Steelers’ Wallace blames lack of production on concentration lapses

At times, Mike Wallace appears the perfect fit for the Steelers’ passing game. Then there are moments when the fleet-footed receiver seems adrift mentally, resulting in uncharacteristic drops and lapses in concentration.

“I’ve never been a guy who dropped balls or just lose focus,” Wallace said somewhat apologetically. “The first three years I was always involved, so you just warmed up in games, and you were just into it.

“But when you don’t get the ball for two-and-half quarters, you lose focus. But that’s the type of offense this is. We’re spreading it around, so you’re not going to get as many targets. When you get them, you have to make the best of them.”

Wallace, one of the NFL’s preeminent deep threats, arrived at training camp last season boasting he could eclipse 2,000 receiving yards. But he struggled in Todd Haley’s offense. Over the past four games, he hasn’t totaled a football-field worth of yards: 13 catches for 93 yards.

“When I don’t get the ball for a certain amount of time, I lose focus sometimes,” he said. “It hurts me when it’s time for me to make a play.”

Wallace has endured some difficult stretches. His speed has been negated by double teams and Haley’s willingness to spread the wealth.

“The toughest thing is staying positive through three quarters because you’re not going to get the ball every time,” Wallace said as the team prepares to face San Diego on Sunday at Heinz Field. “You have to be ready to deliver when it comes your way. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve had to learn this year.”

On a team with a trio of standout receivers — Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders — tight end Heath Miller leads the way in receptions (56) and touchdowns (7).

Wallace’s team-high 616 receiving yards are only three more than Miller’s. The numbers are reflective of Wallace’s frustration and far short of his production the previous two seasons, when he had about 1,200 yards receiving.

“We spread the ball around more than we did in the past,” said Wallace, who missed all of training camp because of a contract dispute. “So it’s not one or two people with yards. Nobody’s numbers just jump out.

“If there’s been a play that I haven’t made this year, it’s been in the second or third quarter when I haven’t been getting too many passes ... and I’m losing focus. I get a little frustrated, and that’s the main thing.”

The Steelers will need a focused Wallace as they pursue an AFC playoff berth. It’s a four-game stretch run in which Wallace insists he’s ready to deliver.

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There's a hiccup in his brain right now. For anyone that's ever seen the movie 'TIN CUP', it's similar to that little hiccup that the main character has goign in to the US Open.

We all know what Wallace is capable of doing. He might need someone to open up to and discuss his little hiccup in order to get over it. Especially considering we could really use the idea of not clinching every time the ball is thrown his way, specifically in January.

I look at it one of 3 ways:
1. He's going to stay as is, and we'll win games in spite of his non-catching of balls
2. He's going to cost us a game with multiple drops and lack of focus
3. He's going to overcome this problem just in time to help the Steelers run through the playoffs on their way to #7.


I'm hoping for #7. I'm also praying for the guy!

It doesn't sound good to me. If he has trouble focusing because he's not the centerpiece of an offense getting touches every other play, then he isn't going to work out in Pittsburgh any longer in Todd Haley's offense unless he can adjust and learn to be a cog in the machine, not the entire engine. It's an offense that likes to spread the ball around and we've seen it be effective. He has to learn his role and bide his time or hit the road.

For the record, I don't like the dink and dunk description of Todd Haley's offense. I look at it as a "take what the defense gives you" offense. Of course teams are going to defend the deep ball against us and leave smaller stuff underneath. We've been known as a deep passing team for a few years now. That's what other teams have seen and that's what they expect.

Under Arians, Bruce and Ben weren't content taking the little stuff. They were enamored with the big play. Opposing defenses saw it and defended it and Bruce wouldn't adjust the game plan to compensate for it and that's why our offense struggled at times. It's also part of the reason Bruce is no longer here. That's probably part of the reason we aren't getting the deep shots as much now. Defenses are prepared for it against us.

Haley is willing to push his guys and craft his game plan to take what defenses are giving up. He's teaching this offense something they never were taught under Bruce... patience and smart football.

I fully believe that once defenses start to come up and defend the short passes and successful running game (something else Bruce had no interest in committing to), the deep passes will open up and Haley and Ben will have a field day. It will just take a little time and regular success to draw them up (and a healthy team wouldn't hurt). We've seen some flashes of this offense clicking in this scheme, it's just too bad Ben got hurt right when I believe they may have been poised to start attacking deep more. Now they will have to lure them in again.

Haley's not some shy, scared o-coordinator. We've seen what he can do with a high powered offense full of talent in Arizona. Nobody called the Cardinals a dink and dunk offense with Warner, Fitzgerald, Breaston, Boldin, and company tearing up defenses on the way to a Super Bowl berth. He's laying in the weeds waiting for the right time to strike. He knows they can play the deep game already. He's trying to teach them the stuff they haven't been good at now so they have those weapons at their disposal later when the games really start to count.

Don't worry, Steeler Nation. This offense will continue to grow and expand under Haley as they become more comfortable with his game plans.... with or without Mike Wallace.

I don't understand what Wallace is saying. I think it's just an excuse. And a poor one at that. While he's not getting many deep passes, he's still getting passes. In fact, up until the past 3 games with backup quarterbacks, it sure seemed he was being targeted more than in the past 2 seasons.

Wallace108 wrote:

I don't understand what Wallace is saying. I think it's just an excuse. And a poor one at that. While he's not getting many deep passes, he's still getting passes. In fact, up until the past 3 games with backup quarterbacks, it sure seemed he was being targeted more than in the past 2 seasons.

I don't understand it either. He's had his chances. They just haven't been the chances he likes, the big highlight reel deep bombs he's known for. This goes back to the questions about his toughness and willingness to be more of a workman's type of receiver. He wants to be the flashy sports car, not the pickup truck doing the dirty jobs. He lacks the focus and mental toughness to make the hard catches or the ones where he might have to put his body on the line to make. Part of it is his contract situation, part of it is a lack of focus when not getting as many targets, part of it is butt-hurt over having to play in an offense not catering to him, and some of it (I believe) is just plain old fear when it comes to having to take a hit in the process of attempting to catch the ball.

Time for Wallace to see a shrink or he's going to see his role shrink in this offense and on this team!

Whatever is going on with him, it's mental. And fixable. I can't help but think back to the offseason when Ben was begging for a deal to get done. He, more than anyone, knows what kind of receiver Wallace is. If Ben felt the same way most fans do about Wallace's talent, he wouldn't have been publicly lobbying so hard for him. So I don't believe his struggles are a talent issue. There's no way of knowing if it's happened already, but if it hasn't, as the leader, Ben needs to get in his face and make sure his head is screwed on right.

Wallace108 wrote:

Whatever is going on with him, it's mental. And fixable. I can't help but think back to the offseason when Ben was begging for a deal to get done. He, more than anyone, knows what kind of receiver Wallace is. If Ben felt the same way most fans do about Wallace's talent, he wouldn't have been publicly lobbying so hard for him. So I don't believe his struggles are a talent issue. There's no way of knowing if it's happened already, but if it hasn't, as the leader, Ben needs to get in his face and make sure his head is screwed on right.

With one of these , a couple of these , several hundred of these , and maybe a dozen of these .

Unfortunately, I think it all ends up next year with one of these .