NFL Gamepass began producing a series of film sessions last year. Each film shoot has a different NFL player sitting down with Brian Baldinger and, for this season, Kurt Warner to give a player’s perspective on the game, what they see on the field and their experiences in the NFL.
New episodes are released during the off-season, and the most recent episode featured Minkah Fitzpatrick.
If you have NFL Gamepass, you should definitely go see it. And if you don’t have the NFL Gamepass, you may consider signing up for a week of free trial to watch the episode.
Minkah Fitzpatrick talks about many topics on the show, some that Steelers fans will be very interested in.
For example, when asked if he was given an I-pad with the playbook on the flight to Pittsburgh, he replies that the Steelers still use paper for their playbook. He got off his flight, arrived directly at the team’s facilities, met with secondary coach Teryl Austin, who handed him his playbook and spent 3-4 hours on film with him. Three practices later, he was the free safety starter facing the San Francisco 49ers.
During the show, Kurt Warner asked Fitzpatrick where he believed he played best. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s response was that she played better when “she was allowed to be free and go find her.” Meaning plays where the Steelers release you from specific responsibilities and allow you to read the play and react.
Steelers fans will surely be interested in discussing the part of the show when Fitzpatrick was asked about the week-to-week change in defenses he has played on. He talked about how the defense in Alabama, under Nick Saban, would change a lot each week as they faced up to the different crimes in the SEC. He talked about how the Miami Dolphins would change their defense weekly, but not so much, and in Pittsburgh, “We could add a wrinkle here or there, but we play what we play, we keep it simple and that allows us to play fast. “
Steelers fans surely remember Dick LeBeau’s defense that was complex, didn’t change much, and yet was very effective, and Mike Tomlin came from Tony Dungy’s coach tree, where he kept things simple enough for him. players on the field early is a core philosophy. I’m wrapping up my series of films about the Steelers’ high school evolution, the “wrinkles” they added throughout the season, and KT Smith put out a fantastic movie theater on how the Steelers disguise their schemes. Minkah Fitzpatrick addressed the security part of the costume process, how he and Terrell Edmunds will speak on the sidelines or before a play, discussing when to show what they’re doing and when to show something else.
It’s impressive when you see how well Fitzpatrick and Edmunds worked together, and how they worked to disrupt the opposing quarterback’s decision-making process. It’s also impressive considering they are both sophomores and they did it without an offseason together.
The interview is an excellent look at the Steelers All-Pro security thought process. The amount of insight he brings to each play is impressive, and the speed of his thought process when you hear all the things he’s processing and see how fast he reacts on the field.
If you have the opportunity, I recommend you see it. If not, you can watch a 3 minute clip of Minkah talking about playing Miami from the show HERE.
It will be fun to see what Minkah Fitzpatrick and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense can do with that old school paper playbook in 2020.
