Many have been concerned with George Pickens and his clear frustration during the Flacons game, but Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t care one bit.
If you watched the Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Atlanta Falcons in its entirety, it was impossible not to notice the frustration exuberating from rookie wide receiver, George Pickens. The longer the game went on, the more the 21-year-old allowed his body language to tell us just exactly how he was feeling.
As Diontae Johnson continued to hog the market share (11 targets in all), Pickens saw just two looks in his direction all game against the Falcons — one of which was clearly engineered to get him the ball early in the second half. However, things came to a head after a big drop from Diontae that stalled a Steelers drive.
As Pickens made his way to the sideline, he could be seen flipping out to the coaching staff. To no surprise, the rookie’s reaction became a storyline early in the week.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media as he always does. But when the confrontation with George Pickens was brought up, Tomlin not only brushed it off, but laughed it off. Some of Steelers media posted Tomlin’s comments. The full post-game press conference is available to watch on YouTube.
Tomlin on Pickens frustrations: “I laugh at people trying to make it a negative storyline. We tune that BS out.”
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 6, 2022
Mike Tomlin on George Pickens' frustrations: "I'd rather say whoa than sic 'em. I want a guy that wants to be a significant part of what it is we do … the mature way to express that, we’re working on. That competitive spirit of a guy that wants the ball, I want that guy."
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 6, 2022
Tomlin said that he laughs at people trying to make it a negative storyline (referring to George Pickens’ frustration from the Falcons game). So what did really go on and why was Pickens so upset?
Steelers must nip this issue with Pickens internally
Mike Tomlin isn’t fooling anyone with his comments. We all saw how vividly frustrated Pickens was in this game, and there’s no question it had to do with his utter lack of usage. While I do believe that the Steelers must do a better job getting their star rookie the football, Pickens needs to know that he can’t react the way he did in the public eye and expect the media not to talk about it.
We all know that Pittsburgh has dealt with some diva wide receivers in the past, and we are hoping that things don’t escalate from here with Pickens. However, there were rumors that a number of teams had him off their draft board prior to the 2022 NFL Draft, and his attitude might have been the reason why.
This is an issue that needs to be dealt with inside the locker room. Mike Tomlin needs to have a heart-to-heart with the young receiver and explain why he can’t be quick to express his frustrations on the field. Likewise, Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett should be working on ways to get their most efficient receiver the ball more often.
With Diontae Johnson struggling so hard in Week 13, I can understand why Pickens felt the way he did, but he does need to keep his emotions in check. Apparently, Tomlin is confident that this is a non-story. I hope that’s the case and that we don’t run into more issues down the line.