There may not be another sport in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts more than football. Camaraderie is important in every team sport. But I’m not sure outside of football it’s more damaging if you don’t feel like the guy next to you is playing for you.
Because if he’s not, then you’re going to take a hit. Literally. That’s what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren last Saturday in the first quarter against the Indianapolis Colts. He picked up six yards on 1st and goal from the 7, WR George Pickens putting little effort in his block attempt, and allowing his defender to give the running back a good whack near the goal line.
Warren was asked about that on Wednesday by Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He said, in part, “If I was in that position I would have blocked for him. But we play differently”. Referring to Pickens’ comment that he was trying to avoid injury, he said, “At the end of the day, he was doing what he thought was best for him”.
“I think everyone read that quote”, Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “I think most players in that locker room have those thoughts. That’s the way they play football. That’s the way they were brought up in football, and George wasn’t”.
Now, I don’t know that it’s true that Pickens wasn’t brought up that way in football. He’s always had a reputation for being a physical player, in fact, and he has put plenty of NFL tape out there dominating defenders with his physicality. His comment about protecting himself from injury felt a lot more like an excuse than anything. But even that doesn’t help your case in the locker room.
“You don’t want to be teammates with that guy”, Fittipaldo said. “Even though players won’t say that on the record, 99 percent of the players in that locker room don’t want to play with a guy like that. That’s where they are right now. They’ve kind of got to put up with him and hope he rights the ship here”.
We’ve heard from many, many talking heads in recent days weighing in on Pickens and what the Steelers should do to handle him. Almost all of them have probably never spoken to Pickens in their lives, nor have been in that locker room discussing this issue.
Fittipaldo has, however, so his observations are interesting. He said that “There are other players in that locker room, too, who off the record will just shake their head and say, ‘What’s going on here?’”. He added, “It’s not for public consumption, but other players do not really understand, I don’t think, to a full extent what’s going on”.
Are players really walking around shaking their heads whenever they hear the latest chapter of the Pickens saga? Frankly, it could hardly be surprising if true. Even head coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday when asked if one player’s actions are hurting the collective right now that it depends when you ask him.
Both he and interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner made very clear that they feel he is a young man who needs to learn to be more professional and to continue to mature. Everybody rolls their eyes behind the immature person’s back. But it’s tougher when you have to work with him.
It does make you wonder what kind of conversations take place between Pickens and his teammates. Not generally, but specifically when these things come up about what he says in public. What did Warren say to Pickens about not blocking for him? What did Pickens say to Warren about his comments? I think we can readily assume which comments went over better in the locker room.
