There could be a QB controversy if Fitzpatrick is not under center next week vs the Panthers. Not even getting into what the problem with Jameis Winston might be, there is no doubt that right now, seven weeks into the 2018 season, Ryan Fitzpatrick should immediately be named the starter by coach Dirk Koetter.
The initial plan for this year made sense. After serving a three-game suspension to start the season, Jameis would come back after the bye week and be handed the starting position. Then a funny thing happened. The entire NFL universe was struck by “Fitzmagic,” and suddenly we were all left wondering if the Buccaneers would roll with the hot hand. A hiccup against the Steelers and the catastrophe in Chicago seemed to all but justify Tampa Bay’s golden boy getting back under center and “the Beard” being relegated to back-up status. But Jameis has been making poor decisions throwing into coverage, DeSean Jackson has gone back into the witness protection program, and as the defense has started to improve under interim defensive coordinator Mark Duffner, the offense is starting to look like extras from The Walking Dead.
There may be no equivalent to the 13 years of experience Fitz brings to the table. Having played for 2 NFC teams and 5 AFC teams, learning no less than 10 NFL offensive schemes, this Harvard grad brings a ton of maturity. Having played for 2 years now in Dirk Koetter’s scheme seems to have Ryan playing at what I would say is consistently the best he has played in his NFL career. His pre-snap reads are light years ahead of where Winston is, and his confidence in the pocket is stoic.
We know that next year is the option year on Winston’s rookie contract. We know that playing Fitzpatrick is not going to get us any closer to the answers we need to help us make a decision about the QB position several years from now. A controversy is a disagreement, typically when prolonged, public and heated. Well, Buccaneer fans, this writer can safely say that if Fitzpatrick is not the starter against the Panthers next week, there will be a disagreement, and it will be public as well as heated. That, my friend, qualifies as a controversy, but let’s not even go there….
