Serenity Now!: George Pickens claims he wasn't frustrated, but Steelers say otherwise

Death, taxes and Pittsburgh Steelers locker room drama. Despite being one of the most stable organizations in all of professional sports, this is a thing now in Pittsburgh, alright. Since last going to a Super Bowl in 2010, it has been more and more and more of the same, old crap seeping out of the Steelers' locker room. Wide receiver George Pickens is just the latest Steelers star to speak his mind.

After last Thursday night's narrow road victory over the Tennessee Titans, Pickens had an NSFW Instagram Story centered around his frustrations regarding the Pittsburgh offense. It could have been about offensive coordinator Matt Canada, draft classmate quarterback Kenny Pickett, head coach Mike Tomlin, whatever. The Steelers beat a decent team on the road, but this is all we can talk about...

Pickens tried to deny that there is any friction, but running back Najee Harris is not buying this at all.

“I was telling GP, it’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with being frustrated, it's just how you handle things. Obviously, he’s a talented guy. Teams are going to do things to minimize him. But I was just telling him in the middle of the game too that you got to keep your composure.”

Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson went into a little bit more detail about the Pickett situation.

“I had a good talk with him. He understood, and I understood where he was coming from, as well. Nobody’s perfect. You can’t knock him. At the same time, he’s human, so I didn’t think too much about the situation. I know what it was from -- frustration from the game, obviously ... So, him doing what he did, yeah, there’s a better way to go about certain situations. But he felt like he had to handle it his way, but at the same time, it wasn’t the right time to do all that.”

Again, I have no problems with Harris and Johnson actively communicating with their teammate, but why are these quotes coming into the public sphere? It is all about the loose ship Tomlin runs here...

“I chopped it up with him. Just kind of told him what he should do next time or just to not put that stuff out there. You don’t want people creating a narrative of you. He understands.”

We may be making a mountain out of a mole hill here, but that could be a tagline for Steelers football drama for the better part of a decade now: In Pittsburgh, we make mountains out of mole hills!

There is a lot to unpack here, obviously, but now is a good time to address this on-going problem.

Steelers: Najee Harris, Diontae Johnson discuss George Pickens drama

In total transparency, this is not the team I root for. I am indifferent about the Steelers, but I respect how big of a brand this is, as well as how massive of a fanbase Pittsburgh has. I have a great deal of respect for what The Rooneys have built there. This had been a gold standard of football excellence across the NFL. Unfortunately, the last decade-plus has eroded away at the franchise's shine majorly.

Right around the time the Pickens drama was starting to unfold, I had the opportunity to speak with Hines Ward. All three of us are Georgia alums. Ward played for the same AFC franchise as Pickens throughout his illustrious career. I was not about to say, "What's up with Pickens?" in this interview, but I did ask Ward what the disconnect is internally from when he played for them, and this current group.

You can listen to the audio from my interview with Ward on False Start towards at end of the podcast.

Ward essentially implied that I is more important than team in Pittsburgh these days. He did opine about TikTok and other social media platforms, but that may just be a generation gap. The fact is millennials and Gen Z make up the league now. We grew up with social media, and it is just a part of who we are as people. Yet for some strange reason, the Steelers have a harder time with this than most do.

From an outsider's perspective, it is one of two things plaguing Pittsburgh. In terms of team-building, they are not finding the diamonds in the rough in the draft and unrestricted free agency like they did for years when Kevin Colbert was leading the charge in the front office. Omar Khan may be able to do that, but he is just getting started replacing one of the most underrated general managers of all time.

The other, well, that is Tomlin, the only other common thread for the Steelers besides ownership. He is adept at handling adversity, but a lot of it is internally created. It is distracting, and it honestly holds the team back. Until the Steelers can get everyone pulling in the same direction again, like when guys such as Ward, Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca and James Harrison were around, it will be more the same.

Ultimately, The Rooneys will have to come to a decision soon: Accept that this is the new norm under Tomlin or decide that this just isn't good enough anymore. Tomlin's best traits are answering questions at the podium in concise, six-word soundbites and leading his team to at least nine wins a year. It may not be much more than that now, but that is a skill! I don't think it contributes to winning...

I applaud Harris and Johnson trying to keep Pickens in check, but it should never have come to this...