Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has become known as one of the most troublesome — and entertaining — wide receivers in the NFL and is often able to give defensive backs bad days at the office.
However, one Cleveland Browns safety, Rodney McLeod Jr., explained to The Ken Carman Show, a local Cleveland sports radio show, how the Browns were able to mess with Pickens.
“I think there is a lot that we can do to obviously get in his head that works to our advantage,” he said.
Pickens has been known for his temper when things do not go his way, throwing multiple tantrums in the past when the Steelers' offense was woeful. Now, with two new quarterbacks, he has been getting the ball plenty, but he can still lose his cool on opponents.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Pickens could face punishment for his role in a scrap with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome in Week 12.
“The NFL will review George Pickens instigating a fight with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome after the Hail Mary at the end of the Browns' 24-19 upset of the Steelers, and a fine could be coming.”
This would be his third fine of the season; Pickens also lost money for pulling a Cowboys player down by his facemask at the end of Pittsburgh’s loss to Dallas in Week 5 and excessively stiff-arming the facemask of a Washington Commander.
GP clearly cannot stand to lose, nor to play less than great. He was held to four catches for 48 yards against the Browns, a mark lower than any since that last loss to Dallas back in Week 5.
The similarities between the situations are stark, and the stats show a correlation between Pickens' success and the Steelers' success, which makes sense as their only starting-caliber wideout. They just have to keep him focused on football.
Other than that, Pickens has been mostly dominant, becoming one of the best statistical deep-ball wideouts in the NFL since Russell Wilson took over, and Pickens has the sixth-most yards receiving overall.
McLeod and the rest of the Cleveland defense will have to bring out their bag of tricks again in two weeks when they travel to Pittsburgh to stop the star receiver. We will see if Pickens can cool his fire just a bit by then, focus on the game, and change the story the next time around.
