Mortensen: Dolphins talking about adding Jennings AND Wallace

yes I think they could be on board with bringing in a playmaker who has averaged 1000+ yards & 8 TDs over 4 years, a guy who can be used in the short game similarly to how Philbin used Nelson & Co in Green Bay and similarly to how he used Jennings in the vertical game before injury kicked in.

 

Ireland alluded to that much in his press conference. It would obviously be a collaboration.

 

Roethlisberger has played half of his career without Mike Wallace. His YPA was already high prior to Wallace emerging.

 

Seriously? You think Mike Wallace would be equivalent to Jordy Nelson on out breaking patterns, come backs, and digs? With the way he rounds his routes off and jogs on certain routes?

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of Joe Philbin's offense. For one, Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings were targeted on down the field throws at a far less percentage than Mike Wallace, but they both had a much higher catch rate on those passes.

Basically, if you pay him $12+ million per season and utilize him in this offense the way receivers are utilized, you probably cut his yardage production from a little over 1,100 yards to close to 800 yards. Prior to this past season, 45% of Mike Wallace's total yards came on passes 20+ yards down the field. That's a flashy stat that some may get excited about due to his big play ability, but it also shows that he does very little on all other routes, considering that he was targeted about 33% of the time on those routes.

 

yes I'm serious I think Philbin could utilize Wallace on quick passes at or behind the LOS or in screens like Philbin frequently used Nelson and others in GB who are good with the ball in their hands.

I think you have a misunderstanding of Philbin's offense b/c he clearly employs more vertical concepts than a typical WCO does.

Why would Philbin want to use Wallace the way he utilized the physically lacking group he had the displeasure of designing an offense around last year? He'll obviously be looking to tweak the way our receivers are utilized in this offense b/c the way they were used last year was due to circumstance rather than choice.

Honestly, do you think Philbin took a look at Bess, Hartline, Marlon Moore, Fasano, and Clay and joyfully screamed, "YYYES!! Now THIS is a group I can't wait to build my dream offense around!!"?

All we've seen so far is Philbin having to make the best of a bad situation with a limited ability receiving corps.

 

This type of investing is akin to buying condominiums for rental property because you need to diversify your cash flow, and then you proceed to dump 40% of your liquid net worth paying absolute top dollar.

It's foolish.

 

How he used Miami's receivers last year are completely irrelevant to the discussion. Everything I'm talking about is based on how he utilized his receivers in Green Bay, and also how Mike Sherman utilized his receivers at Texas A&M.

You are saying that he was limited because of his talent so he had to use his wide receivers a certain way last year, yet you advocate Miami spending major money on Mike Wallace who is going to do the same thing. He will limit what Joe Philbin can do with him at the position he plays.

Based on the receivers he had in Green Bay, what Joe Philbin wants are complete receivers that are interchangeable. He wants guy that can run a full route tree and play both outside positions and in the slot.

Tell me, which receiver in Green Bay was so limited in his route tree that he could only run posts and fly patterns within the offense?

 

Wallace/Jennings/Patterson/Bess = BY FAR the best WR core in the league.

Let's get it done.

 

How do you come to that conclusion when a big chunk of Wallace's production comes from passes thrown behind the LOS and up to 10 yards?
142 catches, 1474 yards, 7 TD. That compares favorably to Jennings & Nelson.

Passes behind the LOS and up to 10 yards (since 2009)
[TABLE="class: grid, width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]catches[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]% of total catches[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]yards[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]TD[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Wallace[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]142[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]60%[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1474[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Jennings[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]143[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]58%[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]1277[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Nelson[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]102[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]47%[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]993[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Bottom line is he catches 60% of his passes from behind the LOS and up to 10 yards but still manages to post a ridiculous 10.0 yards per attempt (better than Jennings and equal to Nelson's despite catching 13% more short passes than Nelson), however it's worth nothing Wallace has 6 more TDs and 1132 more yards than Nelson since '09.

Wallace's 40% first downs per attempt is better than Jennings and only 4% less than Nelson's.

Wallace's TD rate of 1 TD every 12.6 attempts falls between Nelson's 11.4 and Jenning's 13.8.

Call out Wallace's "route running ability" all you like but the fact remains he produces at a high level in all regards, and that's all that should matter.

 

It is only logical. Who in their right mind would believe Ireland would sign or attempt to sign Wallace while Philbin is protesting behind the scenes, saying Wallace won't work well in his offense???

 

Look, I can see how you might view 1000+ yards & 8 TDs per season at a clip of 10.0 yards per pass attempt by the fastest receiver in the NFL as "limiting an offense". Ok, no I can't.

Please stop with this "only running fly pattern" stuff. Wallace catches a greater percentage of short passes and for more yards than either Nelson or Jennings. You realize Wallace can run comebacks and deep outs effectively b/c he's the fastest receiver in the NFL whose speed has to be respected, right?

 

Answer: anyone who's formed the opinion Philbin wouldn't want Mike Wallace in his offense?

 

I'm thinking if somehow Ireland did sign Wallace and Jennings and still wanted to address the position early in the draft that the WR who would best compliment them maybe Tavon Austin. Could he be our Randall Cobb?

 

It's only logical that a WR as fast as Wallace could run comebacks (curl routes) all day long, unless the corner didn't care about getting burned deep.

 

i would love if we sign both, even go WR at 12 with patterson or allen...would love it

 

Mike Wallace has some limitations to his game which you've explained at length. It's a bad idea to bring him in in your view. But would you mind discussing how the coaches might use him if indeed he was signed to play here?

 

Austin would be a great compliment to Wallace IMO. I certainly wouldn't leave for a pee break while the offense is on the field.

 

That's because you wear diapers.

 

We have the boy wearing pullups these days.

 

Yup. Wallace, Jennings, and Austin at WR, and Ertz at TE. We'd be rolling on offense.

 

totally agree

 

I see what you did there.

 

That's not how it works, though. It's about the technical skill of running the route, not the speed.

 

That's the coaches job.

These guys are not robots. It's Philbin's and the Staff's job to work with the talent, and teach when necessary.

I am gonna point the finger to our favorite little basketball team.

Coach Spoelstra got in the face of the best player in the world (Lebron James), and told him that his game was too incomplete to win. He has since added a post game, improved his midrange game, and can call a game by himself as the PG of the team.

What do we pay Philbin for?

Wallace has two legs, and a brain. I am sure he can improve technique. The talent part is the hard part, he has that taken care of.

 

I'd be shocked if we sign one of these guys, nevermind both.

 

I have two legs and a brain. I don't think I could pull off running routes correctly even if Shula & Lombardi were teaching me.

 

While I agree, some guys just don't learn. You would have to think Tomlin and his staff tried to teach him to be a better route runner.

 

because of course..you have the same athleticism of Mike Wallace.

Minor oversight by you I am sure.

 

Thank you.

It's as if NFL watchers think that only Bill Belichick can or should teach players how to play. Every other team isn't allowed or is incapable of improving their players from within and must always find static pieces to fit into static slots.

 

You're also a fat white guy who doesn't like cole slaw.

 

Are we talking about a problem with athleticism or mental ability?

Seems to me you assume proper route running is only about athleticism and not mental acuity. My point about me was to illustrate there is more to it then simply talent.

There are plenty of guys who make it in the NFL based purely on a talent like speed. That doesn't mean they have the inclination or ability to run routes properly regardless of who is teaching/coaching them.

Regardless, it doesn't mean you go buy a piece that may fit your puzzle with some changing of the piece or puzzle when you can buy pieces that already fit.

 

There's nothing I can argue with in your post.

 

Yeah, cause Wallace came from a joke team known for never developing players.......

The flipside to your stance is that people tend to think any piece fits into any hole. And its just a matter of sprinkling a player with magic coaching dust.

 

Wallace comes from a team that asked him to do specific things, which he did spectacularly. Remember, Wallace didn't emerge until Santonio Holmes (anyone remember him?) was traded, because Holmes filled that role before Wallace.

This is true. A lot of people think coaching can fix anything. There's indeed a balance to be struck between player fit and coaching/system adaptation. But Section is correct: teaching someone what direction to run in should not be an insurmountable obstacle.

 

People crack me up, some saying Wallace is not a good fit for the West Coast offense. Just because he NEVER played in a West Coast system, does not mean he does not have the tools to do it. If Jordy Nelson can run vertical routes and excell, so can Mike Wallace. [plain & simple] Mike Wallace was never a problem child in Pittsburgh, till he wanted a new contract. It's not like he is a TO or Brandon Marshall head case. I hope we can get him as a FA, we be a much better football team.

 

You guys realize Wallace is only 26 and basically hasn't had an offseason since 2010.....he's already very good and it's possible he could be even better.

 

I don't know enough about Wallace or coaching to say with any degree of certainty he'll fit our system, I just don't know if it makes sense to pass up other options that seem to fit already. I have supreme confidence in our coaching staff's ability to get the best of the players its possible to get anything out of.

 

I don't like the idea of signing both, to much extreme cash devoted to one unit offsetting the balance of your team.

 

That's not why people are saying he's not a good fit.

They are saying he's not a good fit because he's "route lazy".