The blowback toward Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens after he refused to make a block on a touchdown chance last weekend has come almost exclusively through the media.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis knows something about playing for the Steelers and the team effort required to build out a good rushing attack. And on Thursday, he gave his thoughts about why playing media games with a talented and inconsistent teammate like Pickens isn’t going to work.
“You can come down on him in the media, but I promise you that’s not going to turn his switch on,” Bettis explained on The Dan Patrick Show. “It’s going to be you putting your arm around him and saying, ‘Listen, we’re all in this together.'”
Bettis said Pittsburgh not having a leader to take Pickens under his wing is part of the organization’s trouble right now.
After Patrick asked whether Mike Tomlin is to blame for that lack of leadership, Bettis disagreed.
“It’s a fine line,” Bettis added. “The head coach, it’s hard for him to the buddy too. He’s got to be the heavy in this particular role. It would be best if you had someone internally in that locker room who can pull him aside and say … ‘I’m in the same boat that you’re in. I’m with you.'”
Bettis continued: “The key word is ‘we.’ And when you don’t have that person saying we, that’s where it falls apart.”
So, while Tomlin may be on the hot seat, Bettis doesn’t blame him for this particular issue.
After Pickens was asked about his refusal to block on a potential Steelers touchdown on Sunday, he blamed the losing atmosphere and reporters for prying.
“Everybody is mad when you lose,” he said. “A lot of media guys want to say it’s my frustrations, but it’s losing. I’m pretty sure everyone is mad, not just me.”
Tomlin then said part of Pickens’ issue was using interviews to eschew blame and point fingers.
“I would like him to be more professional in terms of addressing some of his shortcomings with you guys in order to further add fluidity to the process,” Tomlin told reporters this week. “He’s not helping himself; he’s not helping the process in the manner in which he has dealt with you guys.”
In response, analysts like Kyle Long shredded Pickens on a national platform.
If Bettis had it his way, this would be handled internally and privately. But it’s too late for that.
[The Dan Patrick Show on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.