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A clip of Steelers WR George Pickens run blocking went viral following a matchup against the Colts over the weekend. On the play, it didn’t appear the wideout was giving 100% to help his teammate get into the endzone.
Pickens was quickly called out for his lack of effort, leading to a response from head coach Mike Tomlin. Now, the pass catcher is giving his side of the story.
The moment came during a frustrating day for Pittsburgh, who fell to Indianapolis 30-13. A number of different storylines emerged after that blowout loss.
Defender Damontae Kazee was ejected from the game after a hit on Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman, which led to a suspension that will last the remainder of the season.
That decision completely split the NFL world with some believing the punishment to be too harsh. Kazee won’t be paid for the Steelers’ three remaining games.
And speaking of payment, there were more than a few gamblers upset with Mike Tomlin at the end of that matchup for essentially giving Indianapolis an extra field goal. The late score would push the OVER on the point total, hitting the bank account of UNDER bettors.
Then, there was the continuing trend of poor offensive play on Pittsburgh’s end.
In a year where OC Matt Canada was fired midseason, and quarterback Kenny Pickett is sidelines with an injury, things keep going from bad to worse.
Awful showings against a pair of two-win teams in Arizona and New England led to losses, and the unit didn’t look much better in Indy.
One particular play went viral involving George Pickens’s non-existent run blocking effort.
Pickens lack of effort yet again. Bruh, the running play is to your side! The Steelers problems aren’t just at QB.
– Pickett didn’t play today so you can’t blame him. They have a leadership, culture and coaching issue.
– Canada had no business coming back this year as OC,… pic.twitter.com/JpJ9W9iJO5— Edwin🎙️ (@EdwinSphere) December 17, 2023
George Pickens explains lack of run blocking effort
The wide receiver cited safety as his reasoning behind not blocking.
“I was just trying to prevent the Tank Dell situation,” Pickens said on Tuesday. “I ain’t want to get an injury. When you stay up on those blocks you can get ran up on. That’s the reason.”
He also blasted the media for portraying him as lazy and calling him a selfish teammate.
“All the people that’s questioning my effort, they don’t play football, they do what y’all (in the media) do… All that people that got opinions, they’re media, surface guys. None of them play football.”
Pittsburgh fans who grew to love max-effort guys like Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle-El don’t love the answer, especially coming from a player that plummeted down NFL Draft boards due to character concerns.
Mike Tomlin and Co. are hoping the situation gets resolved as they make one last playoff push. Riding a three-game losing skid, the 7-7 Steelers are a game out of the postseason race.
They’ll face Cincinnati on Saturday with Mason Rudolph taking over for Mitch Trubisky under center.