Mike Wallace won't be the same without Big Ben

In his first 4 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Wallace has compiled over 4,000 yards receiving and an astounding 32 touchdowns. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch on his 235 career receptions. Statistically speaking, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he's the most coveted free agent available.

However, my message to the teams considering opening up the pocket book: Caveat Emptor.

Would Mike Wallace have the impressive career numbers if he didn't play with Ben Roethlisberger and his backyard style of football? How many times over the last 4 years has Ben extended plays by scrambling, shredding would-be tacklers, avoiding pressure, and then finding a wide open receiver down the field? It's become commonplace with Big Ben.

When Roethlisberger misses games, Wallace's production dips with it. Big Ben's ability to extend plays and throw a pretty deep ball are part of what has helped Mike Wallace become such a viable deep threat. It's really hard for any corner to cover any receiver for an extended period of time, let alone a receiver with Mike Wallace's speed. How about this astonishing stat - 35% of Mike Wallace's career receiving yards have come on pass plays greater than 31 yards. That has backyard football written all over it.

Mike Wallace's career receiving stats on receptions over 31 yards: 29 Rec, 1,418 yds, 17TD. Yes, 17 TD's.

I've heard 2 potential landing spots for Wallace: Miami and Minnesota. Ryan Tannehill and Christian Ponder...Ryan Tannehill is the better of the 2 QB's, but he is nowhere close to Ben Roethlisberger. Mike Wallace will never again have the same level of success he did in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger.

Miami seems to be the most likely landing spot from all of the rumor mills I've read. So, I decided to take a look at Tannehill's skill set and how it compares to Ben. I found a few tidbits that really interested me at SunSentinal.com. They reviewed several attributes a quarterback must have to be considered "elite":

4. Playmaking - 2 - He's produced some respectable plays, but let us not pretend that he looks like Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck out there. You can argue he needs more weapons like his two contemporaries, but don't act like you're seeing countless daring throws that just miss the receivers or tight ends. That's not accurate, and neither is Tannehill most of the season (59.0 percent completion).

5. Arm Strength - 4 - He doesn't have a Joe Flacco arm, but Tannehill has the kind of arm that can throw the 15 yard out on a rope, and that's critical. I'm told only 25 percent of NFL quarterbacks can make that throw. However, we haven't seen many deep balls with touch on it connect in stride. Even Chad Pennington had some of those.

6. Athleticism (mobility) - 3 - Tannehill is effective on roll out plays, but he sparingly uses his mobility, unlike RGIII or Russell Wilson. That's not always a bad thing but it would be nice to see him extend a few drives with his legs like he did twice against Seattle. If Tannehill ran for two first downs a game his score and Miami's offense would improve.


So, Ryan Tannehill lacks elite playmaking ability, arm strengh, touch on deep balls, and athleticism to have superior mobility. Hey Mike Wallace, enjoy your money, but your days as a top flight receiver are over if you are playing with any QB not named Ben Roethlisberger.