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NFL Report: George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers star receiver, responds to outside criticism about hustle
George Pickens, the star wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, responds to the criticism about hustle by saying he doesn’t care.
“They don’t play football, so they don’t know what I’m doing,” Pickens said Tuesday. “They just do what you do.”
The 26-year-old Pickens has been scrutinized recently, even by his own coach, Mike Tomlin. The latest example of his poor play came in Pittsburgh’s 30-13 defeat of Indianapolis on Saturday night.
On a first-quarter run by his fellow second-year pro, Jaylen Warren, Pickens did not block downfield, allowing the play to come to an untimely end at the goal line, where Warren was tackled.
On another play, Pickens jogged back downfield after an interception by Indianapolis’s Julian Blackmon, a play that has been widely shared on social media.
Everyone who has an opinion is just a media person, Pickens said. “They don’t even play football. They’ll never make it in the NFL. They’re just media people.”
Not everyone, though. Tomlin recently said Pickens needs to be better at handling adversity amid a late-season slide that has dropped the Steelers out of the AFC playoff race.
On Monday, Tomlin said Pickens was better against Indianapolis, but “I think there’s room for improvement.”
Maybe not, though. Pickens said he didn’t block during Warren’s run because he was afraid of getting hurt, much like Houston rookie receiver Tank Dell did recently when Dell got rolled up from behind. “If you stay and block for too long, you can get run over,” he said.
As for Pickens’ sideline behavior, which can range from grumpy to cheery when things aren’t going his way, he shrugged.
When you lose, everyone is upset, Pickens added. “I know a lot of people in the media would like to say it’s my fault that we’re losing, but I’m sure the entire team is just as frustrated as I am,” he said.
