Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Minkah Fitzpatrick: 'I'd like to see him get back to the turnover ways'

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin broached the topic on his own Tuesday. So it must be something top of mind for him and the rest of the Steelers coaching staff.

How do they rediscover the natural playmaking ability of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick? How do they put him in positions to be the takeaway machine that he was when the Steelers first acquired him via trade in early 2019?

During media interviews Tuesday, Austin was asked if there was anything he wanted to improve within Fitzpatrick’s game from what he has seen the past few seasons.

“I’d like to see him, as he gets going, really get back to the turnover ways,” Austin said. “Really getting back to getting the ball away from people because he has that ability. And that’s a special ability. Not a lot of people have it. So I’d like him to get back to that.”

When asked about what the Steelers can do to put Fitzpatrick in better positions to make those kinds of plays, head coach Mike Tomlin tried to tamp down the discussion.

“There is nothing wrong with Minkah or his turnover ability or tally,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes, it’s circumstantial. We didn’t stop the run well enough a year ago. … There was no lack of production in that area from him.”

The data suggests otherwise. In his first nine games with the Steelers after being traded by the Miami Dolphins, Fitzpatrick accounted for five interceptions, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

However, Fitzpatrick was involved in zero turnovers over the last five games of that 2019 season. His totals dipped to four interceptions, a forced fumble and a recovery in 2020. And in 2021, he had just two interceptions, a fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

But Tomlin’s other two points are sound. There were a lot of circumstances at play for the dip in Fitzpatrick’s turnover totals. As we outlined at “Breakfast With Benz” after the 2019 season, three of his interceptions were tipped balls. Six of the eight times he got the ball back as a Steeler, the opposing quarterback was targeting a receiver that a different defender was directly guarding or the ball was fumbled.

That speaks to Fitzpatrick’s instinct and athleticism that Austin is referencing, but it also backs up Tomlin’s suggestion that circumstances of how the ball bounces can play a major role in how many turnovers any NFL safety gets in a given year.

And — at least in 2021 — Tomlin is also right by linking Fitzpatrick’s increased run support duties as a major factor in his diminished takeaway total.

With the Steelers getting gashed on the ground to the tune of an NFL-worst 146.1 yards allowed per game, the defense called on Fitzpatrick to help fill the holes on the second level and forced him to make lots of tackles at the third level. Fitzpatrick’s tackle total shot up to 124 on the season, 84 solo. Both of the numbers were career highs by significant amounts.

“Last year, we put him in some bad positions in terms of the ball getting on him. And he’s got a lot of open field to cover and tackle guys. We’ve got to make sure (others) do that, so he doesn’t have so many saves to make,” Austin said.

Indeed. When it comes to making difficult saves last year for Fitzpatrick, think of Marc-Andre Fleury having to play in his first few seasons behind the pre-Sidney Crosby Penguins. It was kind of like that.

The Steelers didn’t just pledge $36 million in guarantees to make Fitzpatrick a run-stuffer. You can understand why Austin wants others to soak up those responsibilities, so Fitzpatrick can be freed up to ball hawk in the secondary.

You can also understand why Tomlin wants to mollify any concerns Fitzpatrick might have about the recent dip in turnovers. He doesn’t want the former All-Pro running himself out of position in an effort to chase them.

But the Steelers need them. Their takeaway total has dropped from 38 to 27 to 22 over the past three seasons. The defense’s best way to improve against the run this season may be to get itself off the field as quickly as possible.

To say nothing of giving the club’s restructured offense the most possession time and best field position possible.

Fitzpatrick fulfilling Austin’s wish is their best hope of accomplishing all those goals.

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