When the Pittsburgh Steelers got routed, 30-13, by the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, a controversy came up when wide receiver George Pickens refused to block his nearest defender on a key play when they ran the football.
Pickens claimed he refused to perform his blocking duties because he didn’t want to suffer the type of injury that Houston Texans WR Tank Dell recently sustained.
But per Brooke Pryor, head coach Mike Tomlin pushed back on that claim, and he even said that it is evidence Pickens needs more maturity and growth.
With 814 receiving yards and three touchdowns, Pickens is arguably Pittsburgh’s biggest offensive weapon this season.
However, one thing that seems to separate great wideouts from those who are merely good is the willingness to block when they do not get the ball.
The Steelers, who are 7-7 and fighting for a Wild Card playoff spot in the AFC, have struggled offensively all year, and they rank 28th in points, 28th in passing yards, 29th in first downs, and next-to-last in passing touchdowns.
They have lost three games in a row, and it is possible that one more loss would eliminate them from contention for a postseason spot.
Pittsburgh will host the Cincinnati Bengals, another team in the hunt for a playoff berth that has been winning despite injuries, on Saturday.
After that, they will leave Pennsylvania for road contests against the pesky Seattle Seahawks and the mighty Baltimore Ravens, making it seem as if Pickens and crew have an uphill climb to simply reach the playoffs.
I don’t care how good he is, he obviously isn’t mature enough to be playing with the big boys. He needs to be treated like the child he’s acting like and benched. We have other very capable players who want their chance to show what they can do. By allowing him to continue this disruptive behavior it’s repeating AB all over again.