George Pickens has been in the headlines this week, but not for the right reasons.
Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens has once again seen his reputation become the main storyline after his performance in the loss to the Detroit Lions.
Pickens stands accused of, as Richard Sherman said, looking "disinterested'' as he"disappeared.'' Pickens responded on social media in a now-taken-down NSFW post.
So, it did get a little messy for a while there, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer stated he would talk to his receiver about it last week.
So ... did he?
“I did,” Schottenheimer said. “Had a good conversation with George over the weekend, along with a number of players.”
Ok, so the conversation took place. That's a start.
With Pickens' reputation in Pittsburgh, and his fiery on-field personality, along with other rumored off-field issues being a key reason the Steelers traded him for next to nothing, now coming up in Dallas, there's no denying that there is a bigger spotlight playing for the Cowboys.
So yeah, Schottenheimer had to talk to Pickens about his previous stop and how others might view him in Dallas, particularly after the events in Detroit.
"I talked to George about a lot of things, I'll keep that between George and I," Schottenheimer said. "I love watching the guy play football. I'll just leave it at that. I think the guy has more fun playing football than most people.
"I think when you do that, I think that's usually a recipe when you're as talented as he is, that's why you can impact games the way that he does.”
Is Pickens future here in jeopardy?
Well, now listen to team owner Jerry Jones' rave reviews.
“One of the things that you got to appreciate about George Pickens is his intensity for the competition,” Jones said. “Now, he is a big-time competitor. When it comes to competing and when it comes to loving the game, I emphasize that point right there, loving the game, then I give him A-pluses.
“I like what George Pickens has done all year. … Just so that I’m real clear about it, I don’t have the concern that (others) debate about what George Pickens did or didn’t do in that game.
“Pickens brings everything to the table,” Jones said. “He brings enough pluses to the table to frankly live with what’s going on, this type of criticism. ... Does he compete when he’s out there? A-triple-plus.”
So, no, there doesn't appear to be too much concern over Pickens' performance in Week 14, in part as it marks his first real misstep since arriving at The Star.
One poor game doesn't mean the "old Pickens" is back.
He's been a model citizen for the most part since arriving here, but there's no doubt his reputation precedes him.
Over the weekend, the pitchforks were being sharpened, and it seemed like for some critics, all his good work prior to Week 14 was forgotten.
It's one game, and Schotty has addressed what transpired, which is good enough for me.
But I'll leave you with this.
It better not happen again.