Ryan Fitzpatrick says there is room for Mike Gesicki to improve
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are hoping that Mike Gesicki will not become another 2nd round draft bust after a disappointing rookie season and Ryan Fitzpatrick sees room for improvement.
It is not often that a quarterback will speak up about a player and if you are thinking that Ryan Fitzpatrick is speaking out against his new teammate, you would be wrong. He only is saying what he sees.
Speaking with the media about the team’s offensive dynamics, Fitzpatrick was asked about tight-end Mike Gesicki and while he couldn’t say what Gesicki was like last season, he says that he likes what he sees so far.
"(Have you seen growth from TE Mike Gesicki?) – “I don’t know where he came from in terms of I didn’t really see him last year. There are some things that Mike does that are special, that other guys can’t do. (There is) a lot of room for improvement. I think just like all of us, (we have) a lot of room for improvement in stuff we can do. He’s another guy that’s willing to work and I’ve been impressed by Mike.”"
It is hard to dissect what exactly Fitzpatrick has seen in Gesicki and whether it is truly good or if he is being somewhat protective but clearly he will have a lot of time to work with the 2nd year tight-end.
Gesicki has a lot of talent but last year was disappointing. Gesicki was not used well by Adam Gase who wanted to make him into more of a blocking tight end than a pass catching TE which is his strength. Now it will be up to Chad O’Shea to make Gesicki the best he can be.
Fans are waiting to see what those “special” attributes are but there is a lot of talent that has yet to come out on the football field. Gesicki should benefit from better quarterback play as well. All of the Dolphins are developing this off-season. There is a new identity being instilled within the players and the locker room. Call it culture or call it something else the players have to buy into it and change. That includes every player on the roster.
How well Gesicki handles the new system and coaching direction will determine whether or not he develops the way the team and the coaches expect him to.