Thus far through two games, WR George Pickens is a large portion of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ passing game. That isn’t uncommon for top receivers, of course, but the Steelers are getting relatively little from everyone else. That especially goes for the other wide receivers, who have done next to nothing so far.
The problem is, the Steelers aren’t even getting the production they should when they target Pickens. And that’s everybody but Pickens’ fault, pretty much. As I talked about yesterday, he already has 135 hidden yards this year, most of which they lost via penalty. And that includes a touchdown, even if some of that loss is due to questionable calls.
“At this point, we’re the only ones that can stop George Pickens”, Charlie Batch said Tuesday on the WDVE Morning Show. “And I say that because every time there’s a big play, it’s always called back, and there’s things that get frustrating with it”.
Batch is referring to precisely what I mentioned above—positive plays by Pickens wiped out by penalties. He caught a beautiful 51-yard pass on Sunday that a Broderick Jones holding penalty negated. Later in the game, he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass negated by an illegal-pick call.
“One thing I do praise George on is trying to just stay patient and stay the course”, Batch added. “Because he could have gotten frustrated as the game went on Sunday, but he didn’t. If you add that [51-yard catch] to his stats, we’re talking about George finishing with 90 yards versus the pedestrian 26 yards that he had. So it’s just something that we have to live with at this particular point”.
I made the same point in the article linked above about Pickens’ patience. Considering the number of plays he has made that haven’t counted, based on his history, I think we should be impressed with his poise thus far. To the best of my knowledge, he has been free of tantrums, but perhaps because he knows where he stands. While he may not be putting up huge numbers, he is clearly the Steelers’ top target. When the ball is in the air, it’s probably finding him.
At the same time, there is no question the Steelers have to cut down on the penalties. And that is for far more than just the sake of George Pickens and his stat line. They already have something like 18 penalties so far through two games. It is to the point that head coach Mike Tomlin plans to bring in officials for every practice this week.
The Steelers have really hurt themselves with penalties this season, none hurt more by them than Pickens. But historically, they do clean up in this area over the course of the season. While they work these things out, Pickens is keeping his poise and doing his job. And he is making it obvious that he has a lot more to give. If only the Steelers can get to it.
