Bill Belichick Notes Unpredictability as Strength for Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

There's a reason they call him Fitzmagic, and it's because when he's on the field, he'll do things you didn't expect.

The New England Patriots will be battling a familiar foe in their season opener. No, not the Miami Dolphins or Brian Flores. New England will be going against quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was named Miami's starter earlier this week. 

When it comes to playing the Patriots, no one is as experienced as Fitzpatrick. He has faced New England 13 times so far in his career, the most of any player.

Fitzpatrick doesn't boast a spectacular record, going 3-10 against the Patriots, but he nevertheless has experience playing them. The most recent time the two teams faced off he was also able to get the better of New England, leading Miami to a 27-24 victory over the Patriots in Week 17 of last season.

With New England having many questions pertaining to the roster ahead of their season opener, Fitzpatrick's experience against the Patriots will give the Dolphins an advantage. This is something that Belichick highlighted when talking about Fitzpatrick's skill set and what makes him so tough to play against. 

"Ryan [Fitzpatrick's] a smart player," Bill Belichick said during a video conference call with the media Tuesday. "A very experienced player and a very instinctive player. He does things on the field that are done through instinct and experience and confidence. So every situation is a little bit different. You got to be careful kind of overplaying him because he'll take advantage of those situations where you overplay him one way or another. He certainly has a great grasp of Coach Gailey's system for the amount of time they have been working together so I'm sure that he can go in and out of things that they need to do to take advantage of defensive weaknesses and opportunities. 

"He's a tough competitior. He's a tough guy to tackle. He's got good quickness and can stay in the pocket. Hard to take down. Also he is an excellent game manager and passer. We certainly saw plenty of that last year from him. We have a lot of respect for what he can do and how well he has done it and can still do it. He's a little unpredictable so that makes him a little more difficult to defend because of his versatility and his ability to, with confidence, attack weaknesses that the defense presents."

Belichick has great respect for Fitzpatrick, and there is no doubt that the Patriots defense will have a challenge right out of the gate. New England's front seven will have to cause pressure and make life difficult for Fitzpatrick. Even if they aren't getting sacks, if they force him to get the ball out quickly it would allow for Stephon Gilmore or another great member of the secondary to make a play.

Week 1 will be an interesting measuring point for the Patriots. It will show if they haven't lost a step or if 2020 is more of a rebuilding season.

Going against Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins isn't an easy challenge. New England saw what happened when you take them lightly in 2019. Going down to Miami is no longer a cakewalk, especially with Fitzpatrick at quarterback.

The six-time Super Bowl champions can prepare for Miami all they want. But as Belichick mentioned, when Fitzpatrick is on the field, anything can happen.