How to handle input from PlayerController instead of Pawn

After reading through the forums for a very long time i discovered that the pawn is where the input logic is supposed to be. the you possess a pawn the input goes to the pawn and when you possess a pawn that input is no longer sent to the pawn. so essentially pawns can only receive input when possessed by a controller. Someone please correct me if i am wrong but this is what i understand from the many threads i read.