This is why you don't bench Pickens

100% spot on. You know what you have in him, the next bit of adversity when things are not going his way, he has shown he will mail it in as he chooses.

 

Yeah like Walter Payton, act like you have been there before. Why do the players today have to act the fool, just be a professional, have fun but respect your opponent and never do things that put yourself in front of the team.

 

I'm tickled. However, if you believe he's magically cleansed of all further foolishness --- you're probably in the time-out child rearing age generation.

 

It's the generation. It's very few, and far between we see that old school way. They truly believe in the ....squeaky wheel gets the grease big time today.

 

Bench him and start who at WR?

 

I know I'm crazy but like in Hoosiers, no ref I'm good my teams on the floor (he played 4 guys because one guy broke the rules). Play both tight ends if you have to. It's great we won but it's hard to reward that selfish behavior.

 

Right, and the toxic culture he helped create led to zero championships won. I think Pickens is still salvageable, but I'll be damned if I want to see him put up Rice like numbers all the while being a selfish prick. Because it's not consistently conducive to playing championship football. I care about this team winning. With or without George Pickens.

 

Pickens showed the world what he thought. Pickens told you he doesn’t care, there was nothing wrong with his actions, he is gonna keep on … and Tomlin has done nothing to deter his behavior.

This won’t end well.

 

It's a tough call and a fine line but missing the curfew is different than quitting on the field. Is sideline of I don't hear the noise tells you he’s learned nothing and will be a continuing problem. Hope I’m wrong but that behavior can't be good for the locker room long term.

 

Yeah, Tomlin seems to have a thing for other teams wash outs

 

Well, I don't think a toxic locker room and the drama created by it are conducive to a winning atmosphere. I'll take Heinz Ward and Larry Fitzgerald all day any day over Brown and Pickens.

 

Exactly. Because it's obvious that he's only worried about getting his touches and getting paid. I heard on the Fan here in Pittsburgh that he only makes himself available to the media when he has a big game whether they lost or not.

I also happen to believe that helped looking the other way when it came to Brown's foolishness created an attitude where youngsters like Smith-Schuster and Claypool could use their company time for their silly self-promotions on social media. Funny, but I never heard of Juju doing the same crap in Kansas City or now in New England.

 

Not just Eight Seasons of HOF Production. His four year run from 2014 to 2018 is simply something I doubt many of us will see for some time for those four seasons were bonkers!!


Granted, Justin Jefferson did have quite a bit to say about that earlier in the season. Sadly, that is no longer the case. Tyreek Hill might though pending his 2023 conclusion. Dak and CeeDee might but their Home/Away Statistical Splits man scare the daylights outta me.

 

Not for the Steelers. But he did walk out on the Bucs during a game.

 

The real title to this thread should read: "This is why you have mediocrity."

This is a classic short-term gain at the expense of long-term success. In the immediate term, it was a big win. Playoff hopes still alive...Bengals season in jeopardy...big offensive output...Pickens looked great...we all feel good.
Including Pickens who wakes up on Sunday even more empowered, even more emboldened, and even more likely to take plays off and be a locker room cancer in the future.
This is why year in and year out you have a really good roster that underperforms.

So yes, if all you are concerned about is the immediate gratification of winning a game, then the Pickens decision was the right answer. But if you are more focused on the long game...about building a solid winning culture through accountability and leadership that will ultimately win more games and more championships, then it was the wrong answer.

This game was a microcosm of Tomlin's career.

Unfortunately, the national media and a lot of Steeler fans are going to see it as some sort of validation of Mike Tomlin.

 

on this we can agree. we just needed someone to throw him the damn ball.

 

Pickins is a strange one, he could just as easily made Tomlin look really bad yesterday. His history is he's good when times are good. Hope he keeps the flip side of that card out of sight for a while.

 

Boykin, Austin? I know that looks like a dumb idea with the benefit of hindsight, but Pickens’ great game doesn’t negate his egregious behavior on the field of play where he essentially hung his teammates out to dry. I hope he’s learned from it and that NEVER happens again because it’s inexcusable.

 

I don't like his behavior either, but I don't think they should've benched him though, it sounds like plenty of coaches and players have tried to talk to him.

 

This 100%.
You want to discipline a player, but You don't want to do it at the expense of hurting the other players.