The Dolphins are undefeated on this young season after beating the Browns 23-10.
Yet the teams prized free agent was none to happy with the fact that he only caught one ball for 15 yards, while Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson combine for over 220 yards of offense.
Sunday Wallace refused to speak to the media, and told reporters to ask coach, when conversation about the game plan came up.
Multiple media reports from the Dolphins locker room have Wallace saying “I don’t feel like talking” after the game and directing interested reporters to “ask coach” about the game plan because Wallace wasn’t the one who drew it up.
Philbin was asked about the game plan while he was a guest with Rich Gannon and Bruce Murray on SiriusXM NFL Radio Monday, and said “we don’t have plays in the offense to throw the ball to a particular jersey number”.
Philbin also said that Wallace would have his day.
“It took a little while for us to get going and that’s a work in progress,” Philbin said. “As you know, in football, I think things can have a tendency to change in terms of who’s getting the ball. We want our players to want to make a difference and want to have an impact in the outcome of a ball game; they work hard and make a lot of sacrifices. But we want to do that within the team framework and we’re going to get that chemistry down. It’s week one of a long season.”
4-22, 4-37, 4-30.
Those are the numbers that Dez Bryant, Calvin Johnson, and Dwayne Bowe each put up yesterday in terms of catches and yards.
Wallace in regards to salary is the Dolphins best wide receiver, and should be their best players. Part of the reason Wallace is a Dolphin and not a Steelers resonates in this very predicament right here.
Calvin Johnson faced double teams from the Vikings all day Sunday and was essentially shut down. Johnson who has a new marketing campaign with Nike that focuses on him dominating with speed, never once spoke in frustration or complained about his stats after his teams victory over Minnesota.
There was no talk of drawing double teams, or team success coming out of Mike Wallace’s mouth. Amid his frustration, Wallace should have been able to recognize that his talent and status with the Dolphins were the sole reason Hartline and Gibson were able to run wild on Sunday.
Instead Wallace chose to put his ego above the team because he didn’t live up to the billing like say a King James might have.
Mike Wallace played the first of many games as a Dolphin and should be focused on building a repore with his teammates, instead of making them feel like he’s the show.
Wallace drew the ire of Steelers fans last season when he admitted that he loses focus if he is not targeted early on in the game.
If Wallace isn’t careful, he could join a list that includes Alvin Harper, Javon Walker, Larry Brown, Desmond Howard, and Albert Haynesworth as guys who got paid, but never delivered on their talent.
There’s no denying Wallace’s speed. At the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine, he ran a blistering 4.33 40-yard dash. But the question now has to be asked, is the go route the only thing Wallace is truly good at.
He is the fourth-highest paid receiver in the history of the game, but when contested will completely disappear on a team.
Mike Wallace has to understand that when you are a great player, or perceived as a great player, it’s still all about the team.
As Hartline and Gibson continue to make plays, Wallace will see the single coverage he prefers. And when that happens, he must perform regardless of if the play is a go route or a 15 yard deep out.
Wallace has to conform to the team, more we, and less me.