New York Jets' Supporting Cast Allows Ryan Fitzpatrick to Take a Back Seat

Ryan Fitzpatrick may not be the perfect NFL quarterback, but he is a serviceable quarterback for Chan Gailey's offense and for what the New York Jets are asking him to do.

Fortunately for Fitzpatrick, the Jets have surrounded him with a strong enough supporting cast that "serviceable" is all they need. 

He hasn't lit up the stat sheet, and he's not going to. Through two games, Fitzpatrick has completed 37 of his 58 pass attempts (63.8 percent) for 423 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), four touchdowns, two interceptions, a 94.3 passer rating and a 70.0 quarterback rating on ESPN. 

Category	Fitzpatrick	NFL rank
Completions	37	22
Attempts	58	24
Completion %	63.8	21
Yards	423	24
YPA	7.3	18
TD	4	T-6
INT	2	T-20
Rating	94.3	15

He's right around the middle of the pack in terms of the NFL's crop of starting quarterbacks, and that's OK. 

With the defense playing at an elite level, the Jets don't need Fitzpatrick to put up a 30-burger on every team they face; they just need him to not be a bottom-of-the-barrel passer. With wide receivers like Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker at his disposal, the Jets don't need Fitzpatrick to be deadly accurate; they just need him to give his receivers a chance. 

But make no mistake: Fitzpatrick isn't completely irrelevant to the Jets' success.

The Indianapolis Colts sold out to stop the run, bringing seven or eight defenders into the box to plug up the running lanes. They came into the game without three cornerbacks and lost a fourth (and their best) cornerback when Vontae Davis left the game with a concussion in the second quarter. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Jets went to the air 34 times and kept it on the ground 27 times. 

Take what the defense gives you. That's the job description for any offense. 

That being said, one area that remains a sizable hole in Fitzpatrick's game is his ability to throw the ball downfield. According to Pro Football Focus, Fitzpatrick has connected on just three of his 12 pass attempts that traveled 20 yards or more downfield. He's currently tied for 23rd in deep-passing accuracy out of 29 qualifying quarterbacks.

Fitzpatrick has always excelled on short and intermediate throws, though. On the season, he's hit 18 of 22 attempts from zero to nine yards downfield and nine of 14 attempts from 10 to 19 yards downfield. Against the Colts, he hit 12 of 14 attempts within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and five of eight attempts from 10 to 29 yards downfield.

He's done a marvelous job of getting the ball out quickly, but his efficiency could be attributed, at least in part, to the pass protection.

The offensive line has given Fitzpatrick plenty of time to scan the field for open targets, too; He's been pressured on just 21.7 percent of his dropbacks, which is the second-lowest percentage in the NFL through two games. He's been sacked just once, and the Jets are one of four teams to have given up one or no sacks this season so far. 

Player	Targets	Receptions	Yards	TD
Brandon Marshall	19	13	163	2
Eric Decker	14	10	134	2
Everyone else	24	14	126	0

As mentioned earlier, Decker and Marshall have made life much easier for Fitzpatrick as well. The two big-bodied wide receivers have created mismatches all over the field with their size (both men stand above 6'3" tall), and Monday night saw Decker matched up against the Colts' slot cornerbacks. 

But Fitzpatrick isn't just going on autopilot and searching for Nos. 15 and 87 every play. Those two have deservedly earned most of the targets through two games, but the Jets have had at least five different players catch a pass in each of their first two games. 

There are things Fitzpatrick must still work on. Deep passing is not his forte, but it never will be. The Jets need to do a better job of converting third downs, where they are currently converting at a rate of 44 percent (14th in the NFL) and converted just 33 percent against the Colts. 

If Fitzpatrick continues to get as much help as he's getting from the supporting cast, and if he continues to play at a serviceable level, there will be no question as to whether Geno Smith will be the starting quarterback upon his return. The job is Fitzpatrick's to lose at this point.