Mehta: Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick older, but wiser

Ryan Fitzpatrick hangs around the NFL longer than expected and expects himself to keep proving the doubters wrong.He is more than just a bearded Yoda in shoulder pads offering sagely advice to confused souls.

He is a young man in life and an old man in a world where oversized men are programmed to inflict pain on his Ivy League-educated derriere.

Admit it. You think you know Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s easy to pigeon hole.

He’s the cerebral Harvard Guy, who isn’t going to wow anyone on fall Sundays, right? What you see is what you get. He’s inching toward NFL senior citizenship. He’s almost — gasp! — 33 years old.

There are plenty of reasons to believe perception is reality. After all, Fitzpatrick…