[JAFF]

Missed this, more on why things are hard to see from the stands.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...y/69684583007/

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Pittman Jr. caught seven passes for 61 yards against the Steelers. He scored a touchdown. He started a potential comeback drive by jumping over the back of a defender through pass interference for a 28-yard gain.

And yet afterward, all the Colts' No. 1 receiver wanted to do was blame himself.

"I played like absolutely dog (expletive) in the first half," he said. "If I play the way I know I can play, we're not even down. I just have to do better."

This is who Pittman Jr. is after games right now: He's introspective, chasing a personal standard that can get cripplingly high. He's the son of an 11-year NFL running back who bears the same name. He writes out All-Pro goals for himself and laminates them on a sheet in his locker.

“Michael just thought he was the best thing on the football field," said his father, Michael Pittman Sr., "and he’ll go out there and he’ll prove it.”

Pittman Jr. wants the team to put it on his back, and he'll be hard on himself when he comes up short.

Michael Pittman Jr. is on pace for a second straight 1,000-yard season with the Indianapolis Colts, but he has only found the end zone twice this year.

Take the interception of Monday night's 24-17 loss to the Steelers. Matt Ryan dropped back, maneuvered around pressure and fired a 5-yard throw in Pittman Jr.'s direction that Steelers cornerback James Pierre undercut for an interception.

"I was supposed to keep on running through," Pittman Jr. said. "I had seen (Ryan's) arm come up, I kind of froze, because you know, you feel like the ball is coming. That's really on me. I have to keep running through. Somebody's man on the back side was chasing through, and if I keep moving, I'm going to catch it. I fell down. Again, my fault."


Pittman Jr. made up for that mistake with a big second half, including the 28-yard jump ball on the final drive, in which he leaped through an interfering Levi Wallace and came down between two defenders.

But even that play felt short of the standard.

"I looked at that one and thought that maybe I could have stayed up," Pittman Jr. said. "That's just a routine play and Matt gave me that chance. Matt threw a great ball and I had to go up and catch it, but I have to stay up next time and try to finish that."


This is who Pittman Jr. has become in practice, film sessions, interviews and games. He internalizes the pressure that can feel scolding to a team that entered the year with playoff hopes and now sits at 4-7-1.

"He sets a standard for himself that is higher than anybody's standard for him," Ryan said. "I don't believe he played like dog (expletive). I think he did some things that really gave us a chance to win that ball game.

"Part of who he is is chasing that improvement and trying to be the absolute best he can be."

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. isn't afraid to be self-critical when he and the team don't live up to standard.
Pittman Jr. is not quite having the season he expected for himself this year. Almost no Colts offensive player is. Pittman Jr. came in as the clear No. 1 option in a young receiving corps for Ryan, and he felt ready to add a yards-after-contact element to his downfield game with a quarterback known for his accuracy and fearlessness in throwing across the middle.


Pittman Jr. leads the Colts with 74 catches for 739 yards, and he's on pace for another 1,000-yard season. He has just two touchdowns. He's catching a career-best 71.8% of his passes, but he's averaging a career-worst 10 yards per reception. He's seen the downfield plays disappear in an offense with leaky pass protection that is intentionally throwing short to preserve the 37-year-old Ryan's health and remaining arm strength.

Pittman Jr. has had to deal with constant change around him, from the benching of Ryan for two games to the firings of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and coach Frank Reich, who was also the play caller. He's admitted he hasn't always dealt well with the frustrations as he chases a bar he has yet to clear. He can get caught expecting immediate results.


It's created a fascinating third-year player for the Colts to mold, with highs and lows that bubble in such a chaotic and challenging year.

"I tell these young guys all the time: You can't always beat yourself up. There's a time and a place to take a deep breath: It's OK, let's get back to work," Ryan said. "So it's trying to help him understand those things as a young player.

"But trust me: I'd rather have a guy that's accountable and takes ownership for his own things than where it's the other way, where you're trying to get more out of him than he wants to give."