Smith downplays Pickens' usage against Cowboys

When George Pickens spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since the Steelers' loss to the Cowboys early Monday morning, he offered more insight into why his snap count was so low compared to previous games this season.

Pickens only garnered 59% of the Steelers' offensive snaps against Dallas, which was lower than Van Jefferson (81%) and Calvin Austin (76%). When Chris Halicke asked him about his snap count, he replied: "I think it was part of the game plan. So, that's pretty much it."

When asked how he can play more snaps moving forward and return to the level of snaps he played in the first four weeks of the season, Pickens said: "It's not on me. It's all up to Art."

While Mike Tomlin said that Pickens' snaps were limited due to "snap management" both after the game and during his Tuesday press conference, Arthur Smith said Thursday it's something he's done as a play caller in the past with "premium players" such as Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown.

"I get it, you know, you lose a game and something may look off or whatever, but that's not," Smith said. "We communicate to any player, whether it's Scotty (Miller), or Van or Connor Heyward. Guys know the roles, gonna know the backups and how you package things. You know, those are week-to-week things."

Up until this week, Pickens has been heavily involved in the offense. His lowest usage came in Week 1 when he garnered 68% of the offensive snaps. He then played at least 74% of the offensive snaps over the next three games with his highest usage coming against the Colts when he tallied 86% of the snaps. That also came in a game where the Steelers were trailing in the second half and were trying to work their way back into the game by throwing the ball.

That being said, Smith downplayed Pickens' usage against the Cowboys and called the game an "outlier." 

"There were some things situationally, you know, to set up we tried to attack them, didn't hit the big plays, we had opportunities," Smith said. "There are a lot of variables involved in that. That's the best way I can answer that. Everybody has different perceptions and I get it, when you lose this is stuff that usually happens."

Smith continued to say that guys like Jefferson, Miller and Austin were used in heavier packaging to try and "lock" the Cowboys into certain looks: "That's the give and take, and then again, where you are in the season, what you're trying to do short-term, long-term, maximizing people's reps. Those things can add up, certainly a tight end is a little bit different than a receiver, so that's probably had more to do with that than anything else."

In the 24 plays that Pickens wasn't on the field against Dallas, the Steelers were intentional with their game plan. They ran it 13 times and passed it 11 times. Of those 11 passes, two were throwaways and only one pass went to a wide receiver -- a nine-yard gain by Brandon Johnson who was elevated from the practice squad. Of the eight remaining passes, Heyward was targeted four times, including for a 16-yard touchdown, Darnell Washington was targeted twice and Najee Harris caught two passes for 35 yards.

Pickens played 34 total snaps and was used 11 times on first down, 13 times on second down, 10 times on third down and was in on the Steelers' only fourth-down conversion attempt. Of those 34 plays, Pickens was targeted seven times which included Fields' 3rd and 5 pass in the fourth quarter that was ruled a fumble at first and then the last play of the game. On one of those targets, Pickens ran a lackadaisical route across the middle of the field that caused him to miss the pass from Fields and another came on 3rd and 4 on the Steelers' seventh drive that went through his hands.

The Steelers were more pass-heavy with Pickens in the game in the second half as they ran 14 pass plays and five running plays. It was somewhat the opposite in the first half where they ran the ball nine times and passed it six. Pickens was targeted twice in the first half.

From watching the film, it seems as though Smith was trying to get the Cowboys to commit to the run when Pickens was off the field and then utilize both his tight ends and running backs in the passing game. They were more run-heavy in those situations in the first half but switched it around in the second half as they passed six times compared to three running plays.

As far as Pickens' actions against the Cowboys -- he was seen not putting maximum effort into his routes, throwing his helmet on the sideline after plays and he also got into a tussle with Jourdan Lewis on the final offensive play of the game (see below) -- Smith said Pickens is an "emotional guy" and it may be getting so much attention because he's a "high-profile guy."

"It's George, he's an emotional guy, he does that every game," Smith said.

Pickens did say Thursday that he wasn't frustrated with the amount of snaps he got against the Cowboys and said he needs to "just keep working" to mentally stay in the game. You can find the full transcript of Pickens' interview here.

Also, here's the first 56 seconds of the interview:

While there was a lot of frustration surrounding Pickens after the game, plenty of players have provided insight over the last few days into how they can help Pickens move forward. Pat Friermuth said Wednesday, "You have to be there for him as much as you can and understand where he's coming from. It's not out of a bad place. He obviously wants to help us win as much as he can."

Russell Wilson said: "I try to relay to him that number one is that we love him and we love who he is. We love the player that he is. We love the competitor that he is and that's the thing that you have to understand. Is George a bad teammate? Absolutely not. Is George a hell of a player? Absolutely. Is he a great competitor? Absolutely. Is he a guy that wants the ball? Absolutely. Is he a guy that can do anything on the field that most people can't? Absolutely. So I think the best thing that we can focus on is finding different ways to get him the ball. Obviously, also him staying composed. That matters, but also understanding that it's all team effort. And the one thing about George is, and you guys saw, the best thing that I saw -- even though he did react to that one moment in the game -- he responded well. You saw the big, I think it was a third down, the big third down that he had, and he just got the crowd fired up and he was in it."

But, as the current starting quarterback who has also had a previous relationship with Pickens, Justin Fields might have the best outlook on the entire situation. He played with Pickens in high school 7-on-7s when they were both growing up in Georgia and they also kept in touch before they were both on the Steelers. Fields said he tries to talk to Pickens on the sideline and keep him in the game by just staying in his ear and telling him "We're going to need you to make a big play soon and when that happens, we're going to need you." 

But, if it wasn't for their relationship, which has been built over several years, he might not be able to have those types of conversations with Pickens.

"If I would've just met him this year, I probably wouldn't feel as comfortable saying that to him," Fields said. "But since our relationship does go all the way back to high school, I think I'm more comfortable talking to him and stuff like that and kind of just trying to keep him calm in the huddle."

Only time will tell if Pickens will be more involved in the game plan moving forward as the Steelers prepare for the Raiders on Sunday. But, if his involvement in the game plan against the Cowboys was an "outlier," expect things to return to normal in Las Vegas.