http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130101/SPORTS0403/130109941
Here's my piece from Wednesday's O-R on Mike Wallace's thoughts on his season.
To summarize, he feels the holdout hurt him, but doesn't regret it. He also doesn't think he's necessarily a good fit in Todd Haley's offense.
24 comments:
"Money is not really the problem."
That is wallace's quote from dale's article. let's see now, we know the steelers made him an offer, probably similar to what brown got, but wallace turns it down. why? if money is not the problem, then why turn it down?
in exchange for holding out for "more money" he admittedly screwed himself by not understanding the offense, his role in the offense and not being prepared for how ot play in the offense.
therefore, as i predicted, he lowered his own street value, wasn't getting the attention/catches/yards he needed, resutling in a shitty attitude throughout the season which in turn affected the performance of the team.
no regrets? he's a dumbass.
i hope keenan lewis is the number one priority for the steelers.
i believe wallace will go to indy with ba and luck. that will be a good combination for everyone involved. luck has to be the most prepared rookie qb ever. he is going to be a great one
Dale - What do you think the Steelers do with the expected departure of Wallace? Will we resign him, if not, do we draft a wr (sort of high) and bring in a cheap free agent? Thanks.
Good article Dale, you did a good job of balancing the facts/stats with Wallace's opinions. The reality is, with the salary cap, Wallace won't be back. Tough to have two players in the same position with that sort of salary, it takes away from other parts of the team.
Wallace didn't do anything to hurt his "street value" whatever that is. He's still a guy who can get deep on anyone, that hasn't changed.
Wallace won't be back. The Steelers will be forced to try to fill that spot in the draft, since I don't see them spending the money to get a Dwayne Bowe or even a Greg Jennings.
i dont see why they dont just franchise him for 1 year then let him walk. yeah, its expensive but worth it.
Needs to learn how to catch with his hands and shut his mouth. He's a deep/speed threat...that's it. One trick pony, see ya!
i use the term "street value" to mean his value in free agency. and he most definitely has reduced is value on the open market. coming off of last year he was a hot commodity and potentially considered a top flight WR.
that is gone. he has speed, but that's it. average route runner, average hands, and a questionable attitude when things don't go his way. he won't get what he was hoping for and i suspect he won't get more than what brown got.
you know why he says "money is not really a problem"? because he knows he won't get the money he could've last year and he's lowering his expectations.
He most certainly did reduce his street value. It's pretty much a given that "recency" has a real influence on decision-making. What he's done lately will affect what GMs will pay for him. See Miller, Heath just prior to the draft.
He'll get paid by someone on the open market. Never underestimate the desire of some teams to overpay.
A lot of people will be sorry when that guy is gone. His type of speed is so rare that it opens up an offense whether he catches a ball the entire game or not. Keep in mind i am not a huge Wallace fan whatsoever and i know he has tons to learn about the position.
I can't agree more with Pistol. I'm a big Antonio Brown fan, but dread the thought of him being the clear-cut #1 receiver. Even with the lackluster season Mike Wallace just had, he was the most productive WR on the roster. Without Wallace, the current WR corps isn't scaring anyone next season.
They've obviously had tremendously luck drafting WRs in the later rounds in recent years, but I'd love seeing them prioritize the position this upcoming draft. I say 2nd round.
Please spare the "more pressing needs" or BPA arguments. (It's my opinion; not yours)
I wish we had paid Wallace instead of Woodley. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.
Ill miss Wallace. It's a shame the contract issues ended up the way they did. He is very electrical player who let his contract issue affect him too much unfortunately. I cannot imagine there is enough room in the cap to bring him back or franchise him. Hopefully the steelers get a 3 rd round comp pick for him once he signs a big contract with another team.
It turned out to be a lose-lose situation for Wallace and the Steelers.
I can't see Wallace getting more than 10million/yr; I'm guessing he gets a 5 yr 50 million contract with another team.
At least we will land a solid pick at #17; I'm thinking BPA for the first round.
1st rd pick will either be a CB or a safety. Almost certainly a CB.
Lewis will be gone and I doubt they franchise him. He is going to be offered big time money. Curtis Brown looks like a glorified ST player and there is no one behind him.
Wallace can go. I don't care if he can outrace a cheetah. He needs consistency all around and he just doesn't have the hands the Steelers need. Although none of the team's receivers did this year either.
They don't need a WR in the first round. They need someone to be a 4th WR next year who can develop into a reliable 3rd.
Do they still do compensatory picks in the new CBA? I can't remember...
Don't see CB being the pick unless they're planning on moving Cortez Allen to safety.
They will re-sign Lewis. Something in the $6 to $7 million per year range should get it done.
And I agree that this team will miss Wallace. Can't tell you how often he cleared space for Heath Miller underneath by clearing a corner and safety by running them deep.
Dale, if we need Wallace to "clear space" we are in deep trouble. How do other WR's get open on other teams? How did ours get open before Wallace? I just don't see it. Good receivers get open in space, heath has always got open and made plays, before Wallace was ever here, how did we win the final game without Wallace clearing space? I like Wallace, but he does not have good hands and does not run good routes for the most part. I do not see us going WR early in the draft, this teams issues this year all started above the neck, we have the talent, and I trust it to get turned around. Coach Tomlin will not have two bad years in a row either.
We will go BPA at a position of need in the draft, I would guess LB. K Lewis will be back.
I can't see why the Steelers wouldn't or couldn't resign Lewis. I do not think the price tag on him will be that big. It seems CB in our system are not that highly valued by other organizations.
I wouldn't mind a skill player on offense, be it RB, WR or TE if there is no quality pass rusher OLB at 17. ILB or S would also be possible, though it seems you can get quality at those positions later.
OL, NT, SS, OLB...
without knowing anything about the upcoming draft prospects, i would take BPA from one of those spots in the 1st round.
Steelers have given Haley permission to interview for the HC job in Arizona. So if he leaves, who would y'all prefer for our OC?
Patrick
The difference in clearing space is what turns a five-yard gain into a 20-yard catch-and-run.
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