A couple of days ago, I said that wide receiver Mike Wallace would see more playing time than most speculate in the first few weeks of the regular season. It looks as if that this definitely may be true.
During the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Monday practice, Wallace stepped on the field for the first time all summer, and took reps with the first-team offense. If this doesn’t convince you, then hearing what fellow wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said yesterday may make you a believer.
Sanders told the media after practice that Wallace is going to be the starter in the season opener versus the Denver Broncos. Sanders was the player who filled the void left by Wallace during organized teams activities and training camp this summer.
Neither the Steelers nor the Pro Bowl receiver mentioned anything of the sort to the media yesterday. This makes me wonder if Sanders made a boo-boo by opening his mouth about Pittsburgh’s potential starting lineup.
If in fact this is true, I hope for the sake of the Steelers that the four-year receiver is completely ready. Wallace won’t be lining up across any ordinary cornerback on Sunday night. Denver’s Champ Bailey, who is entering his 14th season in the NFL, is still arguably one of the best cornerbacks in the league.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said that Wallace did a good job during his first practice with the new offense. Big Ben went on to say there were no mistakes on Wallace’s part during the two-minute drill part of practice as well.
No official starting lineup has come to surface, nor has anyone confirmed Sanders’ announcement of Wallace starting for the Steelers. If Wallace starting in Week 1 is true, then it could be looked at two ways.
One way could be that the Steelers have that much confidence in not only Wallace’s playing ability, but in his ability to grasp just enough of the new offense in a very short amount of time to be effective in Pittsburgh’s offense.
Another way to look at it is that the Steelers are desperate offensively, and are willing to do anything to compensate for a suspect running game.
I choose to believe the former. Head coach Mike Tomlin is much too smart to compromise the team’s season by putting in players who aren’t ready to play. He didn’t lead this franchise to two Super Bowls during his tenure by accident.
Therefore, if it is true that Wallace will start in the season opener, I trust that it is the right thing to do for the Steelers. Besides, whether Wallace starts or not, it wouldn’t matter. He’ll be on the field for a significant amount of offensive snaps anyway.
Follow me on Twitter @ClydeASpeller
Buy Pittsburgh Steelers Tickets | Buy Pittsburgh Steelers Apparel
