Tomlin adjusts stance on steelers key players emotions: ‘It’s a problem.
For his part, Tomlin wants his talented young receiver to focus more on being a “solution-oriented player.”
Last month, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called George Pickens’ obvious frustration on the field “a non-issue.” On Monday, Tomlin changed his tune.
“It’s a problem because it’s not a solution-oriented thing,” Tomlin said at his weekly press conference. “I know we all are frustrated, but we need to handle our frustration in a professional, grown-up way. When it’s not handled that way, it doesn’t necessarily push us to find solutions.
Pickens, the team’s second-leading receiver with 767 yards, hasn’t caught a pass since October and hasn’t topped 100 yards receiving since Week 7 against the Rams. He’s only had more than four catches in a game once in the past seven games.
Last month, Pickens’ frustration with the Steelers’ offense boiled over in the fourth quarter of the team’s 20-16 upset of the Tennessee Titans. The win came on a late TD catch for the Steelers’ only lead of the game. As teammates jubilated, Pickens sat on the bench in a state of exasperation.
“I know it’s a sweet story for you,” Tomlin said after the game. “It’s a sore spot for me, too, to be honest.”
Over the past few weeks, the receiver’s emotions have been on display more often than not on the broadcast cameras. Last Thursday, Pickens was seen yelling at Tomlin on the sidelines after the Steelers’ loss to New England.
To be honest, I think it’s normal for anyone to be frustrated when things aren’t going well,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “We put a lot of time and effort into this game, and we understand that frustration is a normal human reaction. But I don’t feel comfortable asking them to do things that aren’t normal because they’re professional athletes. We’re supposed to do the special things that make them special, not the ordinary things that make them ordinary.”
The mood in the Steelers’ locker room isn’t great right now. The team has lost two in a row and is coming off a two-in-a-row loss to the New England Patriots. After Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, veteran safety Mike Mitchell railed on the team’s lack of effort. “I just think we need more people who are willing to put in the work and don’t expect it to happen overnight,” he said.
It was reported that Fitzpatrick had a heated conversation with Johnson after Sunday’s win over the Browns. “I don’t know what happened,”
Najee Harris, a running back, has also spoken openly about his frustrations with the offense. “There are a lot of things going on that you don’t see, and I’m at the point where I’m just sick of it,” Harris said in November. “Matt Canada, the offensive coordinator, was fired a few days later.”
