Former QB1 Roethlisberger Says The Steelers Tried To "Feed" The Ball To George Pickens After Last Week's Negative Drama

On his podcast, Footbahlin' with Ben Roethlisberger, the former two-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers said he felt the team tried to feed Wide Receiver George Pickens the ball this week against the Baltimore Ravens.

Steelers George Pickens Ravens

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 11: George Pickens #14 of the Pittsburgh Steelers catches a pass as Marlon Humphrey #44 of the Baltimore Ravens defends during the second quarter of the game at Acrisure Stadium on December 11, 2022, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Last week, Pickens was embroiled in controversy after he was seen on the sidelines in Atlanta the week before, shouting about his lack of targets. Pickens, as well as Head Coach Mike Tomlin, addressed the media and the comments during the press conferences prior to the Ravens game in Week 14.

Tomlin said he would "rather say whoa than sic 'em" in reference to the fact that he appreciates his passion. For his part, Pickens felt the media was making too big of a deal out of nothing.

Roethlisberger on Steelers Pickens versus Baltimore

During the podcast, Roethlisberger said he thought that the outburst led to the offense feeling they needed to "feed" the ball to Pickens to appease him and quiet the narrative.

Roethlisberger commented that Tomlin and the Steelers had already said they wanted to be aggressive with their play calling. Mitch Trubisky was in at quarterback for the injured Kenny Pickett after the first quarter and he was trying to make something happen. Trubisky was trying to take shots to get the Steelers back in the game but he said you have to balance that with protecting the ball.

"You know last week George Pickens was having some issues on the sideline, we all saw it. And they asked Coach T about it, 'Coach do you say you know what I'm okay with it? I'd rather say whoa than sic 'em?' Mike's been saying that for a long time, I'd rather say whoa than sic 'em basically meaning I'd rather a guy be aggressive and we have to tell him whoa then have him not be aggressive and we had to tell them go get him."
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 09:Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Roethlisberger added that because Tomlin was ok with Pickens "freaking out" he had to also be ok with Trubisky's attempts to make something happen, at least he was trying.

"I was sitting up there at the game today and I said I bet you any amount of money that within the first four plays they try and throw George (Pickens) the ball. Any amount of money because that's the way it always was every coordinator, Canada was going to do it. The first play of the game he looked, Kenny looked, to throw George the ball. Now the DB was sitting on it so he couldn't throw it but I was like there, he looked right at him and it wasn't there and I was like. 'yep sure enough he was trying to get him the ball' because you know that's the oldest trick in the book; the the receiver's mad and you want to give the ball early, to kind of get him in the game. Because if you don't you know he's gonna be mad he's gonna be pouting, you're not gonna get much from him."

Steelers Pickett

George Pickens (14) Celebrates Two-Point Conversion / Photo Credit: Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers

Roethlisberger also added that Pickens has shown to be a "freak of nature" with the way he is able to catch contested balls. So there is hope that if you can get it near him he can make something happen. Unfortunately, the defense knows about his catching abilities too and did what they could to shut him down. Pickens had a better game in Week 14 than he did in Week 13 in Atlanta, but Baltimore still held him to three receptions for 78 yards and no touchdowns.

While the Steelers may have tried to feed Pickens the ball, there should be no shame in that. As Roethlisberger said, Pickens is a "freak of nature" so it makes sense that they would want to try to involve their rookie receiver.

Do you think they tried to feed the ball to Pickens? Do you think that was a good plan? Comment below!

#SteelerNation