Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens cannot be beaten on an even playing field. He simply cannot, at least in his mind. He is so skilled and talented that if he loses, there has to be a reasonable explanation for it. He is learning how to lose, former Steelers QB Charlie Batch says, because he never has before.
Last week, Pickens tussled with a Browns DB while a Hail Mary pass was in the air. Eventually, a stadium security guard intervened as the tensions rose after the game. There is some anticipation that he will be fined for his actions, not a first this season by any means.
“If you’re starting to play the game for free, if that’s not resonating to you, then I don’t know what else will”, Batch on the DVE Morning Show said about Pickens’ repeated antics while awaiting yet another fine. “Those veteran guys, they’re gonna have to continue to tame him down a little bit. … If you get two personal fouls, guess what? You exit the game. Is that the next phase of it? Now you’re really hurting your team”.
“All I know is George [Pickens] is a terrible loser, and I’m okay with that”, he went on. “Because this is the most that he’s lost ever in his entire football career. So you’re trying to learn how to lose, and for him it’s just a little bit more of a challenge”.
I think “terrible loser” is a fair way to describe George Pickens, and I’m sure he would agree. He clearly hates losing, or at least people telling him that he lost. I’m not quite sure he ever really believes that he lost, at least fairly. And that’s not such a bad mentality to have for an athlete, especially a wide receiver.
After the Browns game, Pickens made his opinion very clear, saying that the Browns were not a good team. He claimed that the Steelers lost because the snowy conditions, and the home-field officiating, “saved” the Browns.
Meanwhile, not for the first time this season, an opposing player called George Pickens a paper tiger. A storm in a teacup. All bark and no bite. Or in other words, a “fake tough guy”, to use the words of Browns DB Greg Newsome II.
Should the Steelers want Pickens to learn how to be a good loser, though? Is that fiery defiance of reality part of wat gives him his edge? Surprisingly, I never made it to the NFL, so I can’t really speak to the mindset of an elite athlete.
What I do know is that Pickens’ teammates spend a lot of time after games answering questions about things that he said or did. And if the Steelers should hit a losing streak, there’s a good chance things get a lot worse. That’s what happened last year, after all, and the Steelers’ schedule is pretty brutal. Hopefully we don’t have to find out just how much he hates losing.
