Here are the numbers of four quarterbacks from Week 10.
Player A: (91 passing yards, zero TDs, 16 rushing yards, zero TDs, one TO)
Player B: (172 passing yards, one TD, 15 rushing yards, zero TDs, zero TOs)
Player C: (264 passing yards, two TDs, 13 rushing yards, one TD, one TO)
Player D: (274 passing yards, two TDs, 22 rushing yards, zero TDs, three TOs)
Here’s the key:
Player A: Colin Kaepernick, 97 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Player A: Matt Ryan, 96 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Player C: Ryan Fitzpatrick, two percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Player D: Andy Dalton, 81 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues
If those numbers aren’t enough to make you think about adding Ryan Fitzpatrick, consider the fact that he wasn’t even the starter for Week 10 and only got in the game because of an injury to Jake Locker. It was his fourth appearance of the season (Fitzy made two starts for Locker earlier in the year) and the gig will remain Fitzpatrick’s for the rest of the season. It sounds like he’s ready for it:
“I’m no longer the guy that’s holding the seat warm for Jake, with him being out the remainder of the year now, it’s my gig and the communication has to step up that much more,” Fitzpatrick said. “I felt more comfortable going into the last game for whatever reason, being thrown into the fire like that than I have the two previous starts,”
If he really was more comfortable, it showed. Fitzpatrick had his highest completion percentage of the year against Jacksonville (22-of-33, 66.7%) and, if the trend continues, that number will only rise against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday Night Football. The Harvard grad’s completion percentage has gone up with each appearance this year (37.5% in Week 4, 51.2% in Week 5, 58.6% in Week 6), and the Colts have surrendered eight passing touchdowns over the past three weeks. Granted, one of those games was against Peyton Manning, but the other two were against backup QBs Case Keenan and Kellen Clemens.
The Titans need Fitzpatrick to play well on Thursday at home because they are on the road for their next three games: Oakland, Indianapolis and Denver – before coming back to Nashville to face off against Arizona in Week 15 and then heading to Jacksonville in Week 16 (the week of the fantasy championship in many leagues). Of those final five games, three are against teams (Raiders, Broncos, Jaguars) that rank in the top 12 in giving up fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
There’s a chance Fitzpatrick falls on his face on Thursday night, but if he doesn’t, there’s no reason he can’t be just as strong an add as many people were touting Locker to be.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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