Ryan Fitzpatrick needs to chill

Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't shy about calling out the decision-makers in the New York Jets organization following Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens.

After entering the game in place of an injured Geno Smith and helping the team to its second victory of the year, Fitzpatrick put Woody Johnson, Mike Maccagnan, and Todd Bowles on blast for the move to send him to the bench this week.

"The biggest thing in this game in order to last, is to have belief in yourself," Fitzpatrick said, via Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News. "Because when the owner stops believing in you and the GM stops believing in you, and the coaches stop believing in you, sometimes all you have is yourself. That's something that I've had to deal with before. That's something I'm dealing with now."

Perhaps it should be considered refreshing when, rather than dishing out the tiresome cliches that so often drag down postgame media scrums, a player willingly goes at his superiors.

And if painting yourself as the underdog and becoming "pissed off" at the situation helps your mindset on the field, as Fitzpatrick himself suggested, go for it. Whatever it takes, right?

But let's slow down a bit and try to avoid pretending that the Jets were quick on the trigger and made some colossal mistake in giving up on a franchise quarterback.

Fitzpatrick was benched after a disastrous six-game stretch to open the season. If there was any doubt that the offseason drama surrounding his contract was much ado about nothing, this was the crystal clear confirmation.

The decision to give Smith a chance came on the heels of a 1-5 start, in which Fitzpatrick connected on just 57 percent of his passes for 1,441 yards, five touchdowns, and a league-worst 11 interceptions. Call it losing faith if you must, but the move could have also been made weeks earlier than it was.

Would anyone have batted an eye if the benching came after, or during, his six-interception game in Kansas City? How about when he threw another three picks when the Jets hosted Seattle the following week?

The veteran signal-caller played at an acceptable level in relief of Smith against the Ravens, completing 9-of-14 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown. New York got the much-needed win, but all the credit can and should go to the defense for taking advantage of an ailing Joe Flacco.

A 14-pass sample, regardless of the result in the win column, does nothing to overshadow the glaring issues that led to the obvious move. Fitzpatrick's shortcomings when it comes to decision-making and arm strength aren't going anywhere. And really, neither are the Jets.

If the team is stuck paying him his $12-million salary either way, why wouldn't the last nine games of the season be used as a means to evaluate some of the younger quarterbacks on the roster?

Smith should remain the starter if healthy. Bryce Petty, a 2015 fourth-round pick, is right there waiting in the wings for an opportunity of his own, and second-round rookie Christian Hackenberg will need reps at some point. Any one of those three options would be far more productive than trotting the 33-year-old back out and expecting this week to kick start a career turnaround.

Fitzpatrick is a journeyman quarterback best suited as a high-level No. 2. He always has been - regardless of last year's statistical mirage - and always will be. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, either.

The problem arises when he's allowed to carry on taking shots at the organization and act as if he wasn't lucky to last six games as the starter in the first place. He's been around long enough to know exactly how this thing works.

New York can't let the mistake to chase after Fitzpatrick all offseason result in another error where the team wastes even more time by again handing him the keys and going back on a sound decision.

There's just nothing left to gain. Play the kids.