Steelers WR Pickens downplays effort criticisms

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens said he was trying to avoid an injury when he stopped engaging with Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones near the goal line on a first-quarter Jaylen Warren run Saturday.

“I was just trying to prevent the Tank Dell situation, the same thing that happened to [him],” Pickens said Tuesday. “I ain’t want to get an injury. When you stay on the block too low, you can get ran up on very easily.”

Dell, a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, broke his leg earlier this season when he was rolled up on in a goal-line scrum. Pickens, however, was one-on-one with Jones.

Pickens has drawn harsh criticism for the play on which he appeared to make minimal effort in blocking Jones, resulting in Warren being tackled at the 1-yard line. Pickens even leapt over outside linebacker E.J. Speed as Speed rolled toward him after assisting on the tackle.

Pickens, though, brushed off the critiques about his effort.

“All the people that’s questioning my effort don’t play football,” Pickens said. “They do what y’all [the media] do.”

Pickens also added the outside noise doesn’t affect him.

“No, not really because like I said, once again, it’s media surface guys,” Pickens said. “Guys who ain’t never played a game, they got a job in doing media … They’re never going to be in the NFL. They’re just media guys.”

But it isn’t just media members pointing out Pickens’ lack of effort. After telling reporters a week ago that Pickens’ in-game emotions were a problem because they “weren’t solution-oriented,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had a “great conversation” with Pickens ahead of the Colts game, according to a pregame Q&A with the coach on the Steelers’ team website.

Asked what he thought about how Pickens responded to that conversation, Tomlin said Monday that his wide receiver was “better” but still “obviously has room for continued improvement” — and that includes his effort on the Warren play.

“That’s one of the examples that I’m talking about in terms of still obvious room for improvement,” Tomlin said, asked specifically about Pickens on that play.

In a strange twist, Pickens initially denied the head coach said anything to him about managing his frustrations and emotions.

“He ain’t said nothing about frustration or anything like that,” Pickens said. He added: “Last week we played the Colts. I ain’t never had no conversation with Coach T, but ‘Let’s get better, let’s keep working.'”

Later, Steelers PR clarified Pickens thought the question was about a meeting with the head coach in the days since the Colts loss.

Pickens hasn’t hidden his frustrations this season. After posting three 100-yard games in the first six games of the season, Pickens has been an insignificant factor in an inconsistent Steelers offense. He’s on pace to finish just shy of 1,000 yards, but with only three touchdowns and 814 receiving yards so far, he has hardly had the breakout season that seemed on the horizon after a promising rookie campaign and highlight-reel-worthy training camp.

Throughout the season, Pickens has been captured by cameras sulking on the bench and yelling at teammates. Against the Patriots on Dec. 7, one replay showed Pickens slump when he wasn’t targeted in the end zone. Earlier this season when Diontae Johnson caught his first touchdown in nearly two years, Pickens jogged off the field to the bench, not joining the on-field or sideline celebrations.

Against the Colts, Pickens had a 50/50 ball wrestled away by a Colts defensive back, and later, after Mitch Trubisky threw his second pick of the game targeting Pickens, the receiver seemingly ran away from the action rather than chasing down the Colts player with the ball.

“Everybody’s mad when you lose,” Pickens said. “A lot of media guys want to say it’s my frustrations, but we’re losing. So I’m pretty sure the whole team is mad just like me.”

Johnson, who is in his fifth season, understands Pickens’ frustrations and dismissed the idea that his fellow receiver’s attitude was a distraction.

“It is just a matter of how the game goes,” Johnson said. “Everybody’s emotions are going to be like this. My job, everybody’s job is to just rally around a guy like that. George specifically, just keep his spirits up, keep his head in the game so when the ball comes his way, he’s able to make a play and that’s just part of the game.

“Emotions, that’s tough, but emotion is a part of the game. I don’t want to just sit here and just make him like George is the problem of the offense. That’s not the case.”