Bires: Wallace faded at the finish

By Mike Bires mbires@timesonline.com

PITTSBURGH -- In two weeks, Mike Wallace will bask in the warm Hawaiian sun. He'll be there basking in the glory of his selection as a Pro Bowl wide receiver.

Wallace, one of NFL's fastest players, made it to the all-star game based primarily on what he did during the first eight games of regular-season play. During that time, he was the most feared pass catcher in the AFC.

However, in the Steelers' last eight games and then in Sunday's wild-card loss in Denver, Wallace was not Pro Bowl material. His performance was disappointing.

For as much as he overachieved in September and October, he underachieved in November, December and January.

And as the Steelers head into the off-season feeling so sad about the way their Super Bowl hopes ended, certainly Wallace must shoulder his share of the blame.

No doubt Ike Taylor was the No. 1 goat in the 29-23 overtime loss to Tim Tebow and the Broncos. His failure to cover Demaryius Thomas was arguably the worst post-season performance in franchise history.

But a second-quarter pass Wallace dropped will go down as one of the most infamous bobbles ever by a Steeler.

After the Broncos went ahead 7-6, it appeared that the Steelers would strike back immediately. On the Steelers' next possession, Ben Roethlisberger threw a bomb to Wallace for a 52-yard gain.

It was the Steelers' way of saying "Take that Tebow!"

But Wallace didn't catch the ball cleanly. He juggled it, and as he hit the ground, a piece of the ball touched the turf. The Broncos used instant replay challenge to dispute the catch, and after reviewing the tape, the referee overturned the call.

Instead of having momentum and the ball on the Denver 28, the Steelers were back at their own 20.

Two plays later, the Steelers punted. A few plays after that, Tebow scored to make it 14-6.

But if Wallace would have caught that 52-yard pass cleanly and the Steelers would have gone ahead with either a field goal or touchdown, who knows what the final outcome would have been?

In that wild-card game, Roethlisberger targeted Wallace 10 times. But only three times did they connect for just 26 yards.

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Man, I know I'm going to take crap for this, but I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to trade Wallace. I know you can never have too many weapons, but trading him makes sense (at least to me).

1. He's going to want paid. A lot! We're going to be over the cap, and some hard decisions are going to have to be made. Is it worth it to pay top dollar for a receiver who didn't earn what he's already being paid in the second half of the season?

2. In another year, we're going to have to worry about trying to re-sign both Brown and Sanders. If we lock up Wallace, will we be able to keep both of them and still be able to address other needs?

3. As a Pro Bowl receiver, we can get good value for him. That would allow us to address our other needs.

Ward just said that he's playing next year, and he wants to stay in Pittsburgh. He also said he'd be willing to take a pay cut to stay. With Brown, Sanders, and Ward, and if we could re-sign Cotchery, we'd be quite fine at receiver. And we could always find a fifth receiver elsewhere (draft, free agency). We have a lot of needs on the team. Receiver isn't one of them.

I know it's a crazy idea and it'll never happen ... but it's just a thought.

I'll take some crap with you. He is fast, that's for sure. I'm just not sure about the rest. Isn't he the one that is being criticized for only catching the wide open balls (playing it safe)?

You won't catch crap from me. Getting a 1st round pick for him could end up being classic addition by subtraction. For example grabbing two foundation caliber offensive linemen in the 1st round. Or a shutdown corner and an offensive linemen in the first. I would take a wr corp of Brown,Sanders, and Cotchery with a top of the league offensive line 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. Holy shit can you imagine the potential if Heath and Weslye Saunders don't have to stay in and block every play? Or a running game where Redman and Mendy are actually getting holes to run through? Not too mention not getting hit in the backfield repeatedly?










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Speaking of Heath Miller, why isn't he getting more balls from Ben? I think this guy is way under-utilized. Also, to be honest, I'm worried about Sanders and his health problems (i.e. feet).

Gingerchip wrote:

Speaking of Heath Miller, why isn't he getting more balls from Ben? I think this guy is way under-utilized

He consistently has to stay in to help the oline block. I bet there's a direct correlation between his output and the quality of defensive front 7 we're playing against.

Grrr

Now I'm all intrigued by the thought of a redzone offense with two big tight ends that can catch and an OL that can maul. Damn you September!

If my name were Rooney, I'd keep Cotchery, Brown, Sanders, and yes Ward. Rebuild my O-line, and you guys can laugh if you want, but I'd start looking for another QB at the end of NEXT season at the very latest.

BTW, when is Miller's contract up?

What round did we get Wallace in? The 2nd or 3rd? If we get a first rounder for him I say we do it. Now talk about taking crap. I have to question his toughness. We know Brown is tough and Cotchery is too. Surely we can find a replacement for Wallace and even Sanders if his injury issues continue.

I think we'll regret it if we give him big bucks at this stage in his career. (for what it's worth).

Santonio Holmes is looking for work.

solardave wrote:

What round did we get Wallace in? The 2nd or 3rd? If we get a first rounder for him I say we do it. Now talk about taking crap. I have to question his toughness. We know Brown is tough and Cotchery is too. Surely we can find a replacement for Wallace and even Sanders if his injury issues continue.

I think we'll regret it if we give him big bucks at this stage in his career. (for what it's worth).

Wallace was a 3rd round draft pick.

Between Brown and Wallace, I just think Brown wants it more.. Wallace has given up on plenty of plays this year, including Ben's throw to the endzone against the Broncos. At some point you have to realize that even if you can't catch it, you have to at least attempt to bat it away!

I've said this before, but it seems to me that Wallace spends too much time looking for the PI flag instead of fighting for the ball.

Wow, I fully expected a much different response to my crazy suggestion.

Gingerchip wrote:

I'll take some crap with you. He is fast, that's for sure. I'm just not sure about the rest. Isn't he the one that is being criticized for only catching the wide open balls (playing it safe)?

Actually, I've been preaching since last season that Wallace gets praised for his speed but not enough credit for his hands. But he dropped quite a few easy catches in the second half of this season.

supytalpeht wrote:

You won't catch crap from me. Getting a 1st round pick for him could end up being classic addition by subtraction. For example grabbing two foundation caliber offensive linemen in the 1st round. Or a shutdown corner and an offensive linemen in the first. I would take a wr corp of Brown,Sanders, and Cotchery with a top of the league offensive line 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. Holy shit can you imagine the potential if Heath and Weslye Saunders don't have to stay in and block every play? Or a running game where Redman and Mendy are actually getting holes to run through? Not too mention not getting hit in the backfield repeatedly?

Is it wrong that I was drooling as I read this post?

solardave wrote:

Now talk about taking crap. I have to question his toughness.

I'm with ya. I've seen him hit the deck a few times to avoid a hit rather than trying to shake the tackle or gain more yards. It's probably the smarter thing to do, but it's certainly not what Hines would do.

supytalpeht wrote:

Santonio Holmes is looking for work.

bayz101 wrote:

Wallace has given up on plenty of plays this year, including Ben's throw to the endzone against the Broncos. At some point you have to realize that even if you can't catch it, you have to at least attempt to bat it away!

Yeah, that play stuck out in my mind. And I've seen him do the same thing on other plays. I'm sure I'm wrong, but I can't recall one time seeing him fight for or go up after a ball.


Surprisingly, we all seem to be in agreement so far. I need someone to make a counter argument.

Wallace108 wrote:

Wow, I fully expected a much different response to my crazy suggestion.

Gingerchip wrote:

I'll take some crap with you. He is fast, that's for sure. I'm just not sure about the rest. Isn't he the one that is being criticized for only catching the wide open balls (playing it safe)?

Actually, I've been preaching since last season that Wallace gets praised for his speed but not enough credit for his hands. But he dropped quite a few easy catches in the second half of this season.

supytalpeht wrote:

You won't catch crap from me. Getting a 1st round pick for him could end up being classic addition by subtraction. For example grabbing two foundation caliber offensive linemen in the 1st round. Or a shutdown corner and an offensive linemen in the first. I would take a wr corp of Brown,Sanders, and Cotchery with a top of the league offensive line 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. Holy shit can you imagine the potential if Heath and Weslye Saunders don't have to stay in and block every play? Or a running game where Redman and Mendy are actually getting holes to run through? Not too mention not getting hit in the backfield repeatedly?

Is it wrong that I was drooling as I read this post?

solardave wrote:

Now talk about taking crap. I have to question his toughness.

I'm with ya. I've seen him hit the deck a few times to avoid a hit rather than trying to shake the tackle or gain more yards. It's probably the smarter thing to do, but it's certainly not what Hines would do.

supytalpeht wrote:

Santonio Holmes is looking for work.

bayz101 wrote:

Wallace has given up on plenty of plays this year, including Ben's throw to the endzone against the Broncos. At some point you have to realize that even if you can't catch it, you have to at least attempt to bat it away!

Yeah, that play stuck out in my mind. And I've seen him do the same thing on other plays. I'm sure I'm wrong, but I can't recall one time seeing him fight for or go up after a ball.


Surprisingly, we all seem to be in agreement so far. I need someone to make a counter argument.

OK. Here goes. I think you guys are crazy. We should keep Wallace CAUSE HE'S FAST!!!!! How's that??

Quote :

OK. Here goes. I think you guys are crazy. We should keep Wallace CAUSE HE'S FAST!!!!! How's that??

Is that teh reincarnate of Al Davis? And why is he posting on SX?

I completely forgot that Wallace is a free agent.

The last 4-5 games Wallace wasn't really a target. To top it off the one-legged Ben show didn't help matters.