Kyle Pitts’ recent strong performance for the Atlanta Falcons has prompted questions about what has led to his resurgence on the field. In this week’s mailbag, both head coach Raheem Morris and Pitts addressed these developments.
When asked if anything had changed in his approach, Pitts said, “Just each week, during the week, making sure we strain and we focus in and off the field, to be able to go out there and perform.”
Morris supported Pitts’ statement and explained that his practice habits have been consistent since offseason activities. “It’s hard to say (he’s doing anything different) in practice,” Morris said. “You guys are all here for OTA days and you got to see training camp and this is what he looked like throughout the whole course. I was scared to talk about him in the offseason because you want to just let him get out there and do it on his own and let everyone see it for themselves. In the course of the season he has shown moments like yesterday and even the week before but to put the consistent games back-to-back like this I think is something that is really nice for us all to see.”
He continued by highlighting Pitts’ performance on critical downs: “Particularly (Sunday) on conversion downs — third or fourth — he was special. Being able to go get the ball and connecting on some critical catches that were contested, beating man-to-man coverage, winning some pretty tough looks, getting the ball in his hands … Everything wasn’t perfect but certainly was producing at a higher level than what we have seen in some other times and some other years.” Morris added that ongoing discussions since last offseason have focused on seeking more from Pitts: “He’s given us more,” Morris concluded, “and it’s been nice.”
Another question addressed why the Falcons are putting together wins despite being out of playoff contention. Morris acknowledged frustration over missed opportunities earlier in the season: “I don’t know if you can talk around that. It is frustration,” he said. He pointed to close losses against teams like Carolina, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Indianapolis Colts as examples where results could have shifted with better execution.
“It’s not a very high level (of frustration) but a high level of encouragement about what the team can do and how we can show everybody else what we can do. It’s stuff that you know internally that you see every day and that you know should have been happening, could happen — it’s a little frustrating that it happened at this time, at a later time,” Morris said.
Linebacker Divine Deablo commented on team cohesion: “These boys just want to play for each other,” Deablo said.
On defensive personnel matters, questions arose regarding who would start at cornerback if Mike Hughes remains sidelined with an ankle injury. Morris stated they will continue evaluating Hughes’ status during practice this week.
Regarding replacements Cobee Bryant or C.J. Henderson, Morris shared confidence in both players: “I really like the competes of Cobee Byrant going out there last week and playing against a real Hall of Famer in Mike Evans, and then having a chance to get C.J. out there (Sunday) to go make some big-time plays for us — a huge play at the end,” Morris said. “… Those guys I have a lot of faith and a lot of confidence in them and not everything is always going to be right, I think that is a part of football but I think those guys going out and giving us everything they got is a huge part of us evaluating them and them solidifying their spots on our football team to be able to contribute in their roles.”
Morris indicated it could be either Bryant or Henderson starting or possibly both sharing duties as they did previously.
