It wasn’t so long ago that some diehard fans were convinced that the Pittsburgh Steelers had to rid themselves of WR George Pickens. He was a problem that could not be solved. In the two weeks since his effort and maturity were questioned, he’s caught 11 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns, going over 1,000 receiving yards for the season.
Many of his critics have since come out and praised how he responded to that adversity, including two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Long. “I’m a huge fan of George Pickens and it pained me to question his efforts a couple weeks ago, and I know I wasn’t the only one”, he said on Inside the NFL on CW Sports last night. “There was Bill Cowher and all these people”.
“And then he goes for like, 200 [yards]. And he’s on the sideline and he’s putting his hands over his ears and saying, you know, ‘I don’t hear the noise’”, Long continued. “I would push back and say you heard every word everybody said, and I love the way you responded”.
After each of his two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago, Pickens gestured in some way indicating that he wasn’t interested in hearing his critics. He put his finger up to his lips to shush the crowd and then turned a hand to his ear as he turned his head.
After his second touchdown, once on the sideline, he found a camera and made the shushing gesture again before covering both of his ears as if to say, “I’m not listening”. But, of course, everybody seems to think that he very much was listening. He was also fined for unsportsmanlike conduct for pointing at a would-be tackler on his second score.
Most who say they’re not listening to something usually are listening. And there’s nothing wrong with listening. Granted, not all of the criticism he received was constructive, but nevertheless, you should be told when you’ve done wrong.
In the game before the Bengals, Pickens was accused of not blocking on a running play for RB Jaylen Warren, which resulted in his assigned defender putting a hit on his teammate near the goal line. On an interception later in the game, it appeared as though he ran on a path that would intentionally take himself out of the play and thus not have to try to stop the defender returning the turnover.
His success on the field over the past two games hasn’t suddenly made him grow up in all the ways that his coaches have openly talked about him needing to grow up. There was that maddening media session as well during which he blamed reporters for the criticism he received even though much of it came from former players.
But the point has always been risk versus reward, talent versus headache. His talent has shown these past two weeks and the headaches he’s caused in that time have been minimal. He’s still a young man of 22 years who is finding his way in life and as a professional football player and public figure.
Even after the Bengals game, Pickens told reporters that he “kept receipts” of those who criticized him, which resulted in team PR doing a bit of damage control to make sure his full quote got out there rather than just the juiciest—and arguably most relevant—sound bite. If anything, this time has reminded us not to be so quick to give up on people. Because even Pickens’ most ardent critics seemed to agree he had reason to be frustrated.
