Being good at one specific thing in life often makes individuals the most demanding critics of themselves. They tend to focus on the negative things they did before their focus is shifted towards the accomplishments.
As Houston Texans rookie safety Jalen Pitre stood in front of the media on Tuesday, he wanted to ensure he addressed the areas he could improve on after watching the film of the Texans’ 20-20 tie with the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.
“There are a lot of things I want to clean up going into Week 2, specifically my tackling,” said Pitre. “Second, my patience and my reading. I think those two are the two biggest things that I’m looking to improve on come game two.”
During his memorable senior season at Baylor, in which he was named the 2021 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and earned First-Team All-American honors, Pitre was instrumental in stopping the opposing defense. He finished the season with 75 total tackles, 56 were solo, and 18 were for losses.
Although the second-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft finished the game with 11 combined tackles, which ranked as the second-most tackles by a rookie making his debut for the Texans, he knew his lack of fundamental soundness caused him to miss out on adding more to his total.
“First, starting off on my angles, understanding where I’m coming in and what type of tackle it’s going to be,” Pitre answered when asked what he wants to work on specifically regarding tackling. “Whether it’s going to be a roll tackle or if it’s going to be one of those more form tackles. Just understanding where my leverage is and the angle that I have and executing that to the best of my ability.”
The Texans hope that Pitre is a fast learner as they prepare to take on the Denver Broncos led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson who was traded from the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.
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