Mike Wallace working out in Florida

Mike Wallace working out in Florida
By Alan Robinson
Published: Friday, August 10, 2012, 3:34 p.m.


Mike Wallace is training extensively in Florida and likely will report to Steelers training camp in the near future, according to the conditioning coach who has been working out the receiver for the past two weeks.

“He’s fast as lightning right now,” said Tom Shaw, who works with players such as Patriots* quarterback Tom Brady and Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. “He’s not going to put himself in a bad situation (conditioning-wise) so that he couldn’t play in the first game.”

Shaw also told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Friday that the unsigned Wallace “is lifting, running, jumping, catching the ball — the same things he would be doing if he were in camp, except not he’s not getting hit.”

Shaw said Wallace won’t talk to the media until he reports to camp, which, he said, “has got to be pretty soon. (The Steelers) aren’t just going to let him sit out there.”

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

(Read More:) http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tribunereviewsteelers+%28Steelers+Stories%29

That's good to hear. Honestly, it is. Now.

Get to camp, shithead.

bayz101 wrote:

That's good to hear. Honestly, it is. Now.

Get to camp, shithead.

As much grief as I've given Wallace for his holdout, I'd still like to see him in a Steelers uniform even if for only this year. He does add another dimension to this offense and will spread the field more.

Hopefully he was paying attention to Chris Rainey's performance last night and sees we have other speedy options at our disposal if need be. Maybe that will push him into signing his tender sooner than he may have planned. If he waits too long and other guys step up and fill his role, he may find himself used sparingly if/when he does come back later in the season and won't be able to showcase himself for other teams. SIGN IT, MIKEY!

I was just going to post this. I actually don't think he's going to show up to camp. Camp ends a week from today, but the next preseason game isn't until 2 days after that. So he could skip all of camp and still only miss one preseason game if he really wanted to. But if he doesn't want to talk to reporters, then showing up to camp probably isn't the right move. If I were him, I'd show up on the 20th, the day after the 2nd preseason game.

He better do something quick, Rainey faster than him.

Dodens Grav wrote:

I was just going to post this. I actually don't think he's going to show up to camp. Camp ends a week from today, but the next preseason game isn't until 2 days after that. So he could skip all of camp and still only miss one preseason game if he really wanted to. But if he doesn't want to talk to reporters, then showing up to camp probably isn't the right move. If I were him, I'd show up on the 20th, the day after the 2nd preseason game.

If he shows up by the 3rd pre-season game in time to shake some rust off, all is forgiven. If he decides to sit out regular season games, he's dead to me.

Some Tweets from Alan Robinson:

Quote :

Alan Robinson ‏@arobinson_Trib
Talked to conditioning coach Tom Shaw, who also works with Tom Brady. He expects Wallace to report to camp "pretty soon."

Quote :

Alan Robinson ‏@arobinson_Trib
Tom Shaw (also works with Ike Taylor) says Mike Wallace runs in stride with Fabian Washington, who had 3rd fastest time ever in NFL combine.

Quote :

Alan Robinson ‏@arobinson_Trib
Tom Shaw says Wallace knows "it's not a good thing to be out of camp." #steelers

Quote :

Alan Robinson ‏@arobinson_Trib
Tom Shaw says Mike Wallace knows "it's not a good thing to be out of camp." However, players have short careers, limited time to make $.

Quote :

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Dodens Grav wrote:

Quote :

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then? Reports were that we were on the verge of signing him at one point and then "POOF!", he was holding out. Did the Steelers refuse to give him his own dressing room, peeled green grapes from France, unlimited cherry Slurpees, and a giant bowl of yellow M&Ms?

Quote :

Alan Robinson ‏@arobinson_Trib
Again, Tom Shaw expects Wallace in Steelers camp soon. Isn't sure how many days that might be. Isn't sure if Wallace watched game last nite.

Days, eh?

i'm done talking about #17

fer69 wrote:

i'm done talking about #17

No you're not.... you just did.

Buddha Bus wrote:

fer69 wrote:

i'm done talking about #17

No you're not.... you just did.

ok, now i'm really done

fer69 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

fer69 wrote:

i'm done talking about #17

No you're not.... you just did.

ok, now i'm really done

Liar.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Dodens Grav wrote:

Quote :

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then? Reports were that we were on the verge of signing him at one point and then "POOF!", he was holding out. Did the Steelers refuse to give him his own dressing room, peeled green grapes from France, unlimited cherry Slurpees, and a giant bowl of yellow M&Ms?

Well, the only reason that the talks were rapidly cut short was because training camp began. It's possible that they were close to a deal, but Wallace, unwilling to risk injury in training camp, decided to hold out without a deal in place, ending the talks. Of course, it's also wise not to take Tom Shaw's words at face value, especially regarding specific numbers. Who knows what the actual numbers thrown around in negotiations were...although I'd like to know.

Dodens Grav wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

Dodens Grav wrote:

Quote :

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then? Reports were that we were on the verge of signing him at one point and then "POOF!", he was holding out. Did the Steelers refuse to give him his own dressing room, peeled green grapes from France, unlimited cherry Slurpees, and a giant bowl of yellow M&Ms?

Well, the only reason that the talks were rapidly cut short was because training camp began. It's possible that they were close to a deal, but Wallace, unwilling to risk injury in training camp, decided to hold out without a deal in place, ending the talks. Of course, it's also wise not to take Tom Shaw's words at face value, especially regarding specific numbers. Who knows what the actual numbers thrown around in negotiations were...although I'd like to know.

I'd also like to know those numbers. It's possible Shaw is trying to help Wallace save some face with the fans before caving and returning to the team.

I understand not wanting to risk injury in pre-season, but it's not like he wouldn't have gotten paid. I'm sure the front office would have worked out a reasonable contract for him if he had just signed his tender and reported to camp. These kinds of tactics just don't work with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now he only has until the regular season (clock's ticking ) to get a deal done. The Steelers don't negotiate during the season so time's running out and it's Wallace's fault he's running out of said time.

This is good news.

I never doubted for a second that he would eventually come home

Buddha Bus wrote:

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then?

There's no way of knowing for sure since no one is talking. All we can do is speculate. But other than money, there's several other details that could have been hurdles to a deal ... guaranteed money or length of the contract, for instance. It's possible the Steelers were insisting on a 5-year deal like they gave Brown. Maybe Wallace wanted only a 3-year deal, afraid he might outplay a 5-year contract. Obviously though, that's just a guess on my part. But it's not always about the dollar amount.

Wallace108 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then?

There's no way of knowing for sure since no one is talking. All we can do is speculate. But other than money, there's several other details that could have been hurdles to a deal ... guaranteed money or length of the contract, for instance. It's possible the Steelers were insisting on a 5-year deal like they gave Brown. Maybe Wallace wanted only a 3-year deal, afraid he might outplay a 5-year contract. Obviously though, that's just a guess on my part. But it's not always about the dollar amount.

But if he signs a 3-year deal and suffers a career ending injury, he leaves millions on the table. Where is the difference between that and possibly suffering an injury under his tender amount in camp? It's also a risk, so I doubt it's that. You could be right about the guaranteed money though.

Buddha Bus wrote:

But if he signs a 3-year deal and suffers a career ending injury, he leaves millions on the table.

That's where the amount of guaranteed money comes in to play. In the event of a career-ending injury, it's important how a deal is structured. How much of that money would he be guaranteed if he suffers a career-ending injury in the second year of the contract? And it's important for him to get as much money as he can upfront instead of a backloaded contract.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Where is the difference between that and possibly suffering an injury under his tender amount in camp?

Let's say he signs the tender and suffers a career-ending injury in the next preseason game. Then that's it. That's all the money he's ever going to get. That's why he wants guaranteed money before he steps foot on the field. From a business standpoint, there's nothing wrong with what Wallace is doing. But that's not the way the Steelers do things. Irresistible force meets immovable object.

Why do we need rapid receivers for a QB with a "small" rotator cuff problem? Did Ben only go deep once against Philly because Wallace was missing or because of the shoulder thing? Hmmm... Oh, and history has already proven that Big Ben's injuries have always been more debilitating than either he or the team are willing to admit.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Dodens Grav wrote:

Quote :

Wallace is remaining silent, Shaw said, “because he gets mad when people write things that are totally false. He doesn’t want a $100 million contract, a $50 million contract. He’s never told anybody that. He knows the Steelers aren’t talking, and he’s not talking.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2388632-85/wallace-steelers-camp-shaw-contract-million-training-agent-aren-colbert?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So if there weren't contract demands exceeding $50 million per year, what was the hold-up then? Reports were that we were on the verge of signing him at one point and then "POOF!", he was holding out. Did the Steelers refuse to give him his own dressing room, peeled green grapes from France, unlimited cherry Slurpees, and a giant bowl of yellow M&Ms?

Don't forget the Big Macs. Oh wait that's Casey Hampton I'm thinkin' about. Never mind!!!

burgboy41 wrote:

Why do we need rapid receivers for a QB with a "small" rotator cuff problem? Did Ben only go deep once against Philly because Wallace was missing or because of the shoulder thing? Hmmm... Oh, and history has already proven that Big Ben's injuries have always been more debilitating than either he or the team are willing to admit.

Actually, I think it's the opposite. History has shown that Ben has a penchant for overdramatizing his injuries and they aren't always as bad as he hints at. Not saying he hasn't been badly injured before, just that the bulk of his "injuries" are generally exaggerated.

solardave wrote:

Don't forget the Big Macs. Oh wait that's Casey Hampton I'm thinkin' about. Never mind!!!

I know why he didn't report to camp!!! he was playing olimpic volleyball



Edit: He won silver in case you were wondering

fer69 wrote:

I know why he didn't report to camp!!! he was playing olimpic volleyball

That lying bastard!