By Martin Rogers
George Kittle enjoys talking and he has plenty to say. Whether it be to teammates, his tight-knit family or a reporter on the end of a telephone line, the San Francisco 49ers tight end has a swift and humorous line in repartee, especially if some of his favored topics are on the agenda.
"I’m very outgoing," he told me on Tuesday. "I like being around my friends and saying what I feel. I am not shy."
Needless to say, then, it takes a lot to render Kittle speechless, yet that very outcome happened momentarily earlier this week, courtesy of a man certainly not known for his expansive speech patterns – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The generic version of describing Belichick’s public utterances is to say he keeps his cards close to the vest. In fact, it’s a little more than that, he actually clutches them so tightly to his trademark sleeveless hoodie that getting him to admit anything other than that there’s a game on Sunday, and that he’s focused on it, can be regarded as a significant achievement.
Yet when asked about Kittle, whom his Patriots will face in Foxborough this weekend, Belichick immediately embarked upon a glowing testimonial to a player that, in the space of just over three years, has emerged as arguably football’s finest tight end.
"Kittle is a great player," Belichick told reporters. "He does everything well. I'd put him right at the top of the league there, period. His ability to run, catch, get open, after the catch, block, he does everything at a high level. He's as good as anybody that I've coached or as good as anybody that we've played against."
When you consider Belichick coached Rob Gronkowski for eight years, that’s some high praise indeed, for which Kittle was eminently grateful.
"It is incredible and I truly appreciate it," Kittle said. "Hearing that coming from a coach like him, who has sustained success and excellence for that long. It makes me even more excited to play them and try to play my best football against them."
Kittle made a strong and public call to action after the 49ers’ dispiriting defeat to the Miami Dolphins in Week 5. But while a 3-3 mark is not perhaps what you’d expect from a team that reached the Super Bowl, it probably constitutes a passing grade considering a swath of injuries at key positions, and last week’s win over the Los Angeles Rams brought a number of positives.
He is also excited for this weekend’s second annual "National Tight End Day" – a concept that started as a joke between him and teammates Jimmy Garoppolo and Garrett Celek but was later adopted as an official occasion by the National Football League.
"I love seeing all the tight ends getting appreciated," Kittle said. "I saw Jason Witten say that he thinks tight ends have to have the greatest technique. We have to block people twice our size and run routes against people twice as fast. It gives us a special role in everything. Being able to do all those things well is what makes the good ones great. I’m working to see what I can be better at – and what I can be great at."
Kittle is at an interesting point in his career where he is growing as not just a player but as one of the league’s genuine stars.
In many ways he is the perfect pitch man, larger than life, outspoken and yet refusing to take himself too seriously. He speaks animatedly and with good cheer on such themes as when he turned his garage into a bespoke home gym during lockdown. Or how his favorite food chain, Panda Express, agreed to make limited-time item Honey Sesame Chicken Breast a permanent part of their menu in honor of his 27th birthday.
When it comes to football, there is still levity, but with a purpose. He uses his personality to try to relax or inspire his teammates depending on what is needed, and while he knows the 49ers can’t afford too many more missed steps this season, he believes in his methods.
"In my opinion, 10 percent of the game is physical and the rest is all mental," he added. "When you get to the NFL, everyone was the best player at high school and one of the best at college. Everyone is a great athlete so what separates guys is the mental side of the game.
"Going into each week I prepare to try to know everything I possibly can about the other team. All the information we are given, I want to have it down and embedded in my mind. That allows you to play fast, to react quickest, because you are ready for what is coming."
Kittle was full of praise for (and belief in) Garoppolo, who missed two games with injury. He has struggled to convince everyone that he’s the 49ers’ man for the future, yet he bounced back strongly against the Rams. Tom Brady’s former New England understudy will certinly be motivated against his former employer.
With a hunger to get into the mix in the uber-competitive NFC West and a desire to recreate last season’s postseason run, you can be certain that Kittle will have the fire, too.
"Last week was a step in the right direction," he said. "We’ve not really had a time since I was with the 49ers where there was a problem with effort. We have always given that. Even when we haven’t played well, we have still played hard.
"I want to win every game and I’m disappointed that we haven’t. But we have momentum and are taking steps in the right direction. Guys are getting their confidence. The young guys are getting into it. Don’t take your eyes off us. We are just getting started."
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