Steelers' George Pickens, Mike Tomlin Meet About Frustrations
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and wide receiver George Pickens started working on constructive ways to improve their offense after the wideout's frustrations made national headlines during the week.
Tomlin told reporters after their Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots that Pickens's sideline emotions were a problem because they weren't "solution-oriented."
"It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented," Tomlin said. "We’re all frustrated, but we have to manage our frustration in a professional and mature way and when it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us towards solutions."
Tomlin has since told Steelers.com's Bob Labriola that he and Pickens have discussed things and are working on ways to improve the group moving forward.
"He and I had a great meeting this week," Tomlin said. "We were just talking about the New England agenda. I'm familiar with the agenda because I've just been a component of it in the past. When you have a dynamic player, oftentimes from a game playing perspective, you'll pick a block of time or block of plays where you're just going to deny that guy the ball and make others beat you. And the agenda is to keep the ball out of the hands of a significant player, but also if it's a significant player it's to create angst within him and within that unit. The quarterback feels pressure to get him the ball and have him included. The player feels pressure because he wants his talents to be a part of moving the football."
Tomlin mentioned how he explained things to Pickens in a way that relates to how defenses are going to remove him, and it comes with the territory of being an elite receiver.
The two also discussed how to manage Pickens's emotions as it's happening in-game.
"There's an education component that comes with it in terms of managing frustration," Tomlin said. "Certainly it's easy to say, 'Be mature. Don't get frustrated. It's part of the game.' But he needs to understand it is an agenda. It is a game plan. It is something that's constructed to break him and the unit down. And that's why it's so important that he manages the frustration component of it.
"... It's a tactic that's employed often when you're talking about significant players, or guys with unique talent in one-on-one circumstances. You can do that for a block of time, but it is very difficult to keep it up over the course of 60 minutes. And that's the educational component that you talk to a player about. You let frustration win, then you're not there for the final 15 minutes that might be the significant ones where you catch 3 for 90 yards and a touchdown. And so it's an education component to it as well."
Pickens said this week that there isn't much he can do in terms of helping the offense turn things around, as he's only running shorter routes that are covered up.
"I don’t know. You guys be at practice, right? I would just say I hope to see things like that. When it’s routes like that, I mean, I can’t really produce that way, running 5-yard routes, 3-yard routes," Pickens said.
After their meeting, the Steelers wide receiver may have a different approach when the first half of a game isn't going his way. And Pittsburgh will need those final three catches for 90 yards and a touchdown as they begin a crucial stretch of the season and fight for a playoff spot.
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