Steelers' George Pickens' Behavior Has Now Alienated Him From His Teammates: "Got Up, Walked Away"

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't necessarily lose to a superior team in the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, as Head Coach Mike Tomlin is fond of saying, they "kicked their own a**." However, recognizing that the team shot themselves in the foot doesn't make the loss any less embarrassing — and that game was embarrassing. 

The offense again got off to its signature slow start, but unlike in the Week 4 loss against the Indianapolis Colts, it didn't really ever pick up speed. While it has been criticized for being too conservative, it seemed even worse against the Cowboys. Justin Fields was never given the trust to open the field up, call audibles, or even throw a pass to his would-be star wide receiver, George Pickens. 

Pickens was nearly nonexistent, despite being the team's number-one receiver. He had a paltry three catches for 29 yards and was visibly upset. He has been criticized for his immature behavior, but has reportedly been on the straight and narrow so far this season. However, this game brought out the worst in Pickens, starting with the eye black that claimed he is "always f***ing open" and ending with him ripping the helmet off a Cowboys player near the end of the game. 

During Monday's 93.7 The Fan Morning Show, hosts Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson spoke about the loss with Mark Kaboly from The Pat McAfee Show. Crowley noted that Pickens played 34 out of 58 snaps, while Calvin Austin III, Pickens' backup, played 44 out of 58 snaps, and Cameron Heyward, who is 35, played 55 snaps. They said that it felt like Pickens was being partially benched. Kaboly noted that Pickens did not take it well, and his teammates were unhappy with him. 

"Let me add to that, last week he played 86% of the snaps. He also played 68, 77, and 74% of the snaps before that. The 59 number is kind of alarming. There's something going on here. I'll tell you that part of the game was very fascinating to me. The binoculars on the bench watching George Pickens was very entertaining. Terrible body language, throwing helmets. I'm not going to say specific names here, but there was this one time, and I was just shocked, he went over, was not happy because he was probably not playing, went over, and sat on the bench next to a player; the player immediately got up, moved two benches to the right, and sat next to the punter. I was like whoa! Could this be circumstantial? I don't know. But a little bit later, he sat down, another guy got up, walked away."

Kaboly said it reminded him of when there were issues between Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. The two would ignore each other on the sidelines. Kaboly said you could see them make an effort to avoid the other, but they would deny it. He said when the weekly press conference rolled around each week, both Roethlisberger and Brown pretended they were friends and said that the media made it up.  

As far as Tomlin's weird statement about choosing to limit Pickens' reps during the game, Kaboly said it made no sense to him either. He said he isn't sure if Tomlin thinks the fans are "dumb or what." After all, Heyward is coming off a massive groin injury, has depth at his position, and still played way more snaps than who is practically our only receiver. 

Why Are The Steelers Not Playing George Pickens More?

Kaboly said that, in his opinion, when you watch the tape from the loss to the Colts, you can see Pickens "dogging it." He felt that Pickens made it obvious whether it was going to be a pass play or a run play. He wonders if the fact that he was giving away the plan is part of what got him benched. 

However, according to Kaboly, the only way to improve this is to get Pickens the ball. He said there is something about receivers. Maybe it's the diva in them, but they do not always respond well when they are punished by having snaps taken away. A lot of fans won't like him being given playing time; they will feel he is being rewarded for his bad behavior, but the only solution is to feed him the ball. 

How do you think Pickens' teammates feel about him? Click to comment below. 

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