had to do was hone in on Brandon Marshall and stuff the box against the run. The Jets didn't have anyone else who could lift the offense to success. 

Thankfully, both Decker and Ivory should be good to go this week.

Al Pereira/Getty Images

But the return of both men will not suddenly make Fitzpatrick a perfect quarterback. Make no mistake: He has flaws, and those flaws were exposed in Week 3. In the first two games of the season, the Jets had found their formula for success: bring a balanced approach on offense, run the ball effectively and create turnovers on defense to set up the offense with good field position.

After falling behind by 24 points in Week 3 and unable to create more than a single turnover, the Jets did exactly zero of those three things in their formula, and they had to go way off script.

"Three interceptions," Bowles said after the game. "You can't turn the ball over. That's without saying. Whether they get tipped or anything like that, we know we can't turn the ball over. You're not going to win a game throwing three interceptions."

At this point, we all know what Fitzpatrick brings to the table. He's a game manager, not a game-changer. He has always struggled throwing the ball on vertical routes (he's currently 3-of-20 on passes that traveled 20 yards or more down the field, with one touchdown and two interceptions, according to stats website Pro Football Focus). 

The Jets know it too, but Bowles isn't ready to budge off Fitzpatrick as his starter.

"Ryan's our starter," the head coach said after the game, when asked if Smith could move up the depth chart.

Not every team can have Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady at its disposal. Some teams have to have Ryan Fitzpatrick or Geno Smith. The Jets did everything in their power to surround the quarterback with every piece he would need so that the team could still be successful without an elite passer. But Fitzpatrick was without two of those key pieces on Sunday.

As a result, the Jets might have gotten a little anxious. 

"At times, whether it was plays by me or other guys, we lacked a little bit of patience," Fitzpatrick said.

And let's not forget what Smith has been in his first two years as the starter. He didn't exactly cover himself in glory by throwing 34 interceptions in his 29 starts. 

Fitzpatrick has been turnover-prone in his day as well, but we know the Jets can win with him if everything goes according to plan. In the NFL, though, rarely does everything go exactly as a team hopes. There will be times when the Jets running game sputters or when the defense fails to generate turnovers.

Now is not the time to pull the plug on the Fitzpatrick experiment. Another awful performance against the Miami Dolphins could tip the scales even further against him and in favor of Smith, but at the very least, Fitzpatrick should have a chance to bounce back with both Decker and Ivory at his disposal. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.