Steelers WR George Greer plays down criticisms of his work
Wide receiver George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers said he stopped tackling Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones close to the goal line during a Jaylen Warren run in the first quarter on Saturday because he didn’t want to get hurt.
“I was just trying to avert the Tank Dell situation, the same tragedy that happened to [him],” Pickens said on Tuesday. “I don’t want to get hurt.” It’s easy to get run up on when you stay in the block too low.
In the beginning of the season, Dell, a wide receiver to the Houston Texans, broke his right leg when he was rolled up on at the goal line. Pickens, on the other hand, was alone with Jones.
Pickens has gotten a lot of bad press for the play where he didn’t seem to do much to block Jones, which led to Warren being stopped on the 1-yard line.
Aside from making the stop, Pickens even jumped over outdoors linebacker E.J. Speed to be Speed rolled toward him.
“No, not really since as I said, again, it’s media surface guys,” said Pickens. “Guys who hadn’t played a game got a job in the media…” They will never play in the NFL. There’s nothing wrong with them.
After telling media a week ago that Pickens’ emotions during games were a problem as they “weren’t solution-oriented,” Steelers boss Mike Tomlin reportedly had a “great conversation” with Pickens before the Colts game, as shown in a pregame Q&A on the team website.
When asked what he thought of Pickens’s response to that talk, Tomlin said on Monday that his wide receiver proved “better” but “obviously has room for ongoing improvement.” This includes how hard he tried on the Warren play.
Tolstoy replied, “That’s an example of how there’s still clear room for improvement.” He was asked directly about Pickens upon that play.
Later, Steelers PR said that Pickens believed the question related to a meeting with the head teacher in the days following the loss to the Colts.
In an odd turn of events, Pickens first denied that the the head coach had said anything about him about how to deal with his feelings and anger. But it’s not just reporters who say Pickens isn’t trying hard enough.
“He ain’t said something about anger or anything such that,” he said. “We played the Colts last week,” he said. “I haven’t talked to Coach T before, but ‘Let’s receive better; let’s keep working,'”
Pickens hasn’t tried to hide how upset he is this season. Pickens had three 100-yard games in his initial six games throughout the season, but he hasn’t been a big part of the Steelers’ attack since then.
Almost 1,000 yards are still to come, but he only has three scores and 814 yards receiving so far.
This hasn’t been the breakout time of year that everyone thought he would have after a great rookie year and a training camp that would make for great highlights.
Throughout the season, cameras have caught Pickens pouting on the bench and yelling at his peers.
Pickens was slumping when he wasn’t being targeted in the end zone during the New England Patriots game on December 7.
Pickens walked off the field onto the bench when Diontae Johnson scored his first touchdown in almost two years earlier this season. He didn’t join the celebrations on the field or on the sidelines.
Pickens has been getting a lot of attention lately, according to coach Mike Tomlin, for making some awful decisions. The most recent of these happened when Pittsburgh lost 30–13 to Indianapolis upon Saturday.
In the first quarter, Jaylen Warren was stopped short for the goal line while running because a second-year player forgot to block downfield.
Pickens also ran downfield after an interception for Indianapolis, running away from Colts back Julian Blackmon.
Not all of them. Lately, Tomlin said that Pickens needs to be doing a better job of dealing with problems. This comes at a time when the Steelers (7-7) are on the outside of the eventual AFC playoff picture.
Calling Pickens’ effort level with Indianapolis into question on Monday, Tomlin said, “I thought he was better but obviously still has room for continued improvement.”
Pickens says it might not be. He said he did not hinder Warren’s run because he didn’t want to get hurt like HOU rookie tight end Tank Dell did recently when he was hit from behind.
Choosens said, “If you stay and block for too long, it’s very easy to get run up on.” As for his behavior on the sidelines, which can range from being spoiled to being bored when things don’t go his way, he just shrugged.