Steelers WR George Pickens ripped for lack of effort vs. Colts

Effort appears to be an issue for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. In the latest incident, wide receiver George Pickens was ripped for his lack of effort against the Indianapolis Colts.

This came on multiple plays against the Colts. That included not run blocking near the goal line and not trying to make a tackle after a pass was intercepted.

BLOCK!!!!!!!!!!! #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/rB1jMf1uUu

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) December 17, 2023

Plenty of fans were upset with the effort online. Even former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got in on the criticism of George Pickens, saying, “George! Block somebody!”

Unfortunately, for the Steelers, this wasn’t the first time a former player was critical of George Pickens’ blocking. Just a couple of weeks ago Merril Hoge ripped both the entire offenses blocking and route running. With Pickens being the team’s star on offense, much of that was pointed at him.

This wasn’t the first time someone on Pittsburgh’s offense was torched for their lack of effort this season. Earlier in the year, Diontae Johnson also was caught on plays seeming to not try particularly hard and earning some disdain from fans.

Johnson owned up to the mistake, telling Steelers fans that it wouldn’t happen again.

“It was really just me owning up to what I did on Sunday to the team and just let them know it won’t happen again,” Johnson said. “How I feel and how I should go about the situation next time it occurs. I own up to it. I am not perfect. So all I can do is keep moving forward and just play football. That’s all I’m worried about.”

At 7-7, the Steelers are now fourth in the AFC North. With three difficult games left, even the AFC Wild Card is starting to feel out of reach.

Mike Tomlin admits George Pickens expressing his frustrations is a problem

One thing that has happened this season is that George Pickens has been open about his frustrations with the offense. That, as head coach Mike Tomlin admitted, is a problem.

“It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented. You know we are all frustrated, but we got to manage our frustrations in a professional, mature way. When it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us to solutions. So from that perspective, certainly [it’s a problem],” Tomlin said.

“I think it can happen to anybody when things aren’t going well, to be honest with you. We care a lot. We put a lot into it. So frustration is a natural human response. But I’m also completely comfortable asking these guys to do unnatural things because they are professional athletes. That’s our job to do the unique things and make it look regular. Make it took ordinary.”