The Colts returned to the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Wednesday with a focus on the New Orleans Saints, not on any lingering feelings about the way Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns went down.
by JJ Stankevitz
Following the Colts’ Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. – who had two catches on five targets in the game – made some comments to the Indianapolis Star he wanted to clean up on Wednesday.
Those postgame comments: “They just didn’t target me today, for whatever reason. Maybe I’m not a big part of the offense. … When I do get the ball, I feel like I always do something with it. Just know that i’m viable to break off a big one in any situation vs. any team. I’m just trying to show the coaches that I’m out there, too.”
On Wednesday, Pittman addressed those remarks in front of his locker at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
“Obviously it was a very frustrating loss the way that it happened,” Pittman said. “I’ve never been a good loser. I’m actually a very poor sport, it’s something that I’ve been working on my whole life. And it’s just hard for me sometimes when you lose your composure, you lose your head.
“I think I was a little dramatic when I said that. Obviously I am a big part of this offense — I lead the team in targets, stuff like that. It was out of frustration and I just wanted to clear up that I love playing here, I love Indy and everything we do here. I’m excited for this week coming up.”
Pittman added he probably wouldn’t have made those comments had he waited another 30 minutes Sunday evening – the sting of the Colts’ 39-38 loss was still fresh.
Pittman indeed leads the Colts in targets (65), receptions (42) and receiving yards (489) entering Week 8; he’s averaging 69.9 yards per game, which would be a career high.
“Pittman Jr. is a huge part of this offense, and he’s the ultimate competitor,” head coach Shane Steichen said. “I think when really good players – they want the ball and they express their feelings sometimes. That’s part of this league and we are going to do everything in our power to continue to get him the football moving forward.”
Back on the eve of training camp, general manager Chris Ballard brought up Pittman’s competitive fire as one of the traits he likes most about the fourth-year wide receiver.
“I don’t mind guys that are emotional and care because they want to win and guys that want the ball,” Ballard said. “That stuff doesn’t bother me. I would rather have a guy like Pitt who wants it and wants to win and does all the little things competitively right instead of a guy that just accepts what his role is. Having him, his presence, his competitive nature, the way he works … he is highly competitive and he’s a big piece of what we do.”
Originally posted on colts.com