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Al Bello – Getty Images
The Miami Dolphins spent big money last offseason to bring WR Mike Wallace to town, in an effort to excite the fanbase and to give young QB Ryan Tannehill an added weapon.
Wallace and Tannehill struggled mightily throughout the season to find a solid connection, and many pinned the problem to be OC Mike Sherman‘s doing.
Why, you ask?
Sherman did little to open things up for Wallace by isolating Wallace on one side of the field for the majority of the season with little to no pre-snap movement to help the speedster get off the line freely against press coverage. Sherman is now gone and new OC Bill Lazor, who coached last season with the Philadelphia Eagles as the team’s QB coach, will now bring a Chip Kelly-like spark to the offense in Miami.
What can we expect from Wallace this season? Well, we can expect to see the speedster used as Philadelphia used their former speed receiver, Desean Jackson, last season.
Jackson posted a career season by collecting 82-of-126 targets (16.2 ypr) for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns. Compare that to Wallace’s first season in Miami last year in which he collected just 73 of his astounding 142 targets (12.7 ypr) for 930 yards and five touchdowns.
Jackson was clearly one of the main reasons the offense in Philadelphia last season worked so well, due to his ability to take the top off the defense and really open things up underneath for the team’s other receiving threats and backs via the run game.
Can we expect the same results from Wallace?
I would not go as far to say that Wallace will produce the “same” results, but we can expect the results to be quite similar if Tannehill and Wallace can get a solid connection working early in training camp this season.
Wallace’s success this season is dependent upon his work ethic, which has improved this season, as he has been one of the last to leave the field during OTAs; additionally, he has been working with the JUGS machine after practice. His success also depends on his new offensive coordinator, his understanding of the new offensive scheme, and his connection with the young, yet talented Tannehill.
Wallace certainly has the talent to put together a season of 80-90 receptions for 1,200-1,400 yards and 8-10 touchdowns in this new offense if he is willing to work for it. My guess is that he is ready and willing to put in the effort to become Miami’s top deep threat and help Lazor and Tannehill really open up this offense down in South Beach.
Tyler McMullen is a Miami Dolphins writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or on Facebook, and add him to your Google network.
