tyke1doe
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Most of what makes him great are things like tracking the ball in the air, body control, fantastic hands, and just flat out football instincts. It really isn’t his physical attributes that make him great, although they help. It is just how he plays football. He is a really, really good football player.
It is why people who compare him to past super athletic TE’s are wrong for doing so. Ebron, OJ Howard, Engram, Vernon Davis, etc. all were very physically talented TE prospects but they weren’t nearly as talented at actually playing football.
NFL Network televised his pro day last week and the reporter that was there (Kim Jones) said that one team’s lead scout who had been doing it for 30 years said that in all of his years scouting he never saw any player that could track the ball in the air as well as Pitts. He just uses that ability along with that 6’6” frame to put himself in the right place, in the right position to catch the ball. It’s almost like a knack that great WR’s have.
When he is tracking the ball in the air, adjusting his body to make the catch and then extending those super soft hands, there are a couple of players that he reminds me of. One is Randy Moss. The way that he finds the ball so effortlessly and high points it, playing well above the defenders is very reminiscent of how Moss looked doing it in his career. When you’re 6’6” tall with an almost 84 inch wingspan and 11” hands - if you have a knack for finding the ball and high pointing it - the guy(s) covering you are in a world of trouble.
Even when running with the ball he shows natural instincts. He intuitively understands leverage and angles. I’ve seen him catch a ball and turn upfield running and then reach back and stiff arm the guy chasing him, all in one fluid motion. It usually gives him a ton of extra yards because that little push in the facemask is just enough to give a few feet of separation, which is usually enough for him to go a long, long way.
That sounds simple enough but very few guys do it and it is something that Pitts probably does without ever being coached to do. It is just football instincts.
I guess the best way to put it is what I’ve already said: He just a great football player. He wins his matchups so often because of what goes on between his ears as much as because of his extreme physical gifts.
Put all of his inherent football skills with rare physical traits and what you have is a devastatingly effective guy at catching the ball and running with it.
As for his blocking, it is adequate enough where he shouldn’t be a liability. I think it was Scott Pioli who said the other day that Pitts gives really good effort on his blocking and that if you can get the effort, they can be just fine at blocking.
If the offense goes to a 12 package (two TE package) it would put the defense in a bind. It is technically a two TE set, which defenses traditionally counter with a heavy package. However, it would be Cooper, Lamb, Pitts, and Jarwin, which is really last year’s 11 package except for switching Pitts for Gallup. That is most definitely a threat in the passing game.
If the defense does go heavy against that set, then pass the ball. Those 3 receivers would then create huge mismatches. If they decide to play the 12 set with a nickel (or even dime) sub package, which would probably be the smart thing to do... then Dallas can run the ball with Elliott and have the defense at a disadvantage.
It should only serve to help the run game. It certainly wouldn’t hurt the teams chances at running the ball.
His impact in the red zone is pretty much just what you’d expect from a 6’6” guy that plays above the rim.
Translation: There's NO WAY Pitts makes it to Dallas and pick #10.
There, I saved you some words.