Is this wrong of me?

Dead on. The Wallace situation has made me perhaps less of a Wallace fan than i was before this all started but i'm not hating on the guy. Let's be honest too, Wallace could have made this situation a LOT worse than it has been. He could have been out talking constantly to the media and whining all of the time about things, but instead all we've ever heard were rumors about this and that. Believe me, this whole holdout situation has made me a bit bitter towards Wallace but all in all, after this is done and over with, I think we may consider ourselves lucky that it wasn't messier than what it's been. If Wallace does finally sign (which it looks like he will any day now) then all is forgiven. Perhaps not forgotten but forgiven.

 

No no, thats foul mood as in eating small children for the rest of the night. For the rest of the week I'm just upset and

.[/quote:1iupkvl3]

neighbor,wife, who doesn't like a little kitty.

 

No no, thats foul mood as in eating small children for the rest of the night. For the rest of the week I'm just upset and

.[/quote:rvrd7ljk]

neighbor,wife, who doesn't like a little kitty. [/quote:rvrd7ljk]

I see what you did there

 

Yep, I am a card-carrying Steelers fan but I am NOT a Mike Wallace fan. I just think that Wallace has behaved like a diva throughout this entire process and I have a hard time rooting for players like that. I won't root for him to goof up and cost the Steelers a game but I hope he's less a part of the game plan this year and that AB, Sanders, Rainey, et al step up to the plate and render Wallace insignificant. If that happens, Wallace will forever regret declining the 5 year, $50 million contract the Steelers offered which seemed more than fair given his performance to this point in his career. I realize that players have to watch out for their own selfish interests but he has elevated himself to a position of grandeur that he has not earned.[/quote:3ep7o852]

I hear ya....I got the news of Wallace's impending signing with mixed emotions....the whole Diva thing really turned me off but the thought of our receiving corps with Wallace makes me really excited for this season...

 

I would never hope that he fails just because it would hurt the team, and the team is bigger than any individual. You can disagree with him and even not like him, but wanting him to fail is wrong. Now as far as other teams, I so want Tebow to be a stud with the Jets (unless they're playing us) and part of me wants Peyton to suck. I think the Broncos owed Tebow another year after he helped get them to the playoffs. I know, I know, they beat us and I obviously wish they didn't, but I still think Tebow's a good guy and could have stayed in Denver even as a backup to Peyton.

 

Exactly! and the next day...

In this one case I will forgive hime, but it will always rub me a little bit unless he remains with us for a stellar career. Ward had def earned his stalemate that's why it's barely even remembered, Wallace was was just starting to make his case when this started.

 

Not at all. I dont mind telling you JA I am with you all the way on your sentiment

Bman

 

Once he reports, I'll forgive him and root for him with passion

 

http://steelblitz.com/steelers-mike-wal ... dout/1937/

This article is spot on.

 

On a serious note (by the way I liked the whole "everyone likes a little kitty" thing), I'm not mad at Wallace for what he is doing. I guess everyone has a right to try and get what they think they are worth out of life. Who am I to say what he should be asking for. In a way, I'm glad he has the confindence to believe he is worth big money and I don't think he deserves any less than what Brown got. What I'm a little miffed about is how what he is doing might effect how good this team is this year. Deep down, I think this is the feeling of most fans. We discuss off the field topics and it is fun to debate/speculate but I think most of us worry about wins/losses/play-offs/SUPERBOWLS. Ok enough said!

 

I am currently worried about my son's latest growth spurt and whether or not his infant Heath Miller jersey will still fit him or if I have to buy him a toddler on now. I am also obsessing about last years jersey curse and whether I will give into the football gods and let them decide for me if I dress myself and the boy in our gear to help the team win or throw caution to the wind and just rely on how the team plays to guarantee victory. I may need help of a professional sort.

 

Agreed PWP. I made the comment on this MB a few months ago that Wallace has already had the best two seasons of his career. I am very concerned with his dropoff in performance in the second half of last season and his disappearing act in every playoff game and the Super Bowl that he's played in. I just don't see him as a big time receiver. I see him as a receiver with big time speed but once an NFL defense figures that out you've got to compensate with tremendous route running ability, flypaper hands, the ability to get YAC, breaking tackles and making people miss (see AB), etc. Wallace, IMHO, is lacking in many of those areas and he's compensated up to this point in his career with blazing speed, which I'll admit is a great attribute for a receiver to have, but the great receivers have more than just blazing speed. You also made a great point about how he should have been in camp since we do have a new OC and are adopting a new offensive philosophy. I appreciate the fact that Wallace is working out, but he has missed some extremely valuable time in the new offense up to this point and it will cost him immeasurably. Consequently, I stand by my prediction that Wallace will struggle this year and has already had the best two years of his career. We'll see a splash play now and again with his great speed, but he's taken a step backward when it comes to being the type of well-rounded receiver we all want to see him become and that he thinks he already is.

 

I am with the crowd that thinks he has acted irresponsible because we have a new system and they were working with him in talks. If the Steelers would have broken off talks ( not because he did not show) if he showed up I would understand Wallace's point more. He believes he don't need camp, that just proves that he IS a one trick pony. so long Mike,, excuse me I meant go long Mike!!

 

So, just another Ted Ginn, Jr., or Tamarick Vanover? Seems like that's what you're describing.

 

Ok, I give on this! Even if you subscribe to the theory that Wallace only has his speed going for him (if you do, you really need to go back and watch footage of the guy) and that he will be shut down when defenses figure him, you have to, at least, give in to the fact that he, basically, has to be double teamed! There is what, maybe, 2 to 3 corners that can cover him one on one. So, if you believe that is all he is, I contend you have to respect his ability to draw double coverage and leave space open for other guys, i.e. Brown, to excell. I don't believe the guy has taken a step back at all but, rather, that he gained A LOT more respect from opposing defenses as the season went on. I, also, don't believe he has missed as much as you might think to this point. Yes, I know he has to learn terminology and schemes but really, there are only so many things a receiver can do on a given play. Yes, I know someone will point out to me that they are to top 10 coach in there pee-wee league and know everything there is about everything there is in football but I can live with that...does not change my opinion. When we get him back he will be fine and help everyone around him be better!

 

Wallace was only a "one trick pony" in BA's schemes.

It's amazing that him holding out (which i'm not a fan of at all) has turned some peoples opinions of him into a guy with limited skills. I'd be willing to bet that if the holdout never happened there would be next to zero comments about his lack of talent and him being a one trick pony. :roll:

 

No, Snack, I'd rate him higher than either of those guys, but I still think that he has one exceptional skill, his blazing speed, and still has lots of work to do in every other aspect of his game. If he's willing to put in the time and effort then maybe he can evolve into a very good receiver. His actions, if not his words, would lead one to believe that he already believes he has arrived. He hasn't. He needs to get to work and is already significantly behind the 8 ball.

 

No, Snack, I'd rate him higher than either of those guys, but I still think that he has one exceptional skill, his blazing speed, and still has lots of work to do in every other aspect of his game. If he's willing to put in the time and effort then maybe he can evolve into a very good receiver. His actions, if not his words, would lead one to believe that he already believes he has arrived. He hasn't. He needs to get to work and is already significantly behind the 8 ball.[/quote:3pf6qeov]
Spot on! he could be a great receiver if he works his craft. I don't know about yinz guys but I was a tradesman and after your apprenticeship you learn about your trade every day up until you retire. For Mr. Wallace wanting Larry Fitz money he has virtually stated that his has peaked and needs no more work.( in his opinion) !!

 

Has anyone ever produced this quote from Wallace about wanting Fitz money? I can't remember ever seeing it myself. It's possible someone did post it here but I honestly don't ever remember seeing it.

 

Don't remember reading that article. Thanks. I know i've heard what seems like a thousand times that he has demanded Fitz $ but never seen much proof of it.

 

Not even then. No one in the Steelers organization believes that. It's even been mentioned as a joke, to mess with him. It's a line Tomlin used to motivate him when he was a rookie, like how he would say Woodley is just Robin to Harrison's Batman. Wallace ran plenty of routes, and he did them regularly. That said, BA was still not much of an OC, and if Haley is better, it stands to reason Wallace will be used better. People seem to want fewer deep routes, although I don't know why. I guess it's a "principle" thing, like going deep makes us weak in the running game or exposes Ben or something. To me holding back Wallace is like asking for fewer blitzes from Harrison and Woodley. I have confidence that Haley will still send him deep. He did that with Fitz in the '08 playoffs, I know that.

You don't have to bet or guess. You can go back in time. I mean, people are making all of these assertions about his play on the field. So they must have been making them during/after the season, right? Well it's a good thing this message board goes back to October. It all started when talk of a holdout came out. Before that he was as beloved as he was before the season, and before the season before. It was a very sudden turn by the fans. And keep in mind I'm not talking about their opinion of him as a person, which they are more than welcome to change due to a holdout, I'm strictly talking about their opinion of his play on the football field. How could that change so drastically in the spring? I know. Maybe the questions about whether he'd hold out or not started right around the same time that all our dear message board friends were doing their yearly review of game tape. And upon further review, they decided that he can't catch, can't break tackles, can only run in a straight line, and has been officially "figured out" by defenses. Then those people were just about to come here and post their findings, but they couldn't make it to a computer before the possibility of him holding out became news. So yeah, it seems like they're basing their entire opinion on personal feeling instead of fact, and therefore are completely wrong about everything (or else were completely wrong before), but really it's just unfortunate timing.

As it happens, before all the Wallace hate came around (but after the season ended), I was writing a post about Rashard Mendenhall and how misguided so many fans' opinions of his play are. I needed another player to draw a comparison to, like a, "What's next? Are they going to start saying _____ can't play too?" I needed someone proven and talented and beloved by fans that no one would or could bash, and I went with Mike Wallace. I was proven wrong, because people can and will make crap up out of thin air. Have you ever noticed, for example, how Maurkice Pouncey struggles with the bigger nose tackles? Or how James Harrison struggles in pass coverage? Me neither, but if either of these guys tweeted the wrong thing or did something else the fan base doesn't approve of, they would become undeniable facts.

Shhh.... He is sitting out until he gets Larry Fitz money, and THAT'S THAT.

 

Well, we have pretty good evidence to lead us to believe that he wants Fitz money. He has, by all accounts, turned down a sum that would put him on the second level tier of wide receiver compensation (after Fitz, Calvin Johnson, etc.). That apparently isn't good enough for Mr. Wallace. He may not have explicitly said that he wants Larry Fitzgerald money, but come on guys, he WANTS Larry Fitzgerald money and his actions have confirmed that. Even his agent seemed to lose patience with him during the negotiations.

 

Makes sense to me. After all, there are no numbers between 50 million and 120 million, right? Oh wait a second... *checks earpiece* What? There are about 70 million numbers between those? I see.

Vincent Jackson got 5 years, $55 million. You may consider Jackson a better player (I don't), but the numbers, upside, and age all suggest Wallace is either at or above Jackson's level. Personally, I'd much rather have Wallace. I don't think he's out of line to think he's worth as much as Jackson, and I don't think he's wrong if he believes some other team will pay him that much or more next year. I don't think it's unrealistic to think he would gladly sign for such an amount. I don't think it's unrealistic to think that's what he's been looking for all along and I don't see any evidence to the contrary.

Then again, "Come on guys. He just does" is pretty convincing too.

 

Yep, 31 other NFL teams were just clamoring to break the bank for Larry, er, I mean Mike Wallace when they had the opportunity this offseason, now weren't they? (see, I can be sarcastic too