Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens caught more flak than he did footballs this past Sunday after a three-reception showing. He started off the game wearing eye black that declared himself “Open Fucking Always”. During the game, he exhibited disengaged route running, and he dropped a key third-down pass.
At the end, after showing his frustrations on the sideline, repeatedly tossing his helmet and sulking, he pulled Cowboys DB Jourdan Lewis down by his facemask. Then Pickens refused to talk to reporters after the game, finally speaking on Thursday. So what does Arthur Smith, his offensive coordinator, make of all this, like throwing helmets?
“George [Pickens] is an emotional guy”, Smith said, via transcript provided by the Steelers’ media relations department. “He does that every game, maybe just it’s high profile. I’ve had players who have tackles, we get a sack, wish he had run the ball. We have guys that you throw it, wish he’d handed it off”.
In other words, Arthur Smith isn’t making a mountain out of a molehill, though it’s hard to know exactly what George Pickens is sometimes. Last year, he was a pebble in Mike Tomlin’s shoe, and I guess he likes to feel pebbles on his feet.
“The most highly competitive guys I’ve had, you get to the point where you don’t pay attention”, Smith said regarding Pickens’ emotional expressions. “You have direct conversation with the players, and you get to know them, but I don’t know. I don’t know what the camera shows, what it doesn’t”.
To say it another way, Smith cares a lot more about how Pickens responds to him than what the cameras capture of him on the sideline. Not only is Pickens a naturally emotional player, football is a naturally emotional game. Fans break their televisions and burn their jerseys when they’re mad. And it’s not like we haven’t seen Tom Brady absolutely brutalize some tablets.
If you love the game of football, whether you play or just watch, chances are you’ve gotten mad before. Granted, many of us probably channel it better than George Pickens does. But we don’t have millions on the line based on how well we play. Even coordinators feel the frustration, because they are human beings.
“I’ve certainly been guilty, regretfully, [of] showing frustration at times, calling a game, at an official, which is not what you want” Smith admitted while addressing Pickens’ behavior. “Some of that stuff, I’ll be honest, I don’t even pay attention to it. You’re just so hyper focused on trying to make adjustments and win the game”.
Still, even with all the justifications in the world, there comes a time when the behavior is a problem. And part of that conversation is the balance between risk versus reward. How much value is George Pickens bringing versus how much trouble he is causing? Right now, neither level is extremely high. But if he is going to keep sitting on the bench 40 percent of the time, or even if he doesn’t, I’m sure we’ll see more helmets flying.
