Jay Fiedler
{{NFL.com player}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata. Jay Brian Fiedler (born December 29, 1971) is an American football quarterback and is currently a free agent. He was born on Long Island in Oceanside, New York. He is one of the few Jewish players in the NFL and is also a distant relative of Arthur Fiedler, the long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
High School Years
Fiedler attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, New York and won varsity letters as a quarterback in football, a point guard in basketball, and as decathlete in track and field. He was influenced greatly by football coach Frank Luisi, who is also an English teacher at Oceanside High School. Fiedler told ESPN Magazine that his hero growing up was “my coach at Oceanside High School, Frank Luisi,” who “would do anything for us. Coach kept me focused. He still calls after every game.” Frank Luisi still teaches English for Oceanside High School.
College and Pro Career
An alumnus of Dartmouth College, Fiedler had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars before finding steady work with the Dolphins beginning in 2000. In between his time with the Eagles and Vikings, Fiedler served as a receivers coach at Hofstra University in 1997 before being signed as a free agent by Minnesota in 1998.
Among active quarterbacks in the NFL, Fiedler owns the fifth-best starting record (minimum 25 starts) with a 37-23 record for a .617 winning percentage mark. Fiedler's stint with the Miami Dolphins featured satisfactory regular season performance with poor post season performances. He threw one touchdown and seven interceptions with a record of one win and two losses in post season play while with the Miami Dolphins.
Fiedler signed with the Jets as an unrestricted free agent on March 11, 2005 as a backup quarterback to Chad Pennington. He suffered an injury on his right shoulder in a game on September 25 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and as a result, missed the rest of the season.
"Shows good ball skills on play-action but small hands lead to problems protecting the ball when hit. He has good timing and touch on underneath throws. He also does a good job of throwing accurately in the short-to-intermediate passing game when on the run. Also, for as intelligent as he is, Fiedler takes too many risks and doesn't show enough caretaker-type qualities. He doesn't always see the whole field. He will telegraph too many of his throws and he has a tendency to throw the ball up for grabs when the pocket collapses around him. He lacks ideal size, has too many passes batted down, and he has trouble seeing the entire field as a drop-back passer from within the pocket."-ESPN website "Scouts Inc."
Fiedler was released by the Jets on February 22, 2006 and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who released him in August of that year. Fiedler has a nagging shoulder injury and has been unable to practice.