Right before the Pittsburgh Steelers’ failed fourth-down conversion with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter, the team had a screen pass to WR Van Jefferson that went for just one yard. Both Calvin Austin III and George Pickens didn’t block well on the play, and former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger wants to see more effort out of Pickens when it comes to his blocking. On his Footbahlin’ podcast, Roethlisberger said it’s the little things that will make Pickens great.
“It may sound like being overly critical of George, but in that situation, when you have a screen, if he gets that block, I believe, if I remember correctly, it’s a first down and maybe touchdown. He makes a lot of great plays, but if you want to be great, do the little things that’s required as well,” Roethlisberger said.
He said that if Mike Tomlin gets on Pickens, he might come out with a different side of him going forward.
“And I know he can do it. And what I hope you’re gonna see is a guy who goes out there and gets a little bit nasty moving forward. That’s one where Coach might get on a guy. If Coach is willing to hold him accountable, he’ll get on him.”
The play wasn’t all on Pickens, but his blocking effort wasn’t great, just throwing his shoulder into S Jessie Bates III and Bates easily shed the tackle. But WR Calvin Austin III also got blown back, and even if Pickens made a great block, the play still could’ve been stopped for just a one-yard gain. Still, a better block out of Pickens could’ve given Jefferson more room to operate and may have allowed him to pick up a first down, but Austin’s poor blocking still likely would’ve prevented a touchdown on the play.
This isn’t the first time the blocking effort has come up with Pickens, though. Roethlisberger is right that if a player is truly great, they do all the little things it takes to win and make plays. Pickens is a strong receiver, and he should’ve been able to hold the block and make a better effort on the play to free up Jefferson.
If Pickens is ever truly going to ascend to a top-tier receiver, he’s going to have to make plays in every facet of the game, and that includes blocking for his teammates. While this play could’ve gone either way, even if Pickens does make a good block, it’s completely doomed. Pickens just throws his shoulder into Bates and does not make a real effort to get a body on Bates.
It’s stuff like the lack of blocking effort that shows where Pickens still has room to go. While he had a good game yesterday with six receptions for 85 yards, it could’ve been a better day had he shown more effort here and potentially helped the Steelers put together their first scoring drive of the day. Instead, the short gain prevented a first down, and Pittsburgh was stopped on fourth down, ending the drive with zero points.
If Pickens continues to struggle to block, it will become a bigger issue going forward, but hopefully, as Roethlisberger thinks, Tomlin or Zach Azzanni will hold him accountable and unlock some nastiness in Pickens as a blocker.
