Crimson in Clover
Ryan Fitzpatrick is a smart young man. He’s the first quarterback from Harvard to throw a pass in the NFL, and he’s an instant rookie sensation in St. Louis after coming off the bench to bring the Rams back from the dead last Sunday at Houston.
But he doesn’t know everything.
“Everybody expects me to know every answer to every question,” he told reporters this week. “During training camp some guys were in a big, heated discussion. So I walked over to see what they were talking about. They said, ‘Fitz, you can answer this question; you’re from Harvard.’ I said, OK, maybe it’s some trivial question, some history, something.
“They said, ‘What do you think would hurt more, getting hit in the face by the trunk of an elephant or being kicked in the face by a donkey?’ ”
Even with a yearly tuition of $41,675, Harvard probably comes up short on that one.
So Fitzpatrick isn’t always the answer man, but he certainly was the solution against the Texans, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns to erase a 21-point deficit in a wild, 33-27 overtime victory. He replaced starter Jamie Martin, who left the game with a concussion.
Fitzpatrick is expected to start today when the Rams (5-6) play host to Washington (5-6) in hopes of keeping their flickering playoff aspirations alive.
Ram Coach Joe Vitt was secretive about whether he planned to start Fitzpatrick or Martin. But the answer became clear when Martin failed a baseline concussion test Wednesday because his vision was still blurry. Regular starter Marc Bulger is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
The No. 1 quarterback in practice this week was Fitzpatrick, and Vitt said his confidence grew by the day.
“He looked good,” Vitt said. “... He still has pretty good command of the huddle. His teammates enjoy playing with him, so he’ll continue to grow.”
Fitzpatrick said he wasn’t nervous making his first appearance in an NFL game, but he was a bit concerned about calling the first play in the huddle.
“[I was] just saying it over in my head running out to the huddle,” he said.
Last Sunday wasn’t the first out-of-thin-air comeback by Fitzpatrick, a seventh-round draft choice. In his first college start, as a freshman, he brought the Crimson back from a 21-0 deficit to beat Dartmouth, 31-21, at the time the biggest comeback in Harvard’s 128-year history.
“I was actually thinking about that game,” he said after Sunday’s game. “The biggest thing when you’re in those situations is you need to get everyone around you fired up.”
Clearly, Fitzpatrick’s teammates are excited about his getting another opportunity to show what he can do.
“It’s only been one game,” receiver Isaac Bruce said, “but Ryan came in, and his eyes weren’t wide open. He came in with a confidence and just played. Just got the calls from the guys on the sideline and executed.”
Other Rams were even more effusive in praising the rookie.
“I knew he had it in him,” defensive end Anthony Hargrove said. “I was just ready for them to put him in. When I saw him in preseason, I knew he had it. I’ve been waiting to see him all year.”
That goes double for Fitzpatrick’s family and his friends.
“It’s been a little hectic,” he said. “It’s funny going from a guy that nobody knows, nobody talks to, to this guy that everybody’s calling and wants to talk to.”
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Not bad company
Last Sunday at Houston, St. Louis rookie quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick came in for the injured Jamie Martin and led the Rams to a come-from-behind victory. Fitzpatrick passed for 310 yards, the second-most in an NFL debut in 35 years:
*--* Player Team Date Yards Ed Rubbert Washington Oct. 4, 1987 334 Ryan Fitzpatrick St. Louis Nov. 27, 2005 310 Mark Rypien Washington Sept. 25, 1988 303 Peyton Manning Indianapolis Sept. 6, 1998 302 Jim Zorn Seattle Sept. 12, 1976 292 Jim Kelly Buffalo Sept. 7, 1986 292
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Source: STATS LLC
