Ryan Fitzpatrick never really got to experience many recruiting visits. Not in high school, before he ended up at Harvard and led Harvard to a 10-0 season in 2004. Not before he was drafted 250th overall by the Rams. And not before his second NFL stint with the Bengals (he was traded from the Rams to Cincinnati for a seventh-round pick).
But after going 4-7-1 in 12 starts for an injured Carson Palmer in 2008, Fitzpatrick hit free agency and decided to take a visit to Buffalo "to go see how I would like it," the current analyst for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video (which will carry Patriots at Jets this week) said.
His host: Alex Van Pelt.
Did the current Patriots' offensive coordinator put Fitzpatrick through a workout? No. Did he get him on the board and pepper him with questions? Nope.
Fitzpatrick's visit to the Bills basically consisted of Van Pelt taking him to the Big Tree Inn for wings and beer.
"We just sat down and he wanted to see if I was a dude, first of all," Fitzpatrick said last week.
There are several big-name Bills jerseys that hang in the local haunt. About halfway through the meal, another one caught Fitzpatrick's eye: Van Pelt's No. 10. That a career backup, who in eight seasons appeared in just 30 games (11 starts) out of a possible 128, had his jersey hanging, that's got to say something about a man with a non-descript career.
"I wasn't the only one he took there for beers and chicken wings," Fitzpatrick said. "He was a legend in that place as a player and as a coach. So if you go to the Big Tree Inn still to this day, you will see Alex Van Pelt's jersey framed on the wall, and it had nothing to do with his ability to play. It had to do with his ability as a human being and as a dude and a guy that gets people and can get the best out of people."
That's probably the biggest reason why Fitzpatrick thinks the Patriots' offense - and Drake Maye - are in good hands with the 54-year-old career assistant.
"He has a lot of experience. I mean, the dude worked with Aaron Rodgers every single day in those really successful offenses in Green Bay. He had some good years in Cleveland," Fitzpatrick said. "You know, part of it as a head coach is fitting these coordinators for the style of football team you want to be. And so I think what they saw in Alex, I mean, they want to be able to pound the football. They want to be able to rely on Rhamondre (Stevenson) and the play actions and all those different things.
"Just because, you know, he's not skinny and doesn't have stubble on his face and maybe won't be voted the sexiest man alive, doesn't mean that he's not a great football coach. I think the big thing with Alex that people don't see on the surface is his players love playing for him. I think he has the right temperament for a young quarterback that needs to come in and learn and probably go through some bumps and bruises, and then I just think he's a guy that he gets the most out of people, and he has instant respect when he walks into a room. Those are the best qualities about him and why I'm excited for him to see him in this opportunity."
Fitzpatrick and Van Pelt were only together that one season in Buffalo — Van Pelt's only as an offensive coordinator/playcaller before this season — and it was a shotgun marriage of sorts. Van Pelt started the season on Dick Jauron's staff as quarterbacks coach under offensive coordinator Turk Schonert. Just days before the 2009 was due to start, Jauron fired Schonert, promoted Van Pelt to OC and quality control coach Nathaniel Hackett (now the Jets' offensive coordinator) to QB coach. The Bills were still running the K-gun offense at the time. It wasn't until his time under Mike McCarthy in Green Bay (2012-17) and Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland (2020-23) that Van Pelt learned the West Coast offense that is now the backbone of his system.
That 2009 season was also tumultuous in the Bills' QB room where Trent Edwards went 2-5 as the starter. Jauron was fired after nine games, and interim coach Perry Fewell named Fitzpatrick the starter. Fitzpatrick posted a 4-4 record and came off the bench for another victory.
"We're just kind of winging it, figuring it out on the fly ... and we had a lot of fun doing it," Fitzpatrick said. "I'll say this about Alex, the thing that I really enjoyed about him: he's got the right temperament to be a playcaller, for sure. And I think quarterbacks always see, feel and can realize when a guy has been there before, when a guy knows what you're going through. And so the experience of Alex as a player, and a lot of his experience was as a backup, but to be at the NFL level as a player for (eight) years, and to know the pressures of that, to know the daily grind during the season of that, and just to be able to have the proper temperament on a Monday after things don't go well on Sunday, or when there's a two-minute drive and things are tense and you're trying to come back and win a football game, to hear the confidence in your ear or on the headset coming through and Alex's voice, those are the things I think he really excels at, and the things that I loved about him way back in the day.
"In terms of the x's and o's and all that, there's a lot that he's done, and probably a lot of ways he's changed since I played for him. Aaron Rodgers just speaks so highly of of AVP, because of the person that he is and because he truly is cheering for you, which sometimes, amazingly, isn't always the case when you get some of these new coordinators."
Things could have been really awkward between Edwards, Fitzpatrick and third-stringer Brian Brohm, but they weren't.
"Sometimes it's awkward getting benched, having another guy thrown in, and then having to see your replacement every day, come in in a meeting and act like you guys are friends," Fitzpatrick said. "It takes a special human being to be able to navigate that sort of thing, and it's something he's done multiple times in his career. He was able to keep that quarterback room in Buffalo really tight. And I think that's a special quality to have."
That's why Fitzpatrick feels Van Pelt will be able to deftly manage the dance between Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, both for the short- and long-term benefit of the franchise.
"I go back to the fact that Alex played the position in the NFL and was around it, and was around greatness, so he knows what it looks like. He knows what it looks like as a player, and he knows what it looks like as a coach," Fitzpatrick said. "The thing that I think would be important, it's okay for guy to sit back and watch and learn, especially if you have a good guy for him to sit back and watch and learn and do the right things. And to me, Jacoby is a great guy for that, because Jacoby is one of those guys that's going to come in and instantly gain the respect of his teammates. That's something that is overlooked, that has nothing to do with how far you can throw or how strong you are. How can you command a huddle? How can you get all those guys to respect you, and how do you get all those guys in the huddle to play for you? And Jacoby is a guy that can do that. He has those type of qualities about him.
"So for Drake to sit back and watch that and to understand that, these are the reasons that these guys look up to Jacoby. We'll call him an old man, even though he's younger than me. You've got old man Jacoby scrambling and putting his body on the line to get a first down for a team at the end of the game. We got to see him last year in Cleveland. Saw it happen in Miami as well. He's got a lot of traits and qualities that you love in a quarterback, and so it's not a bad thing for Drake to sit back, to learn the offense, to get a little more comfortable about it and to learn how to lead, which is, you know, he's got a good one in Jacoby that can rally the troops around him."
Fitzpatrick feels the Patriots are doing the right thing with Maye, who he thinks will get thrown in at some point.
"The beauty of being in New England right now, as we saw in that first game, is it looks like their defense is going to be pretty good. They're going to be feisty, like they always are. They're going to create turnovers. They're going to make you earn it," Fitzpatrick said. "Sometimes with these young quarterbacks, they get ruined because they go to situations where there's not much hope, and you get thrown in, and all of a sudden you find yourself in a deficit. And all of a sudden you look around and there aren't weapons to throw to, and you're getting beat up.
"If you look at the Patriots, they can run the ball and they have a good defense. Those are two very good things for a quarterback to step into. Russell Wilson really enjoyed that in Seattle when he played as a rookie. Ben Roethlisberger, when he first started playing, really enjoyed that in Pittsburgh. And those were things that allowed their development to have a little bit more time when they were in there, because they could lean on those things. I don't think it's a bad thing for him to sit and watch, even if it is the whole year. I don't think it's going to be the whole year. I think he'll be thrown in at some point this year, but to sit back and watch - everybody is so impatient with these young guys right now, it's not a bad thing."
(Adam Richins for BSJ)
NICKEL PACKAGE
1. The Patriots announced they have placed tackle Chuks Okorafor on the reserve/left squad list. We're not sure exactly what went on here, but as we've reported since camp started, the Okorafor experience has not been a good one for the Patriots, which illustrates the landmines in free agency.
The Patriots sought to give themselves some options at offensive tackles before the draft, and identified Okorafor (1 year, $4 million with another $4.25 million in incentives) as a cost-effective option over Jonah Williams (2 years, $30 million contract - $21.5 million is guaranteed with Cardinals). The grades (PFF had Okorafor higher than Williams) and film backed up the decision by Eliot Wolf to think Okorafor could be decent at left tackle (Williams is currently on injured reserve for Cardinals).
But this was not about talent. Okorafor is ... an interesting fellow. I was told he balked at playing left tackle for much of camp, which ticked off the Patriots. He finally relented when Vederian Lowe was injured, but Okorafor showed questionable effort and desire before getting benched 12 snaps into the Bengals game. The writing was on the wall when Jerod Mayo was asked about Okorafor this week.
"I think he has the entire skill set to be a good tackle in this league," Mayo said.
Okorafor isn't, so it's something else ... probably something that resides in the upper ribcage. That's the stuff you can't grade or identify on film.
2. Do I think the Patriots can run effectively against the Seahawks? Yes ... if they can keep the safeties honest. Seattle gave up two explosive runs of over 10 yards to the Broncos and both times they had poor run fits/not much safety help. I think the Seahawks were a bit afraid of Sean Payton and some of the Broncos receivers. Will Alex Van Pelt and the Patriots' weapons scare them as much? Doubtful, but the Patriots will need to hit a deep shot, ideally early.
The Seahawks are pretty small (fast) up front. If the Patriots can execute the gap scheme again and get on Tyrel Dodson (0) and Jerome Baker (17), they can do some damage.
3. I'm worried about the Seahawks' pass rush and speed - which will make it vital for the Patriots to once again be productive on first down and stay out of long yardage on second and third downs. The Patriots should have good practice: both the Seahawks and Patriots defenses do a lot of the same things in terms of showing pressure and sending different people on different plays.
4. Defensively, the Patriots should have a huge advantage against the right side of the Seahawks line: RG Anthony Bradford and third-string RT Stone Forsythe. Expect them to pepper that side with pressure. LT Charles Cross is excellent.
5. Bedard's pick
Last week: 1-0 spread, 0-1 straight up
Line: Seahawks -3. O/U: 40.5
This early in the season, I'm not going to overcomplicate it. The Seahawks are better at QB, all three WR spots, LT and have DT Leonard Williams, FS Julian Love and CBs Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon. As long as the Seahawks aren't sleepy with the 10 a.m. start, they're the better team. I do expect it to have more scoring than most predict.
Seahawks 23, Patriots 17.