By now we’ve heard plenty about Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens and his effort this week. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he classified his questionable blocking effort as a business decision. “I didn’t want to get an injury”, he said. “If you stay on the block too long, you can get ran up on very easily”.
Well, one person we hadn’t heard from is the person who was on the other end of his lack of effort—the person who took an extra hit because of it. His failure to sustain a block possibly prevented RB Jaylen Warren from scoring, and the defender he was supposed to block was able to put a good hit on him, accordingly.
“I see where he’s coming from”, Warren told Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday, when asked about Pickens’ comment about wanting to avoid injury. “It is what it is. At the end of the day, he was doing what he thought was best for him”.
“Some people play the game differently”, he elaborated. “If I was in that position, I would have blocked for him. But we play differently, so…”.
Without video or even audio of the exchange—which I doubt we will get—we only have the words to go on. You can miss tone and intent when you’re dealing strictly with text. Warren’s intentions could get misconstrued as a result.
But you don’t just say I would have blocked for him when asked about somebody who didn’t block for you in a particular situation without there being a point to it. Frankly, the only players who ever have an excuse for not blocking are the quarterback, the kicker, the punter, and the long snapper.
Warren, of course, is a running back, and a former college free agent. Pickens is a high-pedigreed wide receiver. You would expect a much greater level of physicality out of the former rather than the latter. But we’re talking about a wide receiver who has bragged about his blocking ability and his willingness to embrace it.
Indeed, he has characterized his interest in blocking as his way of getting attention when the ball isn’t coming his way. “Every time I’m out there, that’s why I throw the blocks”, he told Kevin Clark of The Ringer in July. “I love getting the ball, and when I’m not getting the ball I play angry so the attention is back on me. I basically draw attention to myself.”
It’s certainly achieved the effect of drawing attention to himself, we can say that much. He has become a national storyline in the sports media this past week. He has been called out by former players, even though he seems to think the only people questioning his effort are those who didn’t play football.
Pickens is at a critical juncture of his young career, but it’s important to acknowledge that there’s plenty of time to turn things around. The Steelers can help him, but he is the one who has to do the work. Because if he doesn’t, he won’t be the only one taking a hit from it. Ask Warren.
