Mike Wallace & the Bruce Arians move

by JP4Pitt on Feb 4, 2012 3:19 PM EST

Will the Steelers pay Mike Wallace his market price? Can they? Does Mike Wallace want to remain a Steeler and see his receptions spread around to Brown, Cotchery, Sanders, Saunders, Miller, and possibly Ward...only to have Ben frequently misfire or get sacked when Wallace gets open deep? What impact might the answers to these questions have on the team's release of Bruce Arians? (continued)

Perhaps it's my imagination, but I thought I saw frustration and discontent on Mike's countenance repeatedly this year (in camera close-ups) in response to 1) Ben misfiring when he was open, or 2) Ben scrambling for his life or laying on his back when Mike was open, or 3) Antonio Brown dancing in the end zone after grabbing pass after pass and finally scoring while Mike's receptions increasingly dwindled.

What could Brady do with Wallace's speed to go with his tight end tandem and Welker? What kind of numbers could Wallace produce with 1) Brees, Rogers, or a Manning throwing strikes, or 2) any capable QB throwing him passes who actually has time to throw the ball deep? What might teams like Atlanta, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Baltimore, or Houston be willing to pay for his services? I suspect these questions and more nibble at the minds of Wallace and his agent...and possibly they've occurred to Kevin Colbert and the Steelers brass.

What domino effect might losing Wallace have on the Bruce Arians' offense? Brown and Sanders are fast, but not blazing like Wallace. Wallace definitely stretches the field, a key for the Arians passing attack. Without the threat of his speed, the Arians offense, which was already anemic in the red zone, loses an important weapon between the twenties whose threat contributed substantially to the team's respectable offensive statistics.

So all considered...the question is this: If the front office thought it likely they couldn't resign Wallace, what effect might this belief have had re their decision to abandon Arians' offense?

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Brown and Cotchery both had 2 TDs while Wallace had 8.

if he’s that greedy we should let him walk.

by steel.curtain.number2 on Feb 4, 2012 4:32 PM EST reply actions

Yep, had Brown on my fantasy Td.

Sure coulda used more tadas.

Stay thirsty my friends.

by SteelerMessican on Feb 4, 2012 7:56 PM EST up reply actions

LOL! Absolutely!

Unfortunately, we’re $20M over the cap. Wallace has been cited in the media (not so much in the latter half of the season) as possibly the most dangerous receiver in the game. Will the team spring for another mega-contract to keep him? I’m not sure they could if they wanted to. With Brown, Cotchery (if he stays, ditto for Ward), Sanders, and Miller, they’ve got a solid group of receivers to go with good runners if they can assemble a competent line. Wallace made their receiving ensemble elite—or they would have been if 1) Ben had time to pass, or 2) Ben would learn to run, dump off the ball, or throw it away rather than take sacks and get battered—but how could Arians’ passing Juggernaut reach its potential without Wallace when it couldn’t with him? This is why I suggest if the F/O thought they couldn’t resign Wallace, they may have felt the time had come to cut Arians and move in another direction.

by JP4Pitt on Feb 4, 2012 7:37 PM EST reply actions

I don't think that Wallace was the reason they let Arians go

I think that they will try to lock him up long term this year, but if they can’t, they’ll keep him at least this year with the RFA tender. But, we’ll see.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Feb 4, 2012 10:06 PM EST up reply actions

I have doubts about Wallace and his Steeler loyalty

He looks frustrated. I see something in him. I think he wants more.

More receptions, more yardage, more TD’s, more money, more accolades.

He’s not getting that in Pgh – at least not with Brown or Sanders or Cotchery hanging around.

I’m guessing he’s gone next year.

by IronJake on Feb 5, 2012 12:38 AM EST reply actions

I agree.

I think you hit this on the head. Further below, Lottwasgangsta makes a good point about Wallace in Sept compared to Dec. Brown’s emergence and Ben’s injury had something to do with this, but Wallace’s head didn’t seem 100% focused all the time. FrankWyt speaks of this when he mentions Wallace sometimes made seemingly halfhearted stabs at balls that appeared to be catch-able.

by JP4Pitt on Feb 6, 2012 8:26 PM EST up reply actions

FrankWyt speaks of this when he mentions Wallace sometimes made seemingly halfhearted stabs at balls that appeared to be catch-able.

You watch the Steelers, would you agree or disagree with that? I realize I can be wrong sometimes, and this situation is no different, but that’s the way it seemed to me over the second half of the season.

Can I get some hot sauce for my doughnut?

by FrankWyt on Feb 6, 2012 11:10 PM EST up reply actions

Someone should remind Wallace that his drop in the playoff game was a huge momentum shifter

"He had no teeth, and he was slobbering all over himself. I'm thinking, 'You can have your money back, just get me out of here. Let me go be an accountant." I can't tell you how badly I wanted out of there."
- Denver rookie QB John Elway, on Jack Lambert, after Lambert and the Steelers knocked Elway out of his first game as a pro (1983).

by Han on Feb 5, 2012 12:49 AM EST reply actions

the best part is............

Wallace can get so much better if the new OC utlizes him even more with his route running and better blocking. But, the flip side of that coin is that Wallace needs to work on these and he will be unstoppable. Also, a little better hands. Brown has the better hands.

by lamberts58 on Feb 5, 2012 1:30 AM EST reply actions

Keep Wallace period

I say they will keep Wallace. The thought is that the cap goes up dramatically after next year. Get him to a long term deal with a low cap hit this year.

This is a must in my opinion. I don’t see Ward being more than a #4 receiver for us next year or 5 (barring a rash of injuries). There is no guarantee they can resign Cotchery. Plus Sanders has had the injury bug. I think he can be a great player but needs to stay healthy.

Thus if you let Wallace leave, Cotchery does not sign, and Sanders gets hurt (or another receiver as someone will get hurt). You have Ward and Brown as your two receivers.

by MrZoot on Feb 5, 2012 8:43 AM EST reply actions

Wait

After Pittsburgh traded Holmes to New York, they had an aging Hines Ward and Mike Wallace. Things turned out just fine. After Pittsburgh let Plaxico Burress go to FA they had Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle-El…they won a Super Bowl adding Heath Miller, Cedrick Wilson and Nate Washington.

Mike Wallace is good, but the offense will be just fine without him. There are much better places to spend money.

by pistil_stamen on Feb 6, 2012 2:20 AM EST up reply actions

trade him? ....

Not advocating it per se. Just a thought to toss out. The team has a ton of position needs. Not all of them will be filled with the draft. OG, OT, NT, S, ILB, K, and others as suggested in the mock draft discussions. Considering the $ hit for locking him up long term, the fact that there are lots of receivers good enough to meaningfully contribute given all the rule changes (argh), would trading him for draft choices or proven players strengthen the team overall?

by NCSteeler on Feb 5, 2012 11:10 AM EST reply actions

He'd make a big pay day

If he’d learn to stop letting passes bounce off of his hands.

by smashtheguitar on Feb 5, 2012 11:27 AM EST reply actions

don’t forget “if he’d actually go for passes that weren’t laid nicely in his hands”

Can I get some hot sauce for my doughnut?

by FrankWyt on Feb 5, 2012 5:28 PM EST up reply actions

This

It’s why he might be affordable to resign.

In September, he looked like an all-pro, who would get a ridiculous contract somewhere.

In December and Denver, he cost himself money.

"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will

by lottwasgangsta on Feb 6, 2012 4:35 PM EST up reply actions

I do wonder if Wallace is going to be tendered (for a 1st & 3rd) to see if anyone bites

but I don’t think the possibility of him being traded has anything to do with Arians being jettisoned. Wallace’s speed is an asset for any team or scheme.

Bound to cover just a little more ground.

by Steeliver on Feb 5, 2012 11:45 AM EST reply actions

No such tender

I thought I heard the 1st & 3rd tender was removed in the last agreement.

Wallace did look very tentative coming over the middle in the past part of the season. I don’t think the Steelers will let him walk without getting something in return (if they don’t lock him up). I agree he won’t get Fitz money.

We will soon see.

by MrZoot on Feb 6, 2012 8:25 AM EST up reply actions

Good player but

Not a number 1 IMO
Doesn’t make enough tough catches. Doesn’t fight for the ball. Doesn’t high point. Drops some balls. Good player and I want to keep him but can’t pay him top dollar

by scottd7 on Feb 5, 2012 1:05 PM EST reply actions

Do you remember something being said early in the year about

not putting personal goals ahead of team goals? You don’t just say that for no reason. I’ll just stop there.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Feb 6, 2012 9:41 AM EST reply actions

Exactly! +1

by JP4Pitt on Feb 6, 2012 8:28 PM EST up reply actions

I don’t think he really put personal goals ahead of any team goals. He was just messing around, I mean he said Brown, Sanders, Ward, and Miller were ALL going to have 1000 yards, and he was going for 2000.

Can I get some hot sauce for my doughnut?

by FrankWyt on Feb 6, 2012 11:24 PM EST up reply actions

Mike Tomlin said it

and he wasn’t messing around

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Feb 7, 2012 6:49 AM EST up reply actions

I’ve lost some confidence in Mike Tomlin, not because Arians is gone, but because he actually interviewed Todd Haley. Is he nuts? Haley is nuts. In addition, why did Rothlesburger make that statement about going and talking to Rooney about the offensive direction of the team — and not say he wanted to talk to Tomlin? Was there anything behind that? Or was it just something he said for no reason?

by dklml2 on Feb 6, 2012 2:29 PM EST reply actions