Fitzpatrick: Getting on the 'same page' has been prime focus
The Steelers' defense has struggled over the last three weeks in several ways as miscommunications have reared their head and contributed to wide open touchdowns on multiple occasions. That has been a prime focus for the Steelers since their loss to the Chiefs on Christmas Day and they've worked to get on the same page this week.
The root of the problem is how the defense has been exposed over the last three weeks against three of the best teams in the NFL. Minkah Fitzpatrick said Thursday after practice that while they've struggled to communicate, teams have schemed up plans of attack to take advantage of the weakness that has plagued the defense.
"They know that we are having some issues with motions and stacks and bunches and stuff like that because if you look at the stuff that we’ve been beat on, when guys are running open, it’s stuff that each team kinda got from the last team," Fitzpatrick said. "So, we’ve made a big emphasis this week on those style of plays and even plays that can stem off from it, and working on communication and everyone being on the same page and playing fast ball."
To fix those mistakes, Fitzpatrick said the defense has put in extra work on the side. While the offense has been on the field, he said the defense has been working on their communication to ensure everyone is on the same page. During the media portion of practice today, I watched the secondary work on players going in motion and how they'd defend and communicate when offenses use certain formations.
Mainly, the Steelers' solution, according to Fitzpatrick, has been to eliminate any gray areas that might exist when it comes to their defensive approach and it starts with being on the same page.
"I think it was a lot about getting on the same page, seeing the game the same way, really emphasizing communication so there’s no gray area so you can’t say ‘I did call this, I didn’t call that.’ Are we going to use hand signals? Or are we going to be verbal? It’s going to be clear if you did or did not. There’s not going to be any back and forth of what you did or didn’t say. It’s going to be clear, it’s going to be concise, we’re all going to be on the same page and we’ll play fast football."
After the loss to the Chiefs, many players, such as DeShon Elliott, Alex Highsmith, Cam Heyward and Patrick Queen, voiced their frustrations. Throughout the week, some have tempered down their comments, but still ensured they were doing whatever it took to fix the problem and Fitzpatrick reiterated that notion.
"When you have a lot of guys in the room that care about something and were not all in agreement or whatever, there’s going to be conflict, there’s going to be tension, everybody has a strong personality, everybody cares a lot, everybody gives a lot to this team and to this organization," Fitzpatrick said. "We have a lot of guys in this room that move that way and when we aren’t seeing the success that we want to see, there’s going to be tension. But the important thing is, after you have those conflicts and after you have those confrontations, it’s to ask each other, what are we going to do differently? Not because of the confrontation, but what caused it. Conflict, bickering, all that stuff is going to happen in the locker room. But, the important thing is to have a solution as to why."
Seeing the product on the field will be the ultimate judgement of whether or not the defense has fixed its problems, but according to Fitzpatrick, they have started to see the fruits of their labor. He said there haven't been guys running wide open in practice and they haven't had to run to many plays back, outside of one during Wednesday's practice. But, the Bengals offense, with an MVP candidate in Joe Burrow, is a lot different than what the Steelers defense sees in practice every day.
There were a lot of problems that needed to be fixed this week and it seems the locker room is confident that they've done just that but Saturday's results at Acrisure Stadium will tell the story.
As T.J. Watt said on Wednesday: "There's nothing left to talk about at this point, it's all about getting it done on the field."
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Greg Macafee
9:07 pm - 01.02.2025SOUTH SIDEFitzpatrick: Getting on the 'same page' has been prime focus
The Steelers' defense has struggled over the last three weeks in several ways as miscommunications have reared their head and contributed to wide open touchdowns on multiple occasions. That has been a prime focus for the Steelers since their loss to the Chiefs on Christmas Day and they've worked to get on the same page this week.
The root of the problem is how the defense has been exposed over the last three weeks against three of the best teams in the NFL. Minkah Fitzpatrick said Thursday after practice that while they've struggled to communicate, teams have schemed up plans of attack to take advantage of the weakness that has plagued the defense.
"They know that we are having some issues with motions and stacks and bunches and stuff like that because if you look at the stuff that we’ve been beat on, when guys are running open, it’s stuff that each team kinda got from the last team," Fitzpatrick said. "So, we’ve made a big emphasis this week on those style of plays and even plays that can stem off from it, and working on communication and everyone being on the same page and playing fast ball."
To fix those mistakes, Fitzpatrick said the defense has put in extra work on the side. While the offense has been on the field, he said the defense has been working on their communication to ensure everyone is on the same page. During the media portion of practice today, I watched the secondary work on players going in motion and how they'd defend and communicate when offenses use certain formations.
Mainly, the Steelers' solution, according to Fitzpatrick, has been to eliminate any gray areas that might exist when it comes to their defensive approach and it starts with being on the same page.
"I think it was a lot about getting on the same page, seeing the game the same way, really emphasizing communication so there’s no gray area so you can’t say ‘I did call this, I didn’t call that.’ Are we going to use hand signals? Or are we going to be verbal? It’s going to be clear if you did or did not. There’s not going to be any back and forth of what you did or didn’t say. It’s going to be clear, it’s going to be concise, we’re all going to be on the same page and we’ll play fast football."
After the loss to the Chiefs, many players, such as DeShon Elliott, Alex Highsmith, Cam Heyward and Patrick Queen, voiced their frustrations. Throughout the week, some have tempered down their comments, but still ensured they were doing whatever it took to fix the problem and Fitzpatrick reiterated that notion.
"When you have a lot of guys in the room that care about something and were not all in agreement or whatever, there’s going to be conflict, there’s going to be tension, everybody has a strong personality, everybody cares a lot, everybody gives a lot to this team and to this organization," Fitzpatrick said. "We have a lot of guys in this room that move that way and when we aren’t seeing the success that we want to see, there’s going to be tension. But the important thing is, after you have those conflicts and after you have those confrontations, it’s to ask each other, what are we going to do differently? Not because of the confrontation, but what caused it. Conflict, bickering, all that stuff is going to happen in the locker room. But, the important thing is to have a solution as to why."
Seeing the product on the field will be the ultimate judgement of whether or not the defense has fixed its problems, but according to Fitzpatrick, they have started to see the fruits of their labor. He said there haven't been guys running wide open in practice and they haven't had to run to many plays back, outside of one during Wednesday's practice. But, the Bengals offense, with an MVP candidate in Joe Burrow, is a lot different than what the Steelers defense sees in practice every day.
There were a lot of problems that needed to be fixed this week and it seems the locker room is confident that they've done just that but Saturday's results at Acrisure Stadium will tell the story.
As T.J. Watt said on Wednesday: "There's nothing left to talk about at this point, it's all about getting it done on the field."
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