Category: George Pickens

Steelers WR George Pickens perfectly summarizes the attitude of this team

George Pickens is the worst culprit for lazy play but he isn’t the only one.

First, it was Matt Canada. He was the problem. So what do the Pittsburgh Steelers do? They relieve him of his duties. Now we fast forward to now and the team still stinks. So if it wasn’t Canada, it must be head coach Mike Tomlin, right? Now he has to go.

But how about putting some onus on these players? Guys who are compensated handsomely to play football are going out and not playing winning football. Playing without heart, playing without discipline and playing without any desire to win games.

The prime example on Sunday was unfortunately once again wide receiver George Pickens. These two plays by Pickens perfectly sum up the big problem on this team that no head coach or offensive coordinator can fix.

Pickens is out here making business decisions in a must-win game to the detriment of his team. But let’s not just pin this on Pickens because there is a video. He might be the worst culprit on the team but this roster is littered with me-first guys who don’t put forth consistent effort and play with any modicum of discipline.

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Steelers WR George Pickens takes jab at his quarterbacks

George Pickens went third person to make his point on Thursday.

Despite everything that has taken place over the last few weeks, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens doesn’t seem to have learned a thing. Pickens has been called out for his sideline antics and just recently, former Steeler Merril Hoge called him out along with his teammates for lazy route running.

But Pickens is undeterred from his thankless self-promotion. On Thursday he stepped it up a notch by going third-person when he addressed the media on Thursday.

“I’m still doing what George does to get open and catch the ball and score,” Pickens said. “That’s all I want to do.”

Loosely translated, Pickens is doing his job, getting open, but his quarterbacks can’t get him the football. This might be true to a degree. Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett have been pretty awful this season. Saying it the way he did publicly isn’t exactly the team-first attitude you like to see but I think we all understand this is not your father’s Steelers team.

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Steelers WR George Pickens gets advice on controlling emotions from unlikely source

Antonio Brown hopes that sharing his experience in Pittsburgh with George Pickens might do him some good.

As many of the players on the Pittsburgh Steelers are, George Pickens is one frustrated dude. And he has every right to be after how he’s been misused this season. He’s been open more times than we can count and has acted out when overlooked.

But as a professional, there’s a time and place to vent those frustrations — behind closed doors.

Take it from … Antonio Brown.

“It starts in practice. You can’t come to the game and just be emotional about the ball. It starts in the meeting room, going and talking to coach Tomlin,” Brown said in a Dec. 11 Spaces on X via Steeler Nation.

“Coach Tomlin will take you to the offensive coordinator. They used to make a little box for me because I was one of those guys that needed the ball, and I love those guys who want the ball because they want to be great. But you’ve got to control that frustration because you don’t want the quarterback to get stressed out by you and not want to put you in the position you want to be in.”

Though it’s been counterproductive, Pickett being stressed out by Pickens’ antics could be what’s led to him being virtually ignored.

Brown suggests getting back in the good graces of his coach and teammates by communicating.

“You gotta play smarter, you gotta be willing to learn different positions, and you gotta be quarterback-friendly,” Brown said. “I advise GP to go talk to Pickett, go talk to Tomlin, go talk to the offensive coordinator. And get you a play box so when stuff breaks down, or the game is not going well, you can still be involved to do what you desire to, and that’s help the team win. It all starts with leadership, communication, and being on the same page with the people around you. You’re only as good as the people around you.”

It sounds like Brown doesn’t know that Pickett won’t be the quarterback going forward, possibly for the remainder of the regular season. No matter who’s at the helm, the advice remains the same. But that will require a lot of growing up, something that Pickens hasn’t shown he’s capable of.

Pickens has averaged just 3.5 targets per game over the last six weeks. In the first half of the season, with Diontae Johnson sidelined, the Georgia product registered three 100+ yard games, all wins.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on George Pickens’ behavior: ‘It’s a problem’

What George Pickens is doing is only hurting the Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens isn’t dealing with the team’s offensive struggles very well. Multiple times this season, Pickens has thrown tantrums on the sidelines when the offense isn’t working and he’s felt like he isn’t being included in the offense enough.

Tomlin addressed the media on Monday and talked about Pickens’ sideline behavior.

“It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented,” Tomlin said. “We’re all frustrated, but we got to manage our frustrations in a professional mature way. And when it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us toward solutions, and so from that perspective, certainly.”

Pickens is in a tough spot. Wide receivers are only as good as their quarterbacks in many cases, and unfortunately the Steelers quarterbacks stink. Pickens leads the team in receptions and receiving yards, but he is in no way having the type of season he is capable of.

Nevertheless, what Pickens is doing is toxic to a team that doesn’t need any other distractions. If you aren’t making the situation better, you are making it worse. That’s where Pickens and Tomlin find themselves with the Indianapolis Colts on the schedule this week.

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Steelers WR George Pickens says he didn’t know Matt Canada was fired until Wednesday

George Pickens might have been the only person in Pittsburgh who missed the Matt Canada firing.

The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t practice on Tuesday so most would consider it a day off. But when the news broke on social media that the team had fired former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, most of the players saw it and knew.

But not wire receiver George Pickens. He talked to the media on Friday and said he didn’t hear about the Canada firing until the next day. Pickens said he doesn’t pay much attention to his phone or social media, which would make him the exception among young people today.

It’s been a tough season for Pickens thanks to the struggles of Canada and quarterback Kenny Pickett. I’m sure Pickens is looking forward to changes in the offense to afford him more opportunities for big plays.

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Steelers RB Najee Harris tells George Pickens to chill

George Pickens’ teammates are doing their part to help him navigate what’s hopefully just a phase in his young career.

George Pickens got his first real taste of what happens when you let your emotions get the best of you in the NFL: The media puts you under a microscope and usually makes it a bigger deal than it needs to be.

From the negative body language during the Thursday Night Football game to Pickens removing all signs that he’s a Pittsburgh Steeler from his Instagram account on Saturday, he’s been the most written and talked about member of the Black and Gold.

His teammates are doing their part to help Pickens navigate what’s hopefully just a phase in his young career.

Najee Harris put it to Pickens this way: When defenses render you ineffective, another player shines.

“They’re not going to let you be a game-wrecker,” Harris told Steelers media via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on Wednesday. “They’re going to find ways to minimize that player. And when you find ways to minimize that player, it creates somebody else’s opportunity to eat. And that’s the part of the team.”

Harris’s advice was to put things in perspective and be chill about it.

“I was telling GP, it’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with being frustrated, it’s just how you handle things. Obviously, he’s a talented guy. Teams are going to do things to minimize him. But I was just telling him in the middle of the game, too, that you got to keep your composure.”

Advice from Diontae Johnson, who knows a thing or two about frustrating games, had a similar tone.

“I had a good talk with him,” Johnson said. “He understood, and I understood where he was coming from, as well. Nobody’s perfect. You can’t knock him. At the same time, he’s human, so I didn’t think too much about the situation. I know what it was from — frustration from the game, obviously.

“So, him doing what he did, yeah, there’s a better way to go about certain situations. But he felt like he had to handle it his way, but at the same time, it wasn’t the right time to do all that.”

We’ll see if Harris and Johnson got through to him when Pittsburgh welcomes the Green Bay Packers to Acrisure on Sunday. According to NFL.com stats, their defense allows the sixth-fewest yards through the air, limiting quarterbacks to an average of 174 yards per game and eight total touchdowns.

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Steelers focus is on Green Bay Packers, not George Pickens

Mike Tomlin’s response to all the George Pickens nonsense is exactly what one should expect from one of the most tenured head coaches in the NFL.

While it was clear Mike Tomlin wasn’t thrilled about taking questions on George Pickens disassociating himself from the team on social media or his reaction to Diontae Johnson’s touchdown, it was something he needed to do.

“He expresses frustration all the time, man,” Tomlin said. “He wants to be significant. He wants to be a reason why we’re successful. Y’all don’t begrudge that. I want guys who want the football. I want guys who want to be central reasons why we’re successful, and so that’s a non-issue, to be quite honest with you.”

As for how Tomlin handles the situation, one which he has more experience than he’d probably like with, it’s simple.

“Like breathing? It’s easy. I know it’s a cute story for you guys, but it is a pebble in my shoe, to be quite honest with you, in terms of the things that I have to do in an effort to get this group ready to play this week.”

Tomlin has far bigger fish to fry, like building off his team’s thrilling win over the Tennessee Titans.

“Our focus is on the Green Bay Packers and what we’re all going to do in this football game. I can’t state it any plainer than that. It’s like reality television, the way you guys follow social media and write stories about it.”

His response to all the Pickens nonsense over the past week is exactly what one should expect from one of the most tenured head coaches in the NFL.

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NFL legend Shannon Sharpe calls Steelers WR George Pickens lazy

Shannon Sharpe didn’t hold back on Steelers WR George Pickens.

The crowd erupted on Thursday night when they saw Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens haul in one of his amazing catches, this time for a touchdown. But after further review, it was determined that Pickens didn’t get his second foot down. Honestly, it really wasn’t even close and this came as a surprise coming from the guy who has quickly built a reputation for those types of plays.

This drew the attention of former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on their podcast “Nightcap” and Sharpe did not hold back in his criticism of Pickens.

“Bro, you put too much work in. That’s lazy feet. That’s lazy,” Sharpe said. “There’s no other way around it. That’s just being lazy. You know you can’t take that long of a step in the end zone on a catch like that.”

The last two weeks have been way down for Pickens and this feels like a situation he cannot dig himself out of. Pickens’ game is all about his athleticism and not about the work so will he be willing and able to put in the work to get himself out of this slump? And more importantly, get his mind right and put the needs of the team ahead of his own?

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Steelers WR George Pickens is now a hostage, not a volunteer

As the ol’ Mike Tomlin saying goes, he wants volunteers, not hostages.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens went through a roller coaster of emotions following his negative-1-yard performance on “Thursday Night Football” against the Tennessee Titans.

On Friday, Pickens wiped his Instagram account of all things Steelers and posted a meme with the words “free me.” Now some images are back and the meme removed.

But the meme got me thinking: As the old Mike Tomlin saying goes, he wants volunteers, not hostages. And “free me” sure sounds like words a hostage would use.

From Le’Veon Bell to Antonio Brown and Chase Claypool and Melvin Ingram, Tomlin has jettisoned plenty of hostages in his 17-year career. Something tells me he’ll hold on to this one as long as he produces. And clearly, the Steelers need to devise a way to do that on a more consistent basis.

It appears with Pickens that when things are great, he’s happy. But when he doesn’t get looks, he’s going to create a scene. Typical wide receiver actions. Every time Tomlin rids the team of a me-first receiver, he drafts another. It’s cyclical, just like the player’s attitude.

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Video catches Steelers WR George Pickens bailing after Diontae Johnson TD

George Pickens didn’t feel the need to celebrate with his teammate after a touchdown.

If there is one thing every NFL wide receiver loves it is attention. And a good end-zone celebration. Even when they aren’t the ones who scored it, most receivers can’t wait to get into the middle of it and get some camera time.

This is why we were so surprised to see this video of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens casually jogging off the field as opposed to celebrating with teammate Diontae Johnson after his touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.

Is too much being made of this behavior or should the Steelers be concerned? You hate to see a player be such a poor teammate. Johnson hadn’t scored a touchdown in 665 days and you can’t even run over and celebrate with him? Not a great look and more division is the last thing a struggling offense needs.

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