The method behind King George’s madness

George Pickens is building a name for himself by making tough catches and breaking big plays in both training camp and in the Steelers first preseason game. But he’s also gained attention for a block he threw midway through the first quarter against the Seahawks.

I want to look at that play, and the surrounding plays, because I think they tell an interesting story that shows the real value of that now-viral block. It starts with the first play of the second drive.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 1st quarter, 8:53

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Trubisky hits Connor Heyward here, but look to the bottom of the screen. Pickens’ deep route runs the safety deep enough to keep him off of Heyward’s route, but he absolutely toasts the corner Coby Bryant. With a free release and room to set up his route, Pickens is a monster.

How do you counter that? By getting in his face and physically messing with his route. And Bryant does that the very next play.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 1st quarter, 8:15

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Coby Bryant tries to get a hand in George Pickens’ chest to control his release and gain some control over Pickens route. For his trouble he gets to be on the wrong side of a viral clip.

This isn’t the best part though. Not even the most fun part of this story. Because of what happens after this.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 1st quarter, 7:30

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Coby Bryant goes back to the jam but compare the two jam attempts. The first jam attempt was a firm arm with Bryant looking to impede Pickens movement. This is barely classifiable as a jam. This is a far more timid engagement with a receiver, and it doesn’t really slow Pickens. If this wasn’t a run play, Pickens would actually take off here and has a good opportunity to stack Bryant and make a big play.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 1st quarter, 6:52

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the bottom of the screen.

And we are back to off coverage. After those two plays, no Seattle defender would put a hand on Pickens as he came off the line of scrimmage. Not once. They tried it and then quickly went away from it.

And this matters. Because Pickens already showed he could destroy off-man coverage, and he would show it again on the next drive.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 1st quarter, 1:46

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Look familiar? The Seahawks saw they couldn’t get away with off-man coverage, so they jammed Pickens. Pickens literally pushes them out of jamming him, so it is back to off-man coverage. They even brought the safety closer to Pickens to give the corner help, but the Steelers counter that with Connor Heyward running the safety off of Pickens and it’s a touchdown.

They would go back to tighter coverage after this, but without a jam.

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 2nd quarter, 9:51

George Pickens is the receiver farthest to the top of the screen.

With no contact to impede his release, Pickens is able to get into his route and even ensure that there is room between his route and the sideline for Mason Rudolph to fit the ball, but this pass fell out of bounds. This was Pickens last snap of the game.

I’m sure George Pickens will run into defenders that will have answers that the rookie corners he faced in this game didn’t have. But for the players that don’t, George Pickens has already shown he’s going to be a handful. And it is only George Pickens first preseason game, he’s going to keep working and improving his own skills. And it’s good to know he doesn’t just throw defenders to the ground because he can, but he also uses it as a weapon to make defenders pay for jamming him.