Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. discussed his play style as well as how to take advantage of opponents' coverages ahead of the team's Week 2 matchup against the Houston Texans. (video via Jake Arthur)
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00:00 >> You've always shown to be really good with the ball in your hands after the
00:04 catch, and you took your dad's example, right?
00:07 You always wanted to be a running back.
00:09 >> Yeah.
00:10 >> How much more of that potential do you think is there,
00:12 just in terms of getting you the ball and in position to run?
00:15 >> Yeah, I mean, I've always thought that my strong suit was my run after catch,
00:21 and last year it was kinda diminished because of everything that was going on,
00:27 injuries and stuff like that.
00:28 So I didn't really, really get to show what I did in my first two years.
00:34 So I'm just happy to be healthy and get a chance to show it last Sunday.
00:41 And looking forward to our next game and
00:43 just keep on building off what we got going.
00:47 >> Is that coming to play when teams play shell, too high,
00:50 that kind of thing, can that be helpful?
00:52 >> Absolutely, I mean, just like with zone teams,
00:55 they try to just kinda smother everything and have those tight window throws.
01:00 So whenever you can break one and get a couple yards after the catch,
01:06 that's big in zone coverage.
01:08 So it helps out a lot.
01:10 >> Is there a way around those zone coverages, just studying and
01:13 learning where the soft spots in those defensive zones are?
01:16 >> Absolutely, I mean, that's basically the main thing in zone is you don't wanna
01:21 outrun windows and burst certain things.
01:25 You wanna set up and kinda just throttle in certain spots.
01:28 And that's what really sets apart, I think, like,
01:32 that guys who played a long time, they know those zones and how to find them.
01:39 >> I think ten of your 11 targets came in that second half,
01:41 most of them late in the fourth.
01:43 >> All of them did, yeah.
01:44 >> Is that a coincidence or
01:47 do you think that's maybe just AR kinda maybe looking to you, knowing you?
01:51 >> Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was his first game.
01:55 And sometimes the game just goes a certain way in the first half.
02:01 I was out there still and I was throwing blocks and
02:05 doing whatever I could to get open and do that.
02:08 And then the ball found me in the second half.
02:10 And sometimes that's how it happens.
02:12 I would like to see it more often, but anything that I can do to help the team.
02:18 >> What is the momentum of those blitz?
02:20 How do you build off the momentum of that,
02:23 like from one play to the next when you get more targets?
02:26 >> Yeah, yeah, I mean, when I get rolled like that,
02:29 I just feel like I can't be stopped.
02:30 I just keep on feeding me and I feel like I can move the ball down in any situation.
02:36 >> Look up.
02:37 >> My God, look at that.
02:39 >> That's so obnoxious.
02:40 >> So, yeah.
02:43 >> Do you feel like defense is more modernized?
02:47 There's more and more defenses that play the shell separation,
02:49 like everything they do is to run over the top?
02:52 >> Yeah, yeah, I mean, shell really helps with a number of things.
02:56 It helps with quarterbacks who got legs and can really run because they stay
03:03 in zone because if everybody blitzes and they go man, and then they pop open and
03:08 then AR can bust one for around 40, 50 yards, right?
03:12 So they do it for that and then they do it for,
03:16 obviously they don't want teams to beat them over the top.
03:18 They don't wanna give away those fast ones and they kinda make you stay patient.
03:23 >> Does it get frustrating when you get three or four of those teams in a row and
03:27 there's no, it's harder to go?
03:30 >> Well, I mean, there's always that chance and
03:33 you just gotta be patient and just take what they give you.
03:36 But of course, we like to hit deep routes and make those big explosive plays,
03:43 but you just gotta play what comes to you.
03:45 >> Is that one of those things where you know you're gonna see it until-
03:49 >> Yeah.
03:49 >> Plays out of it?
03:50 >> I mean, we don't focus on games in front of us,
03:54 we just focus on our next game.
03:56 So I'm thinking about the Texans and what they play, so
03:59 we just gotta take what they give us.
04:02 >> Yeah.