For the second time after a loss this season, Pittsburgh Steelers’ large receiver George Pickens finds himself below fireplace for actions after the sport with an opposing defensive again, in addition to for feedback made to the media relating to a workforce that simply beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This time, it’s popping out of the Week 12 Thursday Night time Soccer loss to the Cleveland Browns by which Pickens acquired right into a scuffle with Browns’ defensive again Greg Newsome II on the Hail Mary to finish the sport. He then mentioned the Browns weren’t soccer workforce after the sport.
The incident with Newsome is below overview by the NFL, so the Steelers are in a rush up and wait method with that. So far as the post-game feedback and the chirping from the Browns in direction of Pickens, it’s simply one other headache and one other signal areas Pickens must develop and mature in.
For the Pittsburgh Submit-Gazette’s Brian Batko, who appeared on the PG’s North Shore Drive podcast Monday morning, the incidents following the Browns sport had been simply further indicators that Pickens is a “fixed headache ready to occur” for the Black and Gold.
“Yeah, I imply, he’s a relentless distraction, headache ready to occur, it looks as if,” Batko mentioned of Pickens, in keeping with video by way of the Submit-Gazette on YouTube. “And Mike Tomlin talked final 12 months about how George Pickens answered questions with us within the media about not going for the fumble, or excuse me, not going for the block for Jaylen Warren in Indy and mentioned he must mature and there’s a relentless progress course of. And that’s not all the time gonna be evident to us on the skin. However man, I imply, that is as soon as once more, type of, there’s two completely different lanes right here. There’s the George Pickens complaining in regards to the climate and saying the Browns aren’t good. And the Steelers acquired the away-game refs.
“…However blaming the situations was so weird. It was actually only a case of not wanting to offer the Browns any credit score after which calling them not workforce. Effectively, now you’re simply amping them up much more for 2 weeks from now once they come to your house. I don’t see the purpose of, of that in any respect.”
How Pickens dealt with the tip of the sport on the sector after which within the locker room was quite weird and irritating. Progress and maturity shouldn’t be linear. Previous to the scuffle with Newsome after which the feedback to the media in regards to the Browns not being good and blaming the situations and the officers, Pickens was steadily rising and maturing, even within the sport itself.
Whereas tape did later reveal Pickens tried to journey Cleveland security Grant Delpit, he saved his cool when Delpit yanked his mouthpiece off of his facemask, leading to a private foul on the Browns, giving Pittsburgh free yardage. Up to now, which may not have occurred.
However as issues turned increasingly irritating for Pickens as he didn’t get a name from the officers on what regarded like go interference on the third and 4 shot play from Justin Fields, after which was run out of bounds by Newsome on the Hail Mary, issues — for a scarcity of a greater analogy — snowballed on him from there.
He’s nonetheless younger at simply 23 years outdated. He’s older, so far as NFL expertise goes, having performed 45 video games within the NFL up to now, however there’s nonetheless some immaturity there, which will be irritating for a lot of. It’s comprehensible to really feel that manner.
However his progress this season can’t be ignored. He’s taken correct steps, continues to play fairly laborious, and has had the correct perspective for probably the most half, outdoors of the time across the Week 5 Sunday Night time Soccer sport towards the Dallas Cowboys. That was a hiccup. That is seemingly one other one.
“After which there’s additionally the opposite lane over right here of is he taking himself out of the play on the Hail Mary as a result of he’s extra involved about preventing Greg Newsome than making an attempt to win? I imply, that’s once you begin to get into the soccer character of it and one thing’s gotta change there,” Batko added.
It’s going to occur extra transferring ahead. You are taking the nice with the unhealthy because of the expertise. That’s how good Pickens is as a receiver
However in some unspecified time in the future, the complications need to stop, a technique or one other. Hopefully his actions throughout and after Thursday’s sport had been only a small blip on the radar. Issues can’t proceed to snowball from right here with Pickens.
