PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni says he's part receivers coach, part psychologist. He compared dealing with receivers to a bag of Skittles, you don't know what you are going to get. Not just for George Pickens as you might immediately think, but for all receivers. The Steelers WR coach talks about that challenge while dealing with the outside noise.
Azzanni said the first thing you have to know with receivers is they all want the ball. They all think if they would get the ball they would make a play that would change the game. From Pickens to Scotty Miller. His challenging job is to know when to push the right buttons, he says even in 26 years of coaching he's still figuring it out.
When it comes to Pickens, it's probably more noticeable. Not only because he's more emotional than others, but all know what he could potentially do with those opportunities.
"He's a competitor and I'm a wide receiver coach and I'm not blind to the fact that those guys want the football," Azzanni said. "Sometimes it's directed weird and different and that's part of my job is to keep him on the right path."
"He's done a nice of that these last couple of weeks. He's made some big plays and stayed focused."
The key here is not only getting him involved, but getting him involved early. He feels like he's been able to channel it well over the last couple of weeks and that's what Azzanni credits for Pickens making plays.
There is also some credit to Russell Wilson. Having a 35-year-old quarterback who has worked with many wide outs. He's seen a lot and has a way of defusing a situation. Azzanni said Wilson does a good job in practice where he might pull players aside just to talk, or to get individual work or he might just target that receiver a few times to go over a detail.
Outside noise
Before the question was finished about all of the rumors with adding another receiver, Azzanni started to chuckle. Of course, he's heard about it, but said this about dealing with it.
"We do not talk about it in our room," Azzanni said. "Never mention it, it's never brought up. I don't need to, social media and those things, I'm sure they get berated with that."
He said the players come into work every day and they just go about their work. Whatever is being said, they might discuss among themselves or with friends and family, but never at practice or meetings.
"I think they all want to win," Azzanni said. "They all just want to prove who they are. They are wired correctly so they have that little chip on their shoulder. I don't want to speak for them, but they come to work the same all the time, which is cool, which I really appreciate."
"Whatever happens, happens, but those guys work their tails off and I don't think it matters what the outside chatter is."
