June 30, 2024, 3:23 PM ET
For the first time in his playing career, Minak Fitzpatrick suffered an interceptionless season.
PITTSBURGH — For the first time in his career, the four-time All-Star safety Pro Bowl, Minkah Fitzpatrickfinished a football season without recording a single interception.
Prior to 2023, that had never happened. Not in five seasons of NFLnot as a university student in Alabamaand not in the St. Peter’s Prep of New Jersey.
Even more frustrating for the three-timer All-Pro first team, his season with zero interceptions statistic – one abbreviated by injuries – came after setting a career-high with six in 2022, including one returned for a touchdown on the quarterback’s first pass of the season Joe Burrow.
It will be a priority for Pittsburgh to move Minkah Fitzpatrick as little as possible from his free safety spot. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
With a re-equipped secondary and a new campaign on the horizon, Fitzpatrick He has a goal in mind for 2024.
“Just let me play football, American style.” Minkah ball“, he pointed Fitzpatrickanswering a question regarding what the defense can do to put him in better position to make plays. “We have to study the film from ’22 and see what we did there.”
Los Steelers They will no doubt study the 2022 tapes, but a stat line reveals a difference in the schemes, too. In 2022, Fitzpatrick lined up as a free safety in 76 percent of his defensive snaps. In 2023, the percentage of free safety opportunities Fitzpatrick as free safety fell to 51 percent, according to data from ESPN Stats & InformationWith injuries and suspensions significantly affecting the secondary, Fitzpatrick He moved around more in 2023, playing 16 percent of snaps in the slot, compared to just 8 percent the year before. And, he played nearly 30 percent of snaps in the box, setting a new career high.
The defensive coordinator Teryl Austin He admitted that the position did not allow Fitzpatrick exploit their strengths. Correcting it is among the priorities of Austin for the 2024 season.
“Our most important thing as coaches, our job is to try to put all the kids in the best possible positions so that they play as well as possible and can exploit their abilities,” he said. Austin. “And then last season, I probably failed in that regard. We tried to make him do too many things, and I think I’m going to go back to what really makes him special.”
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An instinctive player, one cut from the same cloth as the former safety of the Steelersand member of the Hall of Fame, Troy Polamalu, Fitzpatrick He is certainly at his best when he lines up as a free safety, able to read the entire field. During his rookie campaign in Miamithe then head coach Brian Flores moved to Fitzpatrick frequently, causing the safety to express his frustration with that role, ultimately leading to him being traded to the Steelers in 2019. Once in Pittsburgh for that season, Fitzpatrick He played almost exclusively at free safety and had five interceptions in 14 games for his new club. Most of his reps also came at free safety, until a lack of depth forced him to move more in 2023.
But with new additions expected for the 2024 campaign, Fitzpatrick and the defense are in a better position to return to the “Minkah ball“Not only is safety back Damontae Kazee after a three-game suspension to close the regular season, but the Steelers They also added the veterans DeShon Elliott, safety, y Cameron Suttona versatile cornerback.
Although he played mostly as an outside cornerback before being released in Detroit, Sutton previously showed the ability to be a Swiss Army knife in the secondary during his first six seasons in Pittsburghand hopes to fill a slot void upon his return, pending a potential suspension for the NFLfor violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
“It’s been in the system for a long time,” he said. Fitzpatrick regarding Sutton“He’s been in the league for a long time, so he’s experienced. He’s a versatile player, he can play corner, he can play slot, he can play safety if needed. He’s another chess piece for us on the board.”
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Los Steelers They also have Darius Rush as an option in the slot, alongside rookie safety Ryan Wattswhose speed and 6-foot-3 frame make him an intriguing candidate for the position.
“Minkah “He’s at his best when he plays a little deeper, seeing things and being able to react and see the game,” he noted. Austin. “He sees things really quickly, so it’s my job to keep him back there as much as possible, getting him out of situations where he’s loaded and things like that; it’s not that he doesn’t know how to carry, but he’s better at doing other things, and that’s where the strengths come in. other additions.
“You have guys who are capable of doing those tasks that [Fitzpatrick] should have taken last year, so let’s have others perform those tasks and let them Minkah get back to where you really are, not just good, but exceptional.”
It is also not harmful for the Steelers are on track to begin the 2024 campaign with a healthier group of inside linebackers thanks to the addition of Patrick Queen y Payton Wilsonsomething that should reduce the time of Fitzpatrick lining up inside the box, and allowing the team to employ more five-back defenses.
“He’s a high-intellectual guy, and I think just adding that guy to the linebacker group is something we need,” he said. Fitzpatrick about Queenand something that will be very valuable in the next season.
Could that help? Fitzpatrick come back to play “Minkah ball“?
“As many good players as you can have on the field,” he added, “it’s going to help Minkah return to ‘Minkah ball‘”.
2024-06-30 19:23:00
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