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Thread: Steelers' Rooney on Wallace: 'He should be here'

  1. #91
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    Could the Pittsburgh Steelers Deal Mike Wallace to Minnesota Vikings?

    June 19, 2012



    Mike Wallace Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a second quarter touchdown pass with Mike Wallace while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    With a left tackle and a running back in place the time has come for the Minnesota Vikings to give their young quarterback a wide receiver. Do they have the ammo to take Mike Wallace from the Pittsburgh Steelers?

    Jerome Simpson isn't enough to help Percy Harvin with Christian Ponder

    The NFC championship heartbreak in 2009 seems so far away for Vikings fans. Gone is the Brett Favre magic, replaced by rebuilding reality. Hopes sit uneasily on the shoulders of quarterback Christian Ponder who came out of the draft with questions and hasn't had enough time to answer them. Worse yet the best offensive weapon Minnesota has in running back Adrian Peterson hasn't fully recovered from a torn ACL and MCL in his knee. That puts more pressure on Ponder and a suspect group of wide receivers to carry the load until he's back healthy. The Vikings do have a budding star in Percy Harvin but their hopes of giving him help settled on the acrobatic but erratic Jerome Simpson. It was Harvin who voiced his anger about where the team is. It's not clear what upsets him but from the way he says things must get sorted out before training camp it's easy to think he isn't satisfied with what the Minnesota Vikings coaches and front office have done. Would getting him some help in the passing game ease the fury?

    Steelers risk angering Ben Roethlisberger if they don't get Wallace back

    Minnesota sits in a tough spot. Not only is their roster filled with question marks but the team also signed a new lease to stay in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers know all about that, expecting another season battling Baltimore and Cincinnati for playoff spots. That's why the team tries week after week to get Pro Bowl receiver Mike Wallace signed to either his franchise tender or a long-term deal. Neither offer suits the receiver, so his holdout continues. Team captain and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn't happy about it. He, more than anybody, knows what Wallace can do and believes the Steelers will need his talent and speed to stay on top. Management says the team wants to pay him but salary cap problems and a debate on Wallace's worth has created a deadlock. Unless he signs the tender or a deal gets worked out they risk losing him to free agency next season. That means they might have to lower their price in trade talks. Minnesota has both the cap and draft picks that could interest Pittsburgh. Wallace would go to team that plays indoors where speed counts for everything and give Ponder another reliable target besides Harvin.

    Mike Wallace expects to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers but if Ben Roethlisberger is right it won't happen until they pay him properly. The Minnesota Vikings settled for Jerome Simpson to help Christian Ponder, which didn't impress Percy Harvin. If the team wants to avoid rebuilding beyond 2012 they might want to think about a trade.

    [URL]http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981415242[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

  2. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by hawaiiansteel View Post
    Could the Pittsburgh Steelers Deal Mike Wallace to Minnesota Vikings?

    June 19, 2012



    Mike Wallace Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a second quarter touchdown pass with Mike Wallace while playing the Cleveland Browns on October 17, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    With a left tackle and a running back in place the time has come for the Minnesota Vikings to give their young quarterback a wide receiver. Do they have the ammo to take Mike Wallace from the Pittsburgh Steelers?

    Jerome Simpson isn't enough to help Percy Harvin with Christian Ponder

    The NFC championship heartbreak in 2009 seems so far away for Vikings fans. Gone is the Brett Favre magic, replaced by rebuilding reality. Hopes sit uneasily on the shoulders of quarterback Christian Ponder who came out of the draft with questions and hasn't had enough time to answer them. Worse yet the best offensive weapon Minnesota has in running back Adrian Peterson hasn't fully recovered from a torn ACL and MCL in his knee. That puts more pressure on Ponder and a suspect group of wide receivers to carry the load until he's back healthy. The Vikings do have a budding star in Percy Harvin but their hopes of giving him help settled on the acrobatic but erratic Jerome Simpson. It was Harvin who voiced his anger about where the team is. It's not clear what upsets him but from the way he says things must get sorted out before training camp it's easy to think he isn't satisfied with what the Minnesota Vikings coaches and front office have done. Would getting him some help in the passing game ease the fury?

    Steelers risk angering Ben Roethlisberger if they don't get Wallace back

    Minnesota sits in a tough spot. Not only is their roster filled with question marks but the team also signed a new lease to stay in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers know all about that, expecting another season battling Baltimore and Cincinnati for playoff spots. That's why the team tries week after week to get Pro Bowl receiver Mike Wallace signed to either his franchise tender or a long-term deal. Neither offer suits the receiver, so his holdout continues. Team captain and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn't happy about it. He, more than anybody, knows what Wallace can do and believes the Steelers will need his talent and speed to stay on top. Management says the team wants to pay him but salary cap problems and a debate on Wallace's worth has created a deadlock. Unless he signs the tender or a deal gets worked out they risk losing him to free agency next season. That means they might have to lower their price in trade talks. Minnesota has both the cap and draft picks that could interest Pittsburgh. Wallace would go to team that plays indoors where speed counts for everything and give Ponder another reliable target besides Harvin.

    Mike Wallace expects to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers but if Ben Roethlisberger is right it won't happen until they pay him properly. The Minnesota Vikings settled for Jerome Simpson to help Christian Ponder, which didn't impress Percy Harvin. If the team wants to avoid rebuilding beyond 2012 they might want to think about a trade.

    [URL]http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981415242[/URL]
    Ben needs to realize that he will be far more successful if he throws to Heath Miller and medium depth routes to Brown than his poorly thrown long bombs. Wallace can be with the Steelers anytime Wallace wants to be with the Steelers. The only person keeping him away is himself.
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  3. #93
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    I am not sure where did the author get the idea " Ben is not happy". I don't recollect Ben saying anything like that. Ben has echoed similar views to Mike Tomlin in press. Maybe i missed something.

    Hopefully Steelers FO and MW can agree to a long deal.

    Ovi i am yet not sold on AB. Agreed he had a great season but he had only 2 TDs.

    MW takes the top of the defense and it helps HM and AB. You just can't dink-dunk passes when there is no outside threat. DBs will start jumping the routes.

    Who will be the speed merchant if MW is not there?
    Steelers Draft 2015
    Rd 1: Devante Parker - WR/ Kevin Johnson - CB
    Rd 2: Danielle Hunter -OLB
    Rd 3: Steven Nelson - CB
    Rd 4: Derron Smith - S
    Rd 5: Henry Anderson - DE
    Rd 6: Wes Saxton - TE
    Rd 7: Deon Simon - DT

  4. #94
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    Quote Originally Posted by grotonsteel View Post
    I am not sure where did the author get the idea " Ben is not happy". I don't recollect Ben saying anything like that. Ben has echoed similar views to Mike Tomlin in press. Maybe i missed something.

    Hopefully Steelers FO and MW can agree to a long deal.

    Ovi i am yet not sold on AB. Agreed he had a great season but he had only 2 TDs.

    MW takes the top of the defense and it helps HM and AB. You just can't dink-dunk passes when there is no outside threat. DBs will start jumping the routes.

    Who will be the speed merchant if MW is not there?
    I think Brown has the speed, not Wallace's, to go deep. He just isn't asked to run those routes with Wallace on the team. I think Wallace would have a much tougher time being successful running the routes Brown runs over the middle and in traffic than vice versa.

    You are right though, having both makes each better and I hope we can keep it that way and we don't put all our eggs (and money) in the Wallace basket and then lose Brown.

    Another poster said exactly what I believe. Brown will have more catches this year and Wallace will have more TDs...if he shows up.
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  5. #95
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    Quote Originally Posted by grotonsteel View Post
    I am not sure where did the author get the idea " Ben is not happy". I don't recollect Ben saying anything like that. Ben has echoed similar views to Mike Tomlin in press. Maybe i missed something.
    It would appear that the author is a Vikings fan who is not all that familiar with the Steelers (Wallace's "franchise tender" was referenced in the article).
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  6. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oviedo View Post
    I think Wallace would have a much tougher time being successful running the routes Brown runs over the middle and in traffic than vice versa.
    It's not as if Wallace only ever runs 9 routes and all balls thrown his way are 40+ yards downfield. Have you read the article that K.C. Joyner wrote last season (after 6 games) in which he compared Mike Wallace to Calvin Johnson in terms of short, medium, deep, bomb, vertical, stretch vertical, yards after catch, and overall yards per attempt? Joyner argued that Wallace is better than Calvin (I'm not arguing that...I had a bigger draft crush on Megatron in his draft year than I had on DeCastro this year, and that is saying something). By posting this, I'm not attempting to start up a Calvin vs. Mike debate (because I'd pick Calvin), but I just thought it was interesting to note how effective Mike has been with short/medium passes, and not just bombs/vertical/stretch vertical passes, as is widely believed. Also, his yards after catch numbers seem to dispel the notion that Wallace simply turtles after catching the ball as some fans seem to think.


    Mike Wallace tops Calvin Johnson
    It may surprise, but almost any way you look at it, the Pittsburgh WR has been better
    Originally Published: October 19, 2011
    By KC Joyner | ESPN Insider

    Mike Wallace and Calvin Johnson are two of the best wide receivers in the NFL. But who's better?

    After six weeks of the 2011 NFL season, there are a lot of questions still unanswered: Which team is the best? Will the Colts or Dolphins win a game? Will Tebowmania equal Beatlemania?



    It might take a while for those queries to get clarification, but the one question that seems to have been definitively answered to the satisfaction of many is that Calvin Johnson is the best wide receiver in the NFL.



    At some level, Johnson is certainly setting a pace that has not been equaled in a long time. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Megatron's nine touchdowns in the first five games were the most by any player through the first five games of any season dating back to 1940. They note that Johnson is on pace to break Randy Moss' NFL record 23 touchdown receptions set in 2007.



    That might be enough to put Johnson in the top spot, but he is assisted by the drop-off of some of the other potential leading contenders, some because of injury (Miles Austin, Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks) and others because of reduced production (Larry Fitzgerald, Roddy White).

    Before handing that honor to Johnson by acclamation, however, he should have to go through the same type of "challenge system" that Bear Bryant used to settle positional battles on his team. This method allowed any player to call for a one-on-one clash in a variety of areas to see who was the best at executing the key responsibilities of the position (as we did with Austin and Andre Johnson last season to see who was the best wideout in the league at that time). The winner gets to claim the prize as best wideout.



    The big question is who should be chosen to challenge Johnson? Even with the aforementioned drop-off of the top contenders, there is one player who has more than enough to play the role of Optimus Prime -- Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace.



    Wallace is almost never mentioned as one of the top five wideouts in the league, much less as the best, but look at how his numbers this season stack up against Johnson in a variety of categories. (Note: all attempt and yardage totals include penalty plays such as defensive holding, illegal contact, pass interference, etc.).




    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    Short passes (aerials thrown downfield 10 or fewer yards)



    • Johnson has gained 202 yards on 27 short pass attempts, so 7.5 yards per attempt.



    • Wallace has 205 yards on 22 short pass attempts, which equates to a 9.3 short pass YPA.



    Medium passes (11-19 yards downfield)



    • Johnson has racked up 163 yards on 16 medium pass attempts for a 10.2 medium YPA.



    • Wallace has 117 yards on 11 medium pass attempts for a 10.6 medium YPA.



    Deep passes (20-29 yards downfield)



    • Johnson has posted 59 yards on six deep pass attempts for a 9.8 deep YPA.



    • Wallace has been targeted on a deep pass only one time this season and it didn't result in a completion or a penalty, so he has zero yards in this category.



    Bomb passes (30 or more yards downfield)



    • Johnson has tallied 145 yards on six bomb pass attempts for a 24.2 bomb YPA.



    • Wallace has 329 yards on nine bomb passes for a 36.6 bomb YPA.



    Vertical (all medium, deep and bomb passes)



    • Johnson has been targeted for 28 vertical passes and has gained 367 yards on those throws. That gives him a 13.1 vertical YPA.



    • Wallace has been targeted for 21 vertical passes and posted 446 yards on those throws, giving him a 21.2 vertical YPA.



    Stretch vertical (all deep/bomb passes -- the ones designed to really stretch defensive coverage)



    • Johnson has 12 targets on stretch vertical passes and gained 204 yards on those aerials. That equates to a 17 stretch vertical YPA.



    • Wallace has 10 targets on stretch vertical passes and posted 329 yards on those aerials. That equates to a 32.9 stretch vertical YPA.



    Yards after catch



    • Johnson has been credited with 129 yards after catch this season.



    • Wallace has 183 yards after catch this season.



    Overall YPA



    • Add all of Johnson's totals up, and he has 569 yards on 55 targets, a 10.3 overall YPA.



    • Wallace has 651 yards on 43 targets, or a 15.1 overall YPA.




    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    It's one thing to simply subscribe to the numbers and players must also pass the eye test, but these totals show Wallace as superior thus far in short, medium, bomb, vertical, stretch vertical, yards after catch and overall YPA categories. If he's not dominant in one, he's consistently better in all.



    Not only that, Wallace has 82 more total yards than Johnson despite having 12 fewer targets.



    That evidence alone would point to Wallace being the better wideout, but there are two potential arguments against this claim.



    The first is that Johnson has a 9-4 lead on touchdown receptions. True, but consider this: Johnson has been thrown a pass in the end zone nine times this season and has converted five of those into touchdowns.



    By contrast, Wallace has only four end zone targets this season. He has converted three into touchdowns and one into a pass interference penalty that gave the Steelers a first down at the opponent's 1-yard line. What this means is that when Pittsburgh gives Wallace a shot at an end zone pass, so far, he is even better at converting it into a touchdown than Johnson is.



    The second argument is that Wallace can't be given this honor after only six games. It takes longer than that to establish someone as the best at his position.



    The counter is that Wallace could make a claim as having been the most dominant wideout in the league in 2010 as well. His 13.8 overall YPA was by far the best in the league (it was 1.7 yards better than Kenny Britt's second-place finish in that category). Wallace was the only wideout to post a short pass YPA of higher than 10 yards (10.2). Wallace also ranked tied for third in vertical YPA (16.6) and was fifth in stretch vertical YPA among wide receivers with at least 20 targets at that depth (20.3).



    That shows his overall dominance, but for the sake of this discussion, it should be noted that he gained 154 more yards than Johnson last season (1,295 to 1,141) despite being targeted 40 fewer times (134 for Johnson vs. 94 for Wallace). Wallace also had a better touchdown-to-target ratio (once every 9.4 passes vs. once every 11.2 targets for Johnson).



    No matter which way you look at, Wallace bests Johnson. At the moment, that makes him the heavyweight champion of NFL wide receivers.



    KC Joyner, aka the Football Scientist, is a regular contributor to ESPN Insider. He can be found on Twitter @kcjoynertfs and at his website. He is the author of an annual fantasy football draft guide, which is currently available, and "Blindsided: Why the Left Tackle is Overrated and Other Contrarian Football Thoughts."
    [URL]http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7122234/nfl-why-mike-wallace-bigger-gamebreaker-calvin-johnson[/URL]
    Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.

    Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.

    We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.

    We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.

  7. #97
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    By Pat Kirwan | NFL Insider

    June 20, 2012

    The Steelers should spell out to Mike Wallace just how much money he can lose under the restricted tag and two franchise tags over the next three years versus doing a five-year deal now with significant guaranteed money in it. He will see $23.43 million over three years ($7.81 average) under the three tags IF he stays healthy. Keep in mind the franchise tag went down $2 million from 2011. A five-year deal now averaging just over $8 million should put $18 million guaranteed in his pocket now and close to $28 million over the first three years. He may be better than DeSean Jackson, who got $51 million over five years, but Jackson came into the NFL in 2008 and had a franchise tag on him this year. Wallace came in 2009 and is only a restricted free agent and simply doesn't have the same leverage. Both players were born in 1986, and Jackson now knows his contract expires as he turns 30. If Wallace plays on three tags he will be looking for a long term deal when he's going to be 28 and any serious injuries between now and then will hurt his market value.


    [URL="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19392599/prevacation-cleanup-10-items-on-todo-list-starting-with-mccoy"]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/1...ing-with-mccoy[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

  8. #98
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    Quote Originally Posted by hawaiiansteel View Post
    By Pat Kirwan | NFL Insider

    June 20, 2012

    The Steelers should spell out to Mike Wallace just how much money he can lose under the restricted tag and two franchise tags over the next three years versus doing a five-year deal now with significant guaranteed money in it. He will see $23.43 million over three years ($7.81 average) under the three tags IF he stays healthy. Keep in mind the franchise tag went down $2 million from 2011. A five-year deal now averaging just over $8 million should put $18 million guaranteed in his pocket now and close to $28 million over the first three years. He may be better than DeSean Jackson, who got $51 million over five years, but Jackson came into the NFL in 2008 and had a franchise tag on him this year. Wallace came in 2009 and is only a restricted free agent and simply doesn't have the same leverage. Both players were born in 1986, and Jackson now knows his contract expires as he turns 30. If Wallace plays on three tags he will be looking for a long term deal when he's going to be 28 and any serious injuries between now and then will hurt his market value.


    [URL="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19392599/prevacation-cleanup-10-items-on-todo-list-starting-with-mccoy"]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/1...ing-with-mccoy[/URL]
    Very well explained. The Steelers aren't going to give him DeSean jackson money so he would be wise to sign for what the Steelers offers and get possibly more guaranteed money. It's really all about the guaranteed money.

    The Steelers control Wallace for the next two years and one injury would really hurt a guy whose whole game is based on speed. He needs to take what he can get.
    "My team, may they always be right, but right or wrong...MY TEAM!"

  9. #99
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    Pittsburgh Steelers Cornerback Ike Taylor is Still Haunted by the Loss to Denver in the Playoffs

    Submitted by Syndicated sources on June 24, 2012

    Even with the excitement building for the 2012 season many Pittsburgh Steelers fans have the disappointing overtime loss to the Denver Broncos etched into their psyche. Like those fans, cornerback Ike Taylor still has the memory fresh in his head, going as far to tell the media during his annual football camp at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna, Louisiana, that he will do everything in his power to make up for that final play.The Steelers will need another big season from Taylor as the make-up of the cornerback position looks to be a lot younger in 2012. In fact, the team will definitely look for him to provide leadership to a group of cornerbacks who lack starter experience. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that group of players will not only need to play hard, but they must be effective.

    During this press session with Albert Burford of The Times-Picayune, Taylor also believes that teammate Mike Wallace and the Steelers will reach an agreement allowing the Pro Bowl wide receiver to enter camp on time. There is no denying that Wallace deserves a hefty raise from his rookie contract and the Steelers have likely offered him what they believe is fair market value for his services, the big question is if that is enough for Wallace.

    At this point, he is looking at a battle he just cannot win. As soon as the draft was over, his advantage started dwindling, and now, the advantage has shifted to the Steelers. Yes, he could continue to hold out, but while league sources are saying the team will not lower his $2.7 million tender things could change. It is a known fact that while they are saying the right things, the Rooney family is not happy with this hold out and could decide to move that money elsewhere for 2012.

    With two young and talented receivers besides Wallace already in the stable, it is clear that the Steelers will not break the bank for his services. In fact, it may be a case where the more Wallace upsets the front office and ownership, the worse it could be for him. According to the new CBA, the Steelers could potential own his rights until 2015 without hashing out a new deal by use of the franchise tag. By going that route, the team could own his services for roughly $26 – 27 million over that three-year span, ironically, still less than he is reportedly looking for.

    [URL="http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/pittsburgh_steelers_cornerback_ike_taylor_is_still _haunted_by_the_loss_to_denver_in_the_playoffs/11078729"]http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/ar...yoffs/11078729[/URL]
    Steel Maniac's Time-Based Prediction: Lamar Jackson will be a bust and total flop in the NFL.

    What Actually Happened: Lamar Jackson became the youngest two-time NFL MVP winner ever.

    Gloat gloat gloat


    Boom........

    Hahahahahahaha

  10. #100
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    According to the new CBA, the Steelers could potential own his rights until 2015 without hashing out a new deal by use of the franchise tag. By going that route, the team could own his services for roughly $26 – 27 million over that three-year span, ironically, still less than he is reportedly looking for.


    Have to remember though. That's $27 million HARD CAP dollars.

    No working the cap, that's an iron clad up front number.

    I don't think we could handle that.

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