The Growing Relationship Between Ryan Fitzpatrick And Scott Turner

It's never easy introducing a new quarterback to a team, but the Washington Football Team is doing exactly that and doing so with their sights set on the playoffs in 2021.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was brought into the franchise with mixed reviews. Some thought the team should've targeted another free agent, and some still expected the team to draft an eventual successor.

Instead, the WFT stuck with their decision to bring in Fitzpatrick, and the coaching staff has been working on how to best emphasize their new quarterback ever since.

"Ryan obviously is a very smart player and has a lot of experience," said Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner when asked about his quarterback's influence on the offense this year. "...Some stuff he's done doesn't necessarily fit us, but it's been a work in progress. And when you've got a guy with that much experience, you listen to him. It's a different dynamic than maybe some other situations."

It's the age-old question. How much is on the quarterback, and how much is on the coaches? In theory, the more a coaching staff enforces their desires on the passer, the more responsible they are for the performances.

With younger quarterbacks, this tends to be the case. Rookies are rarely, if ever, given the autonomy to go out and truly control the game. Typically, when a young quarterback struggles, there is usually a coaching switch before a player switch.

As these players gain experience, knowledge, and maturity, they tend to feel they've earned a certain amount of influence on the scheme and approach to each game.

This is where Fitzpatrick and Turner find themselves now and appear to be taking a, 'teamwork makes the dream work', approach.

"Some stuff happens in practice and it's a little bit more freewheeling at practice," Turner said when asked how much freedom Fitzpatrick is getting within the offense. "Then when you zone in and you're playing a specific team and its game plan, and you kind of know what to expect. There'll be some parameters or some plays of if we get this through that or certain types of things as far as that goes."

What it boils down to is two experienced NFL minds working together to do what's best for the team as opposed to what they would want to do in certain situations.

Balance is necessary. And this will be a continually developing relationship throughout the season.

"Go throw the ball where it's supposed to go," Turner said about how he wants Fitzpatrick making decisions.

Sounds like a plan coordinator and quarterback can both get on board with.