The curious case of Mike Wallace

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dead_poet
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The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by dead_poet »

What the heck is going on with him?
0.21 — yards per route run by Mike Wallace the past four games

On Sunday, for the second time in four games, Wallace was held without a catch. He was targeted just twice against the Packers, dropping one pass and not being able to get both hands on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s deep ball on the other. According to Pro Football Focus, Wallace ran 124 total routes the past four games but he had just two catches and 26 receiving yards to show for it. That’s an average of 0.21 yards per route run, dead last in the NFL over that span. On the season, Wallace is averaging 1.04 yards per route run, which ranks 73rd among 80 qualifying wide receivers.
http://www.startribune.com/five-vikings ... 353699681/
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Mothman
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by Mothman »

dead_poet wrote:What the heck is going on with him?
He's playing in an offense that can't seem to make use of his talent (and he's dropped a few passes, which doesn't help).

By the way, he's basically producing at the level that got Patterson benched last year.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by Mothman »

Here's another new article about Wallace:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/ ... envisioned

... and make of this what you will:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2592 ... ace/page/2
According to Pro Football Focus, Wallace has been targeted on passes thrown 20 or more yards in the air 10 times in 2015. He has just one catch on those throws. Most importantly, PFF deemed only one of the 10 as "catchable."

Narrow misses have put a huge dent in Wallace's season.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

Mothman wrote: He's playing in an offense that can't seem to make use of his talent (and he's dropped a few passes, which doesn't help).

By the way, he's basically producing at the level that got Patterson benched last year.
I have to admit, Jim ... this season, every time somebody complained about playing time for Patterson, I rolled my eyes. I figured if he deserved the snaps, he'd be getting them.

But with the absolute disappearance of Mike Wallace, I'm at a loss to explain why someone who produces so little could be playing while both Patterson and last year's find, Charles Johnson, collect butt splinters.

The only answer I can come up with is salary.

In general, Rick Spielman has done a good job of building this team. But Mike Wallace seems to be a whiff for Rick. At this point, it wouldn't bother me if the Vikings cut him and got Patterson on the field. There's not a chance that CP would actually produce LESS than what Wallace has done.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by The Breeze »

I'm at the same point as Kapp here. Regardless of why Wallace is whiffing there is no denying that CP is more dangerous with the ball in his hands anywhere on the field.
One play, and even the threat of that play, has the potential to change the whole flow of a close game....which is the type of games the last two losses have been IMO.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

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The Breeze wrote:I'm at the same point as Kapp here. Regardless of why Wallace is whiffing there is no denying that CP is more dangerous with the ball in his hands anywhere on the field.
One play, and even the threat of that play, has the potential to change the whole flow of a close game....which is the type of games the last two losses have been IMO.
Agreed. And in a foot race/deep threat I'm not sure how far behind Patterson would actually finish, if at all. Though Patterson's 0-60 is probably < Wallace and Wallace is a better route-runner. But there's no chance Wallace is cut right now. What looked like a deep receiver group at the beginning of the season is looking less impressive by the game.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

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J. Kapp 11 wrote: I have to admit, Jim ... this season, every time somebody complained about playing time for Patterson, I rolled my eyes. I figured if he deserved the snaps, he'd be getting them.

But with the absolute disappearance of Mike Wallace, I'm at a loss to explain why someone who produces so little could be playing while both Patterson and last year's find, Charles Johnson, collect butt splinters.

The only answer I can come up with is salary.
I hope that's not it.

Maybe they just don't see him as the main reason for his low production?
In general, Rick Spielman has done a good job of building this team. But Mike Wallace seems to be a whiff for Rick. At this point, it wouldn't bother me if the Vikings cut him and got Patterson on the field. There's not a chance that CP would actually produce LESS than what Wallace has done.
I'd obviously like to see CP more involved. It's been about a year (longer?) since he was benched. Maybe it's time to see what, if anything, he's learned in that time.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by losperros »

dead_poet wrote: Agreed. And in a foot race/deep threat I'm not sure how far behind Patterson would actually finish, if at all. Though Patterson's 0-60 is probably < Wallace and Wallace is a better route-runner. But there's no chance Wallace is cut right now. What looked like a deep receiver group at the beginning of the season is looking less impressive by the game.
That's because it looks more like a catch and run WR group, which is exactly like the group at Louisville where Bridgewater excelled. And it's a style where Patterson would probably be deadly. But hey, no use doing that.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by The Breeze »

Even though I think he is a giganic egophrenic egghead, I find myself closing my eyes and imaging what Mike Martz would do with this group.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by Purple bruise »

The passing game problems, for the most part anyway, would all seemingly not exist if this team ever had a halfway decent pass blocking line. I watched this team get Ponder destroyed and now I am seeing the same things happening to TB. He is taking huge hits because of the pitiful pass protection mainly. And yes he has held on to the ball too long on some occasions no doubt but mostly he drops back to pass and seldom does he have a "clean pocket" to throw from. When he does then he usually delivers a nice clean pass and they are on the mark.
Screw Wallace and his over inflated contract. I want to see CJ getting ALL of his reps..
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

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At what point can we just acknowledge the elephant in the room?

The Vikings are 31st in the league in passing plays of 20+ yards. They're 23rd in passes of 40+ yards. Their longest pass play this year is 52 yards and that was a catch and run by Wright.

Wallace has been better at both of his other NFL stops. He's a proven NFL WR having his worst season since his rookie year.

There's always shared blame in these situations. The OL has issues. There are reasons to question Turner too but let's face it, the Vikes have a QB who is hurting their downfield passing game. It's obvious, even if it's an unpleasant reality. Bridgewater's deep passing accuracy isn't good. He rarely fires the ball downfield with authority, especially when conditions are less than ideal. He seems reluctant to throw some of the seams and comeback routes. I don't know with the latter if he doesn't trust his receivers, doesn't trust what he's seeing or just doesn't want to turn the ball over but the reluctance is there. How many effective passing plays have we seen over the middle over the field? I don't mean short stuff, I mean the intermediate and deep throws. I'm not saying he can't throw any of these passes or that he never does it (he obviously does) but it's a weakness in his game.

He's looking increasingly impatient and quick to check down or run.

I know people don't want to hear it but it's true. When a team has this much trouble with their downfield passing game, the first and most logical place to look is at the guy throwing the football.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by jackal »

I know a lot of people blame teddy.. right now we are using a RB and two tight ends to pass protect(on a lot of plays)

Norv system is based on three layers of attack.. On most plays we have maybe one or two guys run a pattern, if that

The OL on most plays does not allow for a deep go route or slant pattern to fully develop.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

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jackal wrote:I know a lot of people blame teddy.. right now we are using a RB and two tight ends to pass protect(on a lot of plays)

Norv system is based on three layers of attack.. On most plays we have maybe one or two guys run a pattern, if that
They are using some max protect schemes but he has more than one or two receiving options on most plays.
The OL on most plays does not allow for a deep go route or slant pattern to fully develop.
There are plays where the time's not there and there are plays when it is there. The QB has to make more of those plays. The two passes to Rudolph on Sunday were a nice start but we need to see a lot more of that. The OL problems are quite real and they're a big issue but they've also become a convenient shield used to perpetuate denial of another very real problem. I'm not simply blaming Bridgewater and letting everybody else off the hook. It's not all his fault but let's acknowledge that he's not just a youthful victim of shortcomings around him. He's the quarterback. He has legitimate NFL weapons. He needs to get the ball downfield to his WRs more often. I'm not just talking about 40+ yard bombs either.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by jackal »

wallace also leads the team in drops, as well....


Based on what I have seen this season i would rather not have him on the team and
give Johnson or Wright to get the call.
Last edited by jackal on Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The curious case of Mike Wallace

Post by PurpleMustReign »

The Breeze wrote:Even though I think he is a giganic egophrenic egghead, I find myself closing my eyes and imaging what Mike Martz would do with this group.
Exactly!

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