The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles rivalry seems like it's now more heated than ever. Thanks to the Jalen Carter incident and a few scuffles after whistles, this rivalry has taken on a new life just one week into the season.
One player who might stir the pot to the top is George Pickens. It didn't take long for Pickens to get involved in some altercation in Week 1 as he was penalized for a personal foul against Reed Blankenship after grabbing the Eagles DB around the neck and throwing him to the ground. Brian Schottenheimer was asked about the penalty and he didn't mince words.
"We talked about it. We approach all things like that. He came in too high and slung the guy down, and it was a good penalty (call)…We just talked about it. You can't hurt the team. And I love the physicality that George plays with, but all of us, you can't do stupid (expletive)."
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer didn't mince words about George Pickens' Week 1 penalty
Pickens wasn't going to go the whole season without doing something detrimental to the team. It was bound to happen at some point, but nobody thought it would happen this early. While Schottenheimer lauded Pickens' competitiveness, he made it clear the WR needs to tone it down.
"I'm the biggest George Pickens fan in the world, as a teammate, the way he plays the game," Schottenheimer added "He plays the game the way we want everyone to play, on the edge, but don't go over the edge."
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Pickens was close to committing another boneheaded flag, as he nearly grabbed Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell's leg after a red zone target. He almost let his intrusive thoughts win on that occasion, and it should have Cowboys fans wary about what's to come.
Schottenheimer made sure not to attack Pickens too hard, as other mistakes were made that led to the Cowboys losing, like Miles Sanders' fumble and drops from CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. If Pickens starts acting up in every game, he will start to lose the respect of the locker room.
Credit to Schottenheimer for how he handled this. He called out Pickens, but in a way that was firm and respectful. Hopefully that registers with the 24-year-old, or Schottenheimer won't be as gracious.