Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer found himself in the middle of a fresh backlash this week after taking aim at George Pickens’ effort, and former NFL receiver Chad Ochocinco wasted no time firing back.
Schottenheimer’s criticism was focused on Pickens’ run-blocking, which the coach said needs to improve. According to WFAA’s Ed Werder, Schottenheimer said, "He needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well," Schotty said of Pickens, per WFAA's Ed Werder.
"You know, he's got to do the same thing in the run game - picking up safeties and blocking corners - just like Javonte does, picking up blitzes so he can catch balls. That's part of the team-first mindset, and GP does understand that.
And you know when he's going, they're going to play soft inside. When he's not going, the safety gets pretty good runs at our backs, and that's going to improve.”
Ochocinco wasn’t buying that explanation. On the Night Cap podcast, he accused Schottenheimer of using Pickens as a shield for bigger problems.
"And you know why he did that? Trying to take the pressure off his a** because he understood using Pickens name, it would stick," Ochocinco said on the Night Cap podcast.
He then turned the spotlight toward Dallas’ defense, saying, "Let's address the real problems. Your god**** defense.
It ain't got nothing to do with (Pickens) at all," he added. "You can't stop the run, you can't stop the pass.
Why you talking about what George Pickens is doing on offense when your Achilles heel, what you need to do is worry about your defense. You need to be calling them out."
Ochocinco also called Schottenheimer a "puppet" and said the coach was trying to "get the heat off your back" by criticizing Pickens. He added that Schottenheimer is going to get fired if he loses three more games.
There’s no denying Pickens has become an easy target here, but the Cowboys have bigger problems than one receiver’s blocking effort. Dallas has looked shaky on defense, and the offense hasn’t exactly covered for it either. The team has scored 29 points in its past two games, which is a problem Schottenheimer has to own as the play-caller.
That leaves the Cowboys with a mess on both sides of the ball. Schottenheimer is calling plays, defensive coordinator Christian Parker is dealing with the other side, and the results have not been good enough.
Pickens, for his part, didn’t bite back. He answered with a measured response and kept the focus on the full team.
“I feel like, like I said, as a team, I feel like run, pass, a lot of stuff, you know what I mean? One week, it was you guys were saying defense, one week you’re saying this," Pickens said to reporters.
"I feel like if you narrow the comments down, you’re talking about the team. So most definitely, I feel like as a team, just keep improving," he added.
That’s the cleaner read on it: Pickens may deserve some criticism, especially on run plays, but he is not the Cowboys’ only problem. Not by a long shot.
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