Ryan Fitzpatrick
 Fitzpatrick with the Bills in 2009 | |||||||||
| Buffalo Bills | |||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Harvard | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2005 / round: 7 / pick: 250 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2010 | |||||||||
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Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982 in Template:City-state) is the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Harvard.
Early years
Fitzpatrick was a three-sport (football, basketball and track) star at Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona. Fitzpatrick was a Second-team Class 5A All-state selection, adding Arizona High School All-Star team, Fiesta Region first team and Fiesta Region MVP honors as a senior. He set 12 school records as a Highland Hawk and one state mark (throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass) while leading the team to the state playoffs from 1998–2000 and to the 1999 Fiesta Region title. He graduated in the top 1 percent of his class and received the Presidential Award of Excellence.
College career
At Harvard, Fitzpatrick had five starts during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 2001, he completed 25 of 37 passes (67.6 percent) for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns and followed that in 2002 by completing 94 of 150 attempts (62.7 percent) for 1,155 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for five scores and 523 yards on 115 carries (4.5 avg.) that year.
Fitzpatrick took over the starting job in 2003. He is the first QB in over a decade to run for over 100 yards in a game (vs. Holy Cross in 2003) (this is false, perhaps true with some qualifier). Fitzpatrick finished his junior campaign completing 107 of 178 passes (60.1 percent) for 1,770 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions in seven games. He also carried 109 times for 430 yards (3.9 avg.) and six scores.
In 2004 Fitzpatrick would earn Ivy League MVP honors (Asa S. Bushnell Cup) as he amassed 1,986 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions on 158 of 276 passing (57.2 percent). He ranked second on the team with 118 carries for 448 yards (3.8 avg.) and five scores in 2004.
For his career, Fitzpatrick connected on 384 of 641 passes (59.9 percent) for 5,234 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He collected 1,487 yards with 16 scores on 365 carries (4.1 avg.) and totaled 6,721 yards, an average of 224.0 yards per game, while seeing action in 30 contests. He ranks second on Harvard's career list for pass completions, touchdowns, yards passing and pass completion percentage, topped only by Neil Rose (5,949 yards, 41 touchdowns, 455 completions, 62.4 percent, 1998–2002). His 641 pass attempts rank fourth in school history. His 1,006 total plays for 6,721 yards in total offense broke the old school career records of 1,005 plays by Mike Giardi (1991–93) and 6,519 yards by Rose. He is the first quarterback in Harvard annals to rush for over 1,000 yards in a career.
Professional career
Pre-draft
As is the case for most incoming NFL rookies, Fitzpatrick took the Wonderlic Test. Highly divergent reports about his performance have appeared in the media. A draft commentary on the NFL's official website reported that he made a perfect score, while setting a speed record by completing the exam in nine minutes.[1] According to a The Wall Street Journal report that appeared in the September 30, 2005 edition, Fitzpatrick scored a 48 on the exam, not a 50; this would still be considered an exceptionally high score, and the claim that he completed the test in nine minutes is accurate. While his actual score is unknown, he has been quoted admitting he left at least one question blank.[2] As the Wonderlic score is the number of correct answers to 50 questions, the best he could have scored would be a 49.
The only player to earn a verified perfect score on the Wonderlic test was also a Harvard graduate: wide receiver/punter Pat McInally, who played his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals.[3]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) |
232 lb (105 kg) |
4.86 s | 1.67 s | 2.81 s | 4.07 s | 7.09 s | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) |
x reps | 48 | ||
| All from NFL Combine.[4] | ||||||||||||
Additionally, Fitzpatrick ran a 4.86 in the 40-yard dash had a 295-pound bench press and 415-pound squat and 325-pound power clean. [5]
St. Louis Rams
Fitzpatrick played his first NFL game on November 27, 2005. Coming into the game in the second quarter against the Houston Texans to replace an injured Jamie Martin, Fitzpatrick led the Rams from a 24-3 halftime deficit to a 33-27 overtime win, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. This made Fitzpatrick one of only five players who passed for 300 yards in their NFL debut. The others were Otto Graham, 346 yards (1950); Ed Rubbert, 334 (a replacement player for the Washington Redskins during the 1987 strike); Mark Rypien, 303 (1988), and Peyton Manning, 302 (1998).
Cincinnati Bengals
On September 1, 2007, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Bengals for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.[6]
A restricted free agent in the 2008 offseason, Fitzpatrick signed his one-year tender offer from the Bengals on April 17. Due to an injury to starting quarterback Carson Palmer, Fitzpatrick made his first Bengals start on September 28, 2008 against the Cleveland Browns. Fitzpatrick was not only the leading passer, but also the leading rusher in the Bengals' 20-12 loss. With Carson Palmer sitting out the game on October 12, 2008, Fitzpatrick got the start against the New York Jets, and every other game that season.
During the 2008 NFL season, Fitzpatrick finished third in rushing yards among quarterbacks.
Buffalo Bills
Fitzpatrick signed with the Buffalo Bills on February 27, 2009. He made his first appearance on October 18, 2009 against the New York Jets when starter Trent Edwards went down with an injury, leading the Bills to a 16-13 overtime win, while throwing for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
On November 18, 2009 he was named the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills by interim head coach Perry Fewell who took over the coaching duties after former coach Dick Jauron was fired.
On September 20, 2010, Fitzpatrick replaced Trent Edwards as the starting quarterback. [7]
Fitzpatick played well in first start iin the 2010 season against New England, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns to keep the Bills close. Fitzpatrick did throw two costly interceptions at the end of the game and the Bills fell to the Patriots 38-30. Fitpatrick played decent against the New York jets throwing for 128 yards and two touchdowns but fell to the Jets 38-14. Ritzpatrick had an excelltent game against the Jaxsonville Jaguars thrwing for 220 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions but the Bills lost to the Jaguars 26-36 and were dropped to 0-5.
Personal
Fitzpatrick is married to Liza Barber, former captain of the Harvard Women's Soccer team,[8] The couple has two sons, Brady Joseph and Tate Ryan.[9]
Fitzpatrick's younger brother Shaun was the starting tight end for Northern Arizona University[10] and where he was voted Honorable Mention All American Tight End and Second Team All Big Sky Conference. He is currently a financial analyst in the aerospace industry.
His oldest brother Brandon owns Brandon Michael Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[11] His 3rd brother Jason, who was the captain of the Notre Dame swim team, is currently enrolled in a graduate Theater Program at Arizona State University.
Fitzpatrick was recently tabbed as the 5th smartest professional athlete by the Sporting News.[12]
References
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "The Harvard Crimson :: Sports :: Embracing Brains and Brawn". Thecrimson.com. 2005-03-03. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ "Who knows if this Longhorn is short on IQ". Usatoday.Com. 2006-03-01. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ "Ryan Fitzpatrick, Pro Scout Draft.com". Nfldraftscout.com. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ St. Louis Rams.com[dead link]
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "ESPN - Conversations: Fewell names Fitzpatrick starter". Myespn.go.com. 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ "Fitzpatrick readies for 2nd season with Rams". Azcentral.com. 2006-08-02. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ Hobson, Geoff. "News - Brains and brawn - Cincinnati Bengals". Bengals.com. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ Shaun Fitzpatrick #11 TE (1986-09-29). "ESPN - Shaun Fitzpatrick Stats, News, Photos - Northern Arizona Lumberjacks - NCAA College Football". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ http://www.brandonmichaelfineart.com/santafe/Brandon_Michael_Fine_Art.html
- ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2010-09/smart-athletes/story/sporting-news-names-the-20-smartest-athletes-in-sports