Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Mike Wallace returned to the Steelers on Tuesday.  Finally!

Wallace showed up at the Steelers offices and signed the one-year, $2.7 million tender offer that’s been on the table for months.

After a long holdout that apparently gained him nothing, Wallace was back on the sidelines at Steelers’ practice.  Although in accordance to the new collective bargaining agreement, he isn’t allowed to practice with the team yet.

“I couldn’t even go on the field. That was a little different,” said Wallace.  “I am here now, learning the plays. I get to at least see it. At home I couldn’t even see it. At least getting to watch those guys I am getting a couple of mental reps.”

Even though he wasn’t allowed to practice, Wallace was happy to be back among his teammates.

“My teammates need me,” Wallace said when asked why he decided to report after missing nearly all of training camp and the preseason.  “It’s time to get ready for the season. I felt like it was time to go.  I’m ready to roll.  I’m here.  That’s really all that matters to me.”

Wallace has been working out, and he’s in very good physical condition.  However, being in good shape is not the same as being in good football shape.

“As far as conditioning-wise we have two weeks until the game,” said Wallace.  “I have been working out, doing really good conditioning so that is not going to be a problem.  Nothing is like getting in football shape.  It’s a little different.  The first couple of days I might be a little more tired than the rest of the guys, not because I am not in shape but because it’s different with the pads on.  I will be ready when it’s time to go on Sunday night against Denver.”

Both Wallace and offensive coordinator Todd Haley believe that Wallace can be ready in time for the season opener against Denver.

One thing that Wallace’s absence did do was answer the question of whether Antonio Brown could thrive without Mike Wallace to draw double teams.  Brown answered that loud and clear, as he dominated in the preseason, despite being the Steelers #1 receiving option.

Now that Wallace is back, Brown should become even more dangerous.  And Brown’s emergence should help reduce the number of double teams that teams are able to throw at Mike Wallace.  Defensive coordinators will have to pick their poison.

Wallace isn’t eligible to play in the Steelers’ final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, so he’ll likely make his debut against the Broncos on September 9th.

Mike Wallace continues his holdout as the 2nd week of Steelers training camp gets underway.  Many fans are upset with Wallace, and believe that he’s being selfish by holding out.  Others think the Steelers are being cheap, and that they should just go ahead and pay Wallace.

But regardless of which side of that discussion you come out on, the basic question remains; do the Steelers even need Mike Wallace?

I’ve heard analyst say that now that the Steelers have given Antonio Brown a 5-year contract extension worth $42.5 million, they don’t have enough money left to pay Mike Wallace anywhere near what he’s seeking.  Moreover, even if Mike Wallace were willing to accept a contract exactly like the one that Antonio Brown signed, the Steelers would probably be reluctant to invest $85 million into two wide receivers.

More importantly, if you look at what the Steelers have been doing in training camp, it doesn’t look like it’s tailored to fit Mike Wallace.

If we take a look at what Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley did while he was in Kansas City, it relied heavily on short passes, many of them going to the running backs.  Dexter McCluster, Haley’s primary receiving threat out of the Chiefs’ backfield, caught 46 passes last year.  Even fullback LeRon McClain caught 14 passes out of the backfield.  By comparison, Rashard Mendenhall only caught 18 passes last year.  And Isaac Redman also only caught 18 passes.  So McCluster caught more passes out of the backfield than Mendenhall and Redman combined.  More importantly, McCluster had 328 receiving yards.  That’s more than Emmanuel Sanders had, and almost as many as Hines Ward compiled.

And after the first week of training camp, that is also what the Steelers offense has looked like.  Haley has emphasized the running game and short passes, and he has stated that he wants Ben Roethlisberger to get rid of the ball quicker.  He has stated that he likes the potential that he sees in Baron Batch and Chris Rainey.  He doesn’t sound like he’s at all concerned that Mike Wallace isn’t in camp.

One of the problems with the long catches that Mike Wallace was known for is that those plays take a long time to materialize.  It takes a long time to get 4o yards down field, even if you’re as fast a Mike Wallace.  But Haley wants to keep Big Ben’s shirt clean by having him get rid of the ball quickly.

If you look at how often the Chiefs threw the ball deep, it looks very different than the Steelers looked under Bruce Arains.  The Chiefs only completed 39 passes that gained more than 20 yards.  The Steelers, on the other hand, completed 60 passes of over 20 yards in Bruce Arians’ offense.

Arians liked to use Big Ben’s arm, and fast receivers to “take the top off the defense”.  Haley prefers to gain favorable match-ups of  fast running backs against comparably slower linebackers in open space.  And Chris Rainey and Baron Batch seem to be perfect weapons for that philosphy.  Mike Wallace, not so much.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that Mike Wallace wouldn’t help the Steelers.  Part of Antonio Brown’s success was undoubtedly due to the attention that Mike Wallace commanded from the defense.  Also, short passes to Chris Rainey or Baron Batch will be much more effective if Wallace is drawing a cornerback and a safety deep down the field.

But Emmanuel Sanders is capable of catching long passes too.  He’s not as fast as Wallace, but he’s fast enough.  So is Toney Clemons (should he make the final roster).  So even without Wallace, I doubt that the Steelers’ offense will grind to a screeching halt.  In fact, I think it will be just fine.

I don’t think the Steelers need Mike Wallace.  Just like they didn’t need Santonio Holmes…..or Plaxico Burress….or Yancey Thigpen.  But I certainly think that they’re a better team with Mike Wallace than they are without him, and I want to see him wearing black and gold in 2012 and beyond.

 

This is part 5 in our position-by-position review of the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers.  If you haven’t read the previous installments, please click below:

If you haven’t read Part 1 (offensive tackles), click here.
If you haven’t read Part 2 (guards), click here.
If you haven’t read Part 3 (centers), click here.
If you haven’t read Part 4 (tight ends), click here.

Today we will be looking at the Steelers’ wide receivers.

The wide receivers emerged as arguably the Steelers’ greatest strength in 2011.  The Steelers have always been known for having great linebackers, but the current crop of wide receivers may actually outshine the linebackers.  In fact, they may be the most talented group of wide receivers in the NFL.

What other team can boast two 1,000 yard receivers, a future Hall-of-Famer, another young wide receiver who has the potential to be a 1,000 yard receiver, and a veteran receiver who would start on some NFL teams?  That’s exactly what the Steelers have on their wide receiving corps.

Let’s take a look at them individually, starting with…….

Mike Wallace

Going into the year, we knew that Mike Wallace was going to have a great season.  He had already established himself as one of the fastest wide receivers in the NFL, and he was building great chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger.  By the end of the 2010 season, Wallace had already become Big Ben’s favorite target.

Wallace had another 1,000 yard season in 2011, and he is a player who should play a significant role in the Steelers’ future.  The only problem is that Wallace is a restricted free agent this season.  Because of his incredible speed, Wallace will draw a lot of attention as a free agent.  The Steelers have said that signing him to a long-term contract is one of their highest priorities.  However, doing so is going to be expensive, and the Steelers are already over the salary cap.

The Steelers could slap the franchise tag on Wallace, but that will cost them almost $14 million.  So that’s not a very appealing option.  So the team has to hope that they can get even more veteran players to restructure their contracts.  LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons have already restructured theirs.  But the team will need to find far more money than that.

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown came into training camp as the #4 receiver on the depth chart.  Hines Ward and Mike Wallace were established veteran starters, and Emmanuel Sanders had performed better than him during the previous season and was #3 on the depth chart.  But injuries among the wide receivers made Antonio Brown the primary wide receiver during the preseason.

By mid-season, Brown had supplanted Mike Wallace as Big Ben’s favorite target.  In fact, for long stretches it seemed like Roethlisberger had forgotten that Mike Wallace was even on the team.  That speaks volumes about how much talent Brown has.

Brown is probably the Steelers’ most talented receiver when it comes to gaining yards after the catch.  It’s those running skills that also made Brown a Pro Bowl kick returner.

Did I mention that Brown’s teammates voted him the team’s MVP?  Pretty impressive for a young guy.  I think this kid has a future with the team.

Hines Ward

Hines Ward is clearly one of the all-time Pittsburgh Steelers.  He holds just about every receiving record, and he’s basically been the face of the franchise since Jerome  Bettis retired.  Ward’s place is Steelers lore is assured.

However, Ward is no longer the most talented receiver on the Steelers’ roster.  After a brilliant career 14 year career, Ward will be 36 years old during the 2012 season.  By NFL standards, that’s ancient.  Moreover, Ward ended the 2011 season as the #5 wide receiver on the depth chart.  Even Jericho Cotchery had surpassed Ward.

Ward’s current contract pays him too much money to be a #5 wide receiver.  Moreover, a #5 wide receiver would have to play special teams, and it would be insulting to Ward to ask him to do that.

Ward has said that he wants to play another season for the Steelers, and that he’s willing to play for the league minimum for veterans.  But frankly, I don’t want to see Ward do that.  I love and respect Hines too much to see him sitting the bench behind younger, faster, wide receivers.

Emmanuel Sanders

2011 was basically a lost season for Emmanuel Sanders.  He struggled with injuries, and was only a shadow of the player that we saw in 2010.  Unlike Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, Sanders isn’t a speedster.  He’s more quick than fast.  He specializes on finding gaps in the defense.  That makes him an ideal slot receiver.

Sanders’ future is going to depend largely on how successful he can be at remaining healthy.  But if he can put the foot injuries behind him, then he will be a part of one of the most dynamic receiving trios in Steelers history.

Jericho Cotchery

Cotchery ended the 2011 season as the #4 wide receiver on the Steelers’ depth chart.  Cotchery is an unrestricted free agent, and I would assume that he’d like to be a starter.  That’s just not going to happen with the Steelers.

I really liked what I saw from Cotchery last year.  He didn’t really get much playing time until the second half of the season.  But once he did, he showed that he could be a reliable target for Big Ben.

I’d love to see Cotchery return to the Steelers in 2012.  However, I doubt that’s going to happen.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have wrestled with the question of age for several seasons.  The majority of the starting players on their defensive front 7 are over 30 years old.

Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, James Farrior, and James Harrison are all closer to the end of their careers than either fans, or apparently the Steelers’ coaches, seem to want to admit.  The same is true for Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark.  And key backup players like Chris Hoke and Larry Foote, aren’t spring chickens either.

We’ve all heard the cries for more youth on the defense.  But what I haven’t heard very much is cries for youth on the offense.  Specifically at wide receiver.

The Steelers have a talented group of young wide receivers who have given fans reason to believe that the team’s future at the position is bright.

Mike Wallace is already the team’s top receiver, and he’s also emerged as one of the most dangerous receiving threats in the NFL.  Wallace will lead the Steelers’ receiving corps for years to come.

Second year receivers Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are dynamic playmakers.  They both have speed to burn, and are proving to coaches that they deserve more playing time.

Antonio Brown has caught 18 passes for 262 yards through 6 games.  He’s averaging 14.6 yards per catch.  Emmanuel Sanders has caught 8 passes for 127 yards, and is averaging 15.9 yards per catch.

Hines Ward is the veteran of the receiving corp.  He’s 35 years old, and in his 14th season in the NFL.  More importantly, Ward is the Steelers’ all-time receptions leader, and he’s one of the most beloved players in Steelers’ history.

And therein lies the problem.  Fans love Hines.  Coaches love Hines.  Players love Hines.  Nobody want to be the one to disrespect Hines.

But at this point in his career, Hines Ward is no longer the player he once was.  Ward was never a fast player.  But at 35 years old, Hines is just plain slow.  He still has great hands, but he can’t really get separation from defenders.

Ward is still targeted routinely by Big Ben.  In fact, only Mike Wallace has more receptions than Ward.  However, Ward has the lowest yards per catch of the 4 primary wide receivers.  Antonio Brown has fewer catches than Ward, but he has more yards.  And Emmanuel Sanders is averaging over 5 yards more per catch than Ward.  Do you know how much 5 extra yards per catch would help the Steelers?

Sanders excels as a possession receiver, just like Ward.  The difference is that he’s much faster.  So he can get to the spot faster than Ward.  The same is true for Antonio Brown.  If the Steelers played Wallace, Brown, and Sanders, they’d have a trio of speedy receivers who could blow the top off of any defense.  That would open up things for the running game, and it would allow Heath Miller to run free underneath.  Or it would simply allow Big Ben to pick his target as he launches bomb after bomb over the top of the defense.

None of that can happen with Ward in the lineup.  But I believe that both coaches and fans are willing to accept the status quo out of respect for Ward, and in appreciation for the contribution that he’s made over the years.

It’s hard to say goodbye to star players.  Just think about when Jerome Bettis was no longer good enough to start.  Or Franco Harris.  Or John Stallworth.  or Louis Lipps.  Nobody wanted to see them go.  But for the good of the team, we knew that the time had come.

I love Hines Ward.  He’s still probably the best blocking receiver in the NFL.  But he’s no longer an elite wide receiver in the NFL.  Moreover, he’s not going to be able to hold Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders off for much longer.

Respect keep Hines on the field for now.  But pretty soon, the raw talent of Brown and Sanders is going to trump respect.  And that’s going to be a hard day for fans and coaches alike.  But that day is coming.  And it’s coming soon.

Maybe it’s already here.

Thank you, God.  Thank you, God.  Thank you, God.  Thank you, God.  Thank you, God.

Okay, now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the Steelers’ 37-36 win over the Green Bay Packers.

In a game that unfolded totally differently than most experts predicted, the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive.  Prior to the game, most experts assumed that a game featuring the Steelers and Packers, two of the best defenses in the NFL, would be a low-scoring defensive struggle.  Instead, it turned out to be a high-scoring offensive shootout.  Who woulda thunk it?

The two teams combined for 973 total yards of offense.  Some “defensive struggle”.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had the best game of his career, passing for 503 yards.  He was 29-46 with no interceptions and 3 touchdowns. 

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried his best to keep pace, finishing with 383 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.  Rodgers also rushed for a touchdown.

While it was exciting to watch such an offensive shootout, it was a sad day for both defenses.  The Packers surrendered 537 net yards, and the Steelers defense surrendered 436 net yards.  That’s not something that either team will be bragging about.

Despite the positive outcome of the game, a few aspects were still a bit troubling.

Firstly, the Steelers’ secondary continues to look like a high school junior varsity team.  William Gay was burned repeatedly.  Ryan Clark was beat badly on a touchdown.  Tyrone Carter took his fellow defenders out of a play, thus allowing a Packers’ touchdown.  And none of the Steelers secondary looked like they remembered how to tackle.

Secondly, the offense still lacks balance.  The team only ran the ball 19 times.  Meanwhile, they passed the ball 46 times.  Mike Tomlin says that he wants the offense to be balanced.  Well, 19 runs and 46 passes is NOT balanced.

Thirdly, the Steelers had another 4th quarter letdown.  Sure, they walked away with a win, but they allowed the Packers to score 22 points in the 4th quarter.  They had only yielded 14 total point in the first 3 quarters.  So why can’t the defense play a consistent 60 minutes?

Finally, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made one of the most baffling calls that I’ve ever seen.  After taking a 2 point lead with 4:03 remaining in the game, the Steelers chose to go for an on-sides kick.  Unfortunately, the play failed and the Packers got the ball at the Steelers’ 39 yard line.  In less than 2 minutes, the Packers scored a touchdown and took the lead.

Fortunately for the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger led a textbook 2-minute drill that was culminated by a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace that looked eerily reminiscent of Roethlisberger’s game-winning pass to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII.

So the Steelers ended their losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive.

They also got help from several of their AFC rivals who are also fighting for their playoff lives.  Denver, Jacksonville, Miami, and the New York Jets all lost.  Those losses mean that the Steelers are still mathematically in the playoff race.

I think Steeler Nation needs to say one more collective “Thank you, God”.

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