Pittsburgh Steelers’ Head Coach Mike Tomlin said today that he has no plans to bench wide receiver George Pickens despite poor effort and an attitude that can only be described as less than acceptable. Pickens has displayed poor body language and worse, his effort in blocking has been brutal and inexcusable. It’s the type of play that would get many players a seat on the bench or even a game without a helmet but that’s not the direction Tomlin is choosing to go.
What must be said is that the vast majority of us know little about the day-to-day communications between Pickens and Tomlin. We know very little about how things go on period so we can’t just jump to conclusions. For better or worse though, that’s what we have to do based solely on what we do know which is that the Steelers’ locker room is every bit a powder keg.
By choosing to play Pickens, Tomlin is taking a bit of a risk at least in the court of public opinion. I realize that Tomlin cares little for what any of us think but I have to believe this decision will be closely watched by the powers that be. The organization knew about Pickens’ immaturity and they trusted that Tomlin would be able to work his magic as he’s done with other players in the past.
Where things could get ugly is if we see another blatant lack of effort and a teammate gets hurt or turns the ball over. The Steelers fan base is already on edge over this crumbling season and his behavior to this point so any further regressions would not be met well. Tomlin also has other players on this team who clearly see what so many others do. Both Jaylen Warren and T.J. Watt made comments regarding Pickens’ laziness and I can tell you right now the fans will side with those two all day long and twice on Mondays.
What Tomlin is doing is using a form of restorative justice. Rather than “punish” George Pickens he’s communicating with him and is letting him work through his struggles while still being on the field. It’s admirable and Tomlin knows this young man far better than me but this decision could be a ticking time bomb. The fans inside Acrisure Stadium will be looking for any and all opportunities to take Pickens to task and I’m not so sure that’s what he needs right now.
Mike Tomlin knows better than any of us how to handle players but he’s making a big gamble this week in the hopes that some positive plays will turn Pickens around. I hope he’s right.
