Has Mike Wallace changed his tune???

It kind of sounds like it with this quote:

"This is where I’ve been at the whole time. I don’t know anything else. I’d love to be here,” Wallace said. “I love my teammates, love my coaches, so it could definitely be the best situation for me, but we’ll know in two or three months.
“I just want to be a in good situation, a good fit for myself, no matter if it’s here or somewhere else. I just want to be in a good situation. Money is not really the problem.”

http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130101/SPORTS0403/130109941/0/SEARCH

This may come as a surprise to some of my MB friends since I have been a pretty vocal critic of Wallace, BUT if he is willing to come off of his high horse and sign a reasonable contract with the Steelers I would support him suiting up in the B&G again next year. By reasonable I mean something slightly south of what AB signed for last year and certainly no more than that. Sounds like Wallace may be re-evaluating things a little.

BFT, hope we're still friends.

 

I would be fine with Wallace coming back at around the same number as Brown, maybe slightly higher, but I don't think he wants to be here. These comments are about him realizing he has friends here he will miss. The reality is he wants to make the money AND be able to go deep. Haley doesn't want to do that. Indy is the perfect fit for him. Stud QB, his old throw it long OC, and they probably have the cap money as well.

I would be SHOCKED, utterly SHOCKED to see him back.

 

If I were him, I would leave. He was grossly misused by Haley and the offense. Don't get me wrong, I think Haley is better than BA in 90% of ways, and I'm glad we made the switch, but if you're only going to have Mike Wallace run the same routes you have Brown, Sanders, and Cotchery are doing, what's the point? He's worth a lot of money if he's special. If he has a special ability but we don't use it, then he's no better than anyone else. I've had to support him a lot around here, but even I am happy to admit he's completely average as a possession receiver, unless he has room to run. So either use Wallace the way BA used Wallace, or let him walk, use the money elsewhere, and take the 3rd round comp pick.

 

So even if he leaves as an UFA we get a third round comp pick? There's been some confusion around that but I thought I remembered reading it somewhere.

 

[Sounds like Wallace may be re-evaluating things a little.]

He had a crap year, this is why he's coming back to earth, he would have to be drunk to even get the nerve to ask for Fitz money after this season

 

I need to look up the specifics. Yes, even if he leaves as an UFA we are eligible for a comp pick. What round that will be depends on his 2013 season. I know that if he's a Pro Bowler we get a 3rd rounder. I'd say that's pretty possible, especially if he lands somewhere with an OC that knows what he has and a QB that can get it done. Pro Bowls are decided by numbers and little else. Another thing they use is number of starts. If he starts a certain number of games (maybe all 16? not sure), that has an impact on what we get. What I'm not sure of is if that's still a 3rd rounder, or if it drops to 4th round if he doesn't make the Pro Bowl. If that's the case, 4th round might be more likely. Then if he only starts some of the games, or none, the value drops more. But I really don't know the details on this. I'm sure it's available online somewhere.

I'd say we could consider a 4th rounder a safe bet when deciding what to do with him.

 

Yea wallace is just putting a bow around his bad season with these comments. I would gladly have Wallace back in the Black and Gold though. He did have a terrible season full of drops but so did basically all our receivers at one point. I think the hold out really hurt wallace, he wasn't around to learn the new offense, and Haley did not have Wallace in training camp to figure out the best way to utilize him within the new offense. This definitely stunted Wallace's growth this year. But I like Wallace's speed and we all know what type of season his is capable of having. I'd like to retain Wallace, and Sanders, and with Brown already locked up, we could draft a bigger reciever in the later rounds. Keep either Plax or Cotch for another season. But this is all wishful thinking. Wallace will still get decent offers from other teams such as the colts, and dolphins. Reggie wayne is older, and having Wallace and T.Y. Hilton together on the field creates a horrible matchup for the opposing defense with their speed.

 

I think it is less a Haley miss using him problem and more of a Mike Wallace created problem snack. I liken it to the identity problem that Willie Parker had learning from Bettis. Parker was alot of things but he wasn't a pound it up the gut with an inch of daylight guy. He unfortunately got it in his head that because Bettis could do it he could also. Wallace thinks he is the number one receiver when he really doesn't have the skill set or the mentality to be the top guy. If you are the number receiver and you want to line up there on every down you have to learn to beat press coverage. You have to know you will get double or triple teamed every play but you still need to go get the ball. You have to run crisp routes, you have to fight and claw for every inch. You can't lose focus in a game, give up on a play or run sloppy routes because you think your speed will beat everyone. He needs to be used in the slot but not as a possession reciever but as that deep threat. Draw the nickel or safety coverage and blow past them. Force one on one coverage on the outside. Make a nine yardage catch on a slant and turn it into a 30 yard run after the catch. So tired of seeing numerous 60 yard bombs that don't connect when you have a guy who can make a 10 yard catch and make into a 60 yard play.

 

O.K. If money were not "really the problem" - why the heck did he hold out? I guess he's understanding that he blew it before the season started by not signing for what the Steelers offered him and he knows he doesn't get that same deal based on his performance this year. Honestly, I don't think the Steelers have the ABILITY to sign him to AB money because of the salary cap, etc. However, if he is true to his word and will play for less. He does make this team better. So, let's see what he does as free agency approaches.

 

if the money were not the problem why he refused 50 milion last year ? now is too late go find a new team and new friends ...moron

 

I think there's a team out there that will offer a boatload of money for Wallace and he will take the money and run (I believe that team once again is the Jets btw). I would not mind having him back as well BUT the Steelers issues are that they essentially have (3) smaller type receivers (in height and physical stature). I would let Sanders walk and invest in a big, physical receiver who has average to decent speed but who GETS OPEN. I would KEEP PLAX over Cotchery (Although I like them both. Ben is not an accurate passer at times and having physical or height advantaged receivers only helps. Take a look at the height of Peyton Mannings receivers vs ours Decker 6'3, Dressen 6'4, Thomas 6'3, Stokley 6'0 and the small receiver they use for speed Holliday 5'5 (manning is listed at 6'5) vs Wallace 6'0, Brown 5'10, Sanders 5'11, Miller 6'5 (Ben is 6'5)
Manning is not always accurate either but his receivers are Big, Physical, and know how to go get the ball.

SIDEBAR: When the Cardinals went to the Superbowl under Haley as coordinator the receiving core was Fitzgerald 6'3, Pope 6'8, Boldin 6'1, and Breaston 6'0 (All physical and all knew how to go get the damn ball

 

It isn't about height here for WR it is about physicality. Being able to shield the ball.

 

Because he wasn't coming off of a ****ty season last year. Maybe he realizes that he hasn't done anything to prove he is worth the money he was looking for.

 

so the money ARE a problem ..

 

No. His numbers from this season don't justify it a big contract.

 

I think Mike thought the Steelers couldnt survive without him. They proved him wrong by signing Brown, bringing in Plax, Sanders is there, Crothery is there, and lets not forget the mvp (imo) Heath. I think the Steelers didnt throw to him alot to further prove they will survive without him. But Mike looked bad and his numbers show it. I think Mike either got greedy or was given bad advice, either cost him and now he maybe facing a reality check. Or maybe hes finally listening to someone whose been there done that, Foote and Ward?? Maybe hes realizing that money isnt everything and sometimes its better to get less and be happy.

Would I want him back? Tell him to get his head out of his ass and if he REALLY wants to be in the burgh, yeah, I d give him another chance.

 

at what price ? i don't see the f.o offer him more than 5 milion a year

 

I think you're pretty close to what the steelers will offer him. But I think he is gone nonetheless. I doubt he will take a hometown discount, and needless to say he is still going to get lots of money thrown his way. I think the colts, dolphins, chargers, jets, patriots, and god knows who else will all try to lure him away. The patriots would love to have his speed, and we all know Wallace thrived in Arians offense. I think Ben will try to talk him into staying, but in the end, money will talk. I just dont want to see him on any of the teams in our division or the Patriots.

 

Hmm . . . I look at that quote and I would use my red highlighter on the last part of the quote where he just wants to "be in a good situation, a good fit for myself . . . ". I think he is frustrated (like most everybody else on the offense) with his role. If Haley was a track coach he'd have Carl Lewis training for a marathon.

The most useless quotes are the ones thrown around by professional athletes entering, and during, the free agent process. Regardless of the situation, they always express a love for their current/former city, teammates, coaching staff, mascot, how they want to finish their career there where it started, etc . . . just prior to bolting.

 

Obviously whatever is going to happen is going to happen. The Steelers will make the best offer they can afford and some other team will offer what they want. It will then be time for him to put his money where his mouth is.
The debate whether he is a number 1 receiver or not is open for debate. I don't understand the logic that he isn't being used right. What are they supposed to do send him deep every play? Don't you think that is a little predictable? He would be so much more effective running crosses,comebacks and other short to medium passes to set up the deep ball. why do you think he was so easily and effectively taken out of the gameplan last half of last year? What we were doing up until Ben got hurt was great and effective. We were spreading the ball around making the defense defend the whole field. We were even starting to work in more deep balls some hit a lot more missed but the point was the entire field was being utilized. Things were really starting to click,then Ben went down and things were never the same.

The biggest problem because of a few reasons ( injuries,fumbles,penalties)was that we were never able to sustain drives like we had been doing. You can establish a rhythm and tempo on offense if you can put plays together. When you go three and out more often than not ,its hard to string together plays that set up others later on. This is why our O looked so anemic. Every drive we started was like starting from scratch trying to establish a plan.

I think the area that we need the most work on is in our preparation. What is Tomlins line about,miles to go before we sleep. Well we have miles to go in our preparation for a game. Too many times we have come out starting games like we don't know what to expect and how to adjust to anything different. This team has been playing half of games on both O and D and hardly ever at the same time,for too long. This goes back to the "We need to get smarter" mantra. There might be a couple of guys playing for Stanford last nite that may be able to help in that department.

 

Wallace knows that he didn't have a very good season. Add to that the fact that the second half of last year wasn't so spectacular and he has to be wondering what happened.
This little article was manufactured so that he doesn't come off looking like the d-bag he was this year. Other teams are less likely to take a chance on somebody with a bad attitude and questionable work ethic.

The Steelers won't go higher than 5 mill a year for this guy and rightly so. He just hasn't justified a top-tier salary in the last season and a half.
Don't bother telling me that we didn't go long enough...his targets were the highest on the team and he had the same amount of TD catches this year as last year in spite of several drops and more off-target throws from Ben (or no Ben at all for nearly 4 games). Heck, he didn't play in the last game and was slow to catch on to the new offense after holding out all summer.
He also had more teams who didn't respect our running game and purposely took away the deep ball through scheme and double teams.

I think he is a good player and definitely a speedy asset to the team, but he is not a complete receiver and his attitude has pretty much earned him a ticket out of town.
Remember...he does not regret anything that he did this season. Does that sound like somebody who has learned his lesson and will change?

 

The priority is Keenan Lewis.

 

LOL! I love you with all my heart my friend! What I would LIKE to hear Wallace say is "I'm gonna work on my route running, my football iq, my ball skills, my FOCUS, and THEN I'm gonna trust that when I do those things the Rooney's will justly compensate me." But I doubt he will. But you will be amazed to know that I agree with you that I wouldn't mind having Wallace here! ONLY IF he will acknowledge the MAJOR holes in his game and that he will go about trying his best to plug them. But if he is gonna just keep pounding the "pay me" drum and then produce like he did this year I will be glad to watch him go. Here's something that the Wallace cheerleaders don't talk about but his production has actually been on a downward progression for a few years now right? So for the Rooney's to break the bank on that would be very unwise in my opinion. I also agree that he is worth LESS than AB.

 

They proved him wrong with an 8-8 season?

But otherwise, yeah, I agree with you - whatever happened last off-season, I hope lessons are learned, a line is drawn and we get him back for decent but not extroadinary wages.