Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t believe wide receiver George Pickens is becoming a distraction, even as Pickens’ public displays of dissatisfaction suggest otherwise.
The talented but enigmatic Pickens, who leads the Steelers (3-2) in receptions and yards, played a career-low 34 snaps during Sunday night’s 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Pickens caught three passes for a season-low 26 yards on seven targets but also spent a significant chunk of the game as a spectator.
Tomlin called the dip in time for the 23-year-old Pickens an example of load management.
“Most players, particularly in today’s game that have specialized skill sets, they play positions like receiver (and) they don’t play every down,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “They don’t play every down because you need them in significant moments. You need them at the back half of the season. You need them in the second half of football games and those weighty downs.”
Maybe, but Pickens didn’t appear to handle the decision particularly well.
Wearing eye black with the phrase “always (expletive) open” written in front of a national television audience, Pickens sat motionless and alone for long stretches while his teammates met with coaches.
At the end of one offensive possession that included quarterback Justin Fields overthrowing him on a crossing pattern, Pickens slammed his helmet so hard coming off the field that it bounced over the bench.
After the game’s final play — a last-gasp series of laterals that went nowhere — Pickens grabbed at the facemask of Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who later called Pickens “weak” while heading back to the Dallas locker room.
Pickens declined to speak to reporters after the game and brushed them off again on Monday, retreating to the team’s equipment room during the 45-minute media window.
This isn’t the first time in his career that Pickens has found himself in the middle of a maelstrom because of a perceived lack of effort. He was chastised late last season…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/mike-tomlin-doesnt-think-steelers-have-george-pickens-problem
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Publish date : 2024-10-08 20:42:29
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