The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-3 and they have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. One bright spot on their struggling offense has been second-year wide receiver George Pickens.
The former Georgia Bulldogs star has made some remarkable plays since his rookie season, but he’s also shown the immaturity that many teams around the league questioned ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.
George Pickens Whining While Steelers Winning
In last Thursday’s home win over the Tennessee Titans, Pickens, the talented-but-mercurial wideout, had two receptions for -1 yards.
Immediately following the game Pickens purged all of his social media accounts of everything Steelers, with the caption “free me.”
What could’ve become a distraction or a social media circus didn’t seem to bother legendary Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who’s used to dealing with diva receivers (Antonio Brown is one that definitely comes to mind).
Tomlin Unfazed By Pickens Actions
As he spoke to the media Tuesday, the always stoic-but-insightful Tomlin let it be known that he’s not about to let things like that faze him. He’s only focused on preparation for Sunday.
“Like breathing, it’s easy,” he said. “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. Our focus is on the Green Bay Packers, and what we’re all going to do in this game, and I can’t state any plainer than that. It’s like reality television, the way you guys follow social media and write stories about it.”
Tomlin Chalks It Up To A Strong Desire To Win
You don’t have 16 consecutive seasons to begin a coaching career without a losing record without knowing how to flip the script and make it look good. That’s exactly what Tomlin did in his response as to why Pickens seems to do that.
“Heck yeah, man. He expresses frustration all the time,” the coach told reporters on Tuesday. “He wants to be significant. He wants to be a reason we’re successful. Man, y’all don’t begrudge that, I want guys that want the football. I want guys who want to be central reasons of why we are successful. So, that’s a non-issue, to be quite honest with you.”
Tomlin’s handling of the situation was expected. Since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2007, the one-time Super Bowl champion coach has always been cool, calm and collected in the midst of being a leader of men.
For the season Pickens has 30 receptions for 521 yards and three touchdowns. His 17.1 yards per catch average ranks sixth in the entire league. That’s for a Steelers offense that’s been outgained and outscored overall this season.
