New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles announced Monday that he would start the embattled Ryan Fitzpatrick Sunday against the New England Patriots. The move was a surprise, given the unwavering plea from fans and journalists alike to play the young Bryce Petty. Despite this, Bowles remains steadfast in his conviction to Fitzpatrick. The signal-caller will make his ninth start of the season Sunday, and his first since injuring his knee.
Starting Ryan Fitzpatrick Against the Patriots is the Right Decision
The argument to start Petty for the rest of the year is a clear one. With Fitzpatrick gone after the season and the Jets out of the playoff picture, many argue that the Jets should use the final six games to assess Petty. However, for the time being, starting Fitzpatrick against the Patriots is the right move.
By starting Petty, Bowles would be effectively throwing in the white flag. He would be admitting, at long last, that the Jets season is over and that it’s time to look ahead to 2017 while developing the young talent. In all likelihood, the aforementioned statements are true. The Jets are effectively eliminated from playoff contention, and the goal should indeed be to develop young talent. But for Bowles to declare such things would be sending the wrong message to his team. The Patriots at home is the Jets biggest game every single year. To use such a contest as something of a tryout would be accepting mediocrity. Bowles should be pushing his team to the fateful finish, not ending the season before Thanksgiving. And in starting the best quarterback available, that is exactly what Bowles is doing.
Furthermore, Petty is clearly not ready to be the Jets starting quarterback yet. This is not a knock on his ability. In his only start, Petty held his own throwing the football. The reality is that Petty is simply not ready to handle the offense. He doesn’t fully comprehend Chan Gailey‘s playbook yet, and that’s fine. But to throw Petty into live action without a full understanding of the offense would be doing him a disservice. If Petty had looked like the second-coming of Joe Montana, the discussion would be a very different one. But Petty looked raw. More than anything else, he looked like a fourth-round draft pick making his first start. Petty has ample time to develop. The Jets need to wait just a bit longer before they throw Petty into the fire.
Continuing on that point, there are still six games left in the season. After they play the Patriots, they’ll still have five full games. My point being, there’s no rush to start Petty this instant. If Fitzpatrick comes in Sunday and plays to his usual mediocre standards, then this team should be Petty’s. Even if Fitzpatrick plays well, Petty should be starting at least the last four games of the season. Yet right now, Petty is still too raw, and there’s still far too much time left, for Bowles to use the remainder of the season as a glorified tryout.
