The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a rut. In a few ways, they’re currently heading into the postseason with a myriad of ugly storylines. First, there’s the fact that they’ve lost three straight and their control over the AFC North. Both the offense and defense have had their issues as well. However, one notable storyline that’s presenting itself this week revolves around receiver George Pickens.
That type of thing is something we’ve heard a lot this year. Pickens is putting together another solid year and remains the lifeline of the Steelers offense. There are always the good things that Pickens does on the field. Likewise, the headlines he creates off of it are just as loud.
Most recently, Pickens is under-fire for not running a route during the Steelers’ Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, which ended up leading to a red zone interception. Things got more tense, and much more confusing, when Pickens abruptly ended his media time early this week after being asked about the play. It was a confusing situation overall, and admittedly wasn’t the best look for the star receiver.
However, moments like that in front of the media are the only things the world gets to see. There are things that happen, and conversations that happen behind closed doors that sometimes never come to light. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo thinks things are happening much differently in the building. He shared these thoughts on 93.7 The Fan on Friday.
“He [Mike Tomlin] doesn’t tell us the truth all the time,” Fittipaldo said of the situation regarding George Pickens. “And I think this is definitely a situation where he’s not telling us the truth…Are there communication issues? Yeah. But I think things are being handled behind closed doors in a much different way than they’re being handled before the media.”
It’s possible that Fittipaldo is right. Mike Tomlin’s made his legacy by being able to connect with his players on a level that most coaches can’t reach. He’s no stranger to star players who find themselves in the headlines. Coaching a player like Pickens isn’t anything new to Tomlin. It would be reasonable to assume Tomlin has handled all of this with Pickens and Wilson differently than the media has seen.
With that said, things do need to improve on Saturday night. A potential loss on Saturday, especially one full of frustration from Pickens only makes things more hectic with the media. This hasn’t been a peaceful season for Pickens, but he has a chance to end the regular season on a high note on Saturday.
