Mike Wallace's "Lack of Concentration" Unacceptable

One of Mike Wallace's "Lack of Concentration"
Moments

During my daily "world wide web Steelers search" I ran across an article on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review with a very intriguing title.  A title that certainly sucked me into reading.  More importantly, the title gave a glimpse into Mike Wallace, who has been a complete disappointment this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The title should tell the entire story - "Steelers' Wallace Blames Lack of Production on Concentration Lapses".  I will pause here to let everyone reading this to take a minute to let that sink in...

Now, let me be clear here...I was a HUGE Mike Wallace fan for his first 3 years out of college.  He proved to be a dominant deep threat and a player that can transcend a game with the Steelers and Bruce Arians calling the plays.  Even when Mike Wallace chose to sit out of training camp, I wasn't too upset because I knew it was a business and that he would certainly be acclimated to Todd Haley's offense before the start of the season.  At that point, no one knew what Todd Haley's offense was going to look like.  He ran a completely different offense in Arizona as a coordinator than he did in Kansas City as the head coach.  Nonetheless, I've never liked players holding out of training camp because I have always felt that there are some things that get accomplished in training camp that can't be duplicated somewhere else.  The fact that the players live together in college dorms and are with one another almost 24/7 is something that creates a bond and a TEAM.  Mr. Wallace sat that out.

The season began and everyone was expecting big things in Wallace's "contract year".  All NFL fans can think of players completely lighting it up in their contract years, eventually earning them big money in the process with their next contract.  Wallace started off the year well scoring 4 of his 6 TDs in the first half of the season.  However, in the 2nd half of the season, the Steelers wideout has seen a steady drop off in his production.  Granted, Todd Haley's offense is one that spreads the ball around.  The Steelers have 4 WR/TE that have caught over 500 yards this season.  Not too many teams can say that, but Mike Wallace isn't frustrated because of lack of opportunities.  Instead, Wallace is speaking about a "lack of concentration" due to the lack of throws his way that is leading to his many drops this season. 

To me, everything this man is doing is losing him money.  First, his drops on the field are raising red flags everywhere that this player might just be a "one trick pony" as Mike Tomlin used to call him.  Someone that can only go deep and can't catch the intermediate passes necessary to run a West Coast style offense.  Second, when a players effort begins to be questioned by fans and local media...raise another red flag.  Lastly, when Mike Wallace comes out and blames his misfortunes to a "lack of concentration", that might be the biggest red flag of them all.  In a business where athlete's are paid millions of dollars to do a "job" that is simply playing a game, its unacceptable that "concentration" is the reason Wallace uses for his drop off in play.  In a working environment where men are paid millions for their focus, attention, dedication, and concentration, someone who struggles with those attributes sometimes just can't cut it.  Its starting to look like Wallace fits into that category.

I have convinced myself that Mike Wallace will not be with the Steelers next year.  The Steelers are salary cap strapped already after this season, and signing someone who THINKS he is worth Vincent Jackson or Larry Fitzgerald money is just not in the cards.  Outside of the financial ramifications of the situation, I feel that the Steelers (with Todd Haley as OC) will be just fine without Wallace.  They have extended Antonio Brown and can now focus on extending Emmanuel Sanders to ensure they keep #84 and #88 in black n' gold for years to come.  Finding their No 3 WR can come in the draft or from one of their young guys currently on the practice squad.  Either way, in my opinion, Mike Wallace's "lack of concentration" is the last straw for me.