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QB Ryan Fitzpatrick**
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Q: What is your incentive for these last three games?
A: It is one of those things there has been a lot of disappointment this year. But you kind of think these last three games could go either way which I know are not going to be the case. But if you quit then you start feeling sorry for yourself. You finish losing all three games and all of a sudden you are sitting at 5-11. That is not a good feeling. We have to make sure that we are professionals and are coming into work. I know that everybody talks about the playoff picture, but for us we are sitting at 5-8. There are a lot more things we have to worry about and do. That is not really in our minds right now. We are trying to finish at 8-8 and getting to the offseason on a much higher note than we are right now. I think that is what you look at right now, just going out there and winning these last three games. We have a tough opponent this week. It will be a tough game for us. We have to make sure everybody is preparing like we are going to the playoffs and preparing to win the game. I think we will be OK.
Q: Can you talk about the Seahawks commitment to slow down the run game and get you in long passing situations?
A: They do a good job of that and even just bringing an extra player in the box. You can see they are a big, physical team just in terms of the size of their safeties and corners. I know one of them is out, but big, physical team. We are going to have to have some runs that are maybe one, two yard runs. Try to eliminate the negative plays and then just stay with it. Try to get some of those big runs out of C.J. (Spiller).
Q: Given how things have gone, some might say it might be a benefit to get out of town for a home game.
A: I guess I am not too worried about that. We are just worried about going out there and having a great week of practice. The one thing we know going into this game are the elements. We are not going to be playing in the weather. I think if there is a bonus, maybe it is that. Other than that, we just have to go out there and play.
Q: Does Toronto still feel like a neutral site atmosphere even though you won there last year?
A: I do not want to make any headlines or be controversial here. I think there was a radio show about me yesterday. The atmosphere is different. I think everybody knows that. It's much different than the Ralph in terms of the noise and the intensity. We have to be able to take advantage of we are going to have more fans there than they will. We have to be able to take advantage of that.
Q: Teams have had some success running on the Seahawks. Do you guys feel like you can do some things in the run game to the them?
A: Yeah, we think so. That is something we try to focus on every week. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it does not. With C.J. (Spiller) now the guy, the guy that is going to get the majority of the carries—he has a great opportunity and a great challenge. I know he is excited for it.
Q: What is your mindset about the passing game with teams who are going to try to load up on RB C.J. Spiller?
A: This team in particular, they do that a lot. There was some stuff with Calvin Johnson where they did not do it as much. This is what they do, no matter who it is. We have to find a way to get some positive runs out of it. We have to find a way to just continue to give him the ball. As we have seen this season with him, every game at some point he is going to break out and have a big run, a big catch or whatever it is and get down the field. We have to give him as many opportunities as we can to do that.
Q: Do you find that you guys run more effectively out of spread?
A: I think that is just who we are. Schematically that is what we do. I think the Jacksonville game was a little bit different in terms of getting down there and running the ball with bigger people I guess. A lot of what we do is the spread them out type of stuff and I think that is what we are most effective at.
Q: Are there going to be some things you do different so you do not get hit as much as you did last week?
A: That is part of it and I said it after the game that I probably could have done a better job on some of those of staying in a little bit better. I come out of last week with the two guys up front with more confidence than I had going into the game. I thought they played about expectations and did a good job. Quarterbacks are going to get hit. You watch the film, the Seattle film-they get after the quarterback. Whether it is with their different blitzes and what they do on third-down or first- and second-down stuff, they get after the passer pretty good. That is just part of the position. You have to be able to stand in there and deliver. As long as I am able to get the ball out, the hits are fine. You almost welcome those.
Q: Can guys go in behind closed doors and talk to HC Chan Gailey if they have a disagreement with play calling or something like that?
A: A lot of it we, Chan and I, have a lot of discussions whether it is before a game, leading up with a game plan and all of that. Maybe mixing things around because I am more comfortable with it. Afterwards we will always review the tape together and work over situations and talk about what I did well, what he thinks I could have done better and just things that he thinks he could have done better. For me and him there is an open line of communication. I think if anybody else has an issue with it, a lot of it goes through me.
Q: Is there something that RB C.J. Spiller has to prove here going up against a stout defense?
A: I do not know if there is anything he needs to prove. I think he has had a, going back to the end of last year, pretty nice run and yards per carry and all of that stuff. The Miami game he had a lot of touches and kind of showed that he can be a guy that can carry the ball, ground and pound type stuff. I do not know if he is going into this game thinking he has anything he needs to prove. He might have a little bit more edge to him in this game because he knows he is going to be the feature guy.
Q: Is getting into a controlled environment a welcomed thing for a quarterback?
A: Yeah, I think so just because you know what you are getting especially home games here in December. We view that as an advantage in terms of the weather and being able to do better in the elements than teams that are coming in. But yeah as a quarterback I think you enjoy knowing that you are not going to have any wind, rain or sleet. With the game plan, too-you can game plan accordingly and not have to have that backup plan in terms of what happens if the weather turns south.
Q: A lot of people who call radio shows are asking is QB Tarvaris Jackson too dumb to master the offense. What is your response to that?
A: No. He is a bright guy. He has played in the league. I think we talked about it a couple weeks ago, but he was put in a tough situation in terms of having to come in when he did and in terms of where we are as an offense. It is not an easy situation for a guy who has had no experience in it to not have a training camp or anything to be able to come in with no reps be able to master an offense.
Q: We did not see RB Fred Jackson and Spiller on the field together too much. What do you think about how much it happened and the difficulties of having two running backs on the field?
A: I think part of it had to do with injuries. Fred (Jackson) getting hurt right away and C.J. kind of getting a shoulder. Not knowing if both guys were going to be available for the whole game all the time. I think that went into it because as soon as you lose one of them you kind of lose that package. We have not seen it as much this year and it might have been because of the injury stuff and just the uncertainty of whether you were going to have them both throughout a complete game or not.
Q: Do you see Seattle as almost a model you want to follow in terms of rebuilding?
A: Not really. I am not too familiar with their team this year and the last few years just because we do not get to see them play a whole lot. I do not think so.
Q: How much has the talk of your coach's future been a distraction for this team?
A: Not at all. I think a lot of that stuff, as professionals, we are just coming in every week and just trying to dive into the game plan, trying to dive into figuring out how to win next week and the coming up game. That stuff, all of a sudden in the offseason you start paying attention to whether it is yourself, your teammates or your coach. Whoever it is, but during the season it is not much of an issue.
Q: Do you have your Gangnam Style dance ready?
A: I think you pronounced that wrong, actually.
Q: Is it a little unfair to play just seven true home games?
A:That might be a little bit above my head. I think Russ Brandon is probably a better guy to ask about that. It is just we know that it is something we have to do every year and we have to be able to go there and whether it is a home game or not we have to be able to go up there and show up.
Q: Is there anything Tarvaris can provide because Seattle is his old team?
A: Yeah and most of it is just based on not necessarily scheme, but different personnel. And he knows those guys inside-and-out just in terms of whether it is the defense tackles, ends or DBs—just being able to give a little information here or there that you cannot really pick up from watching the film. There are a lot of questions that I have asked and that I will ask this week in terms of certain personnel and certain guys on the field. I think that is where he can provide the most help. * *
