Other then Oline the major problem with deep balls is the WR's.

[Bigjbizzle2]

The real problem is the WR's on this team when it comes to the deep ball. All of our WR's are short none of them including Wallace can win a jump ball, outside of Mathews (never plays). I mean do you honestly think that if the Fins still had Marshall that Tannehill would never complete deep balls. I don't, Tannehill has to make a perfect pass to Wallace, or he gives little to no effort to catch the ball. Forget a back shoulder throw, who is going to make the play certainly not Wallace or Hartline, neither one of them will be out jumping a db and helping their QB. If Wallace does out jump someone he usually still drops the pass. This receiving corp outside of Landry has to be considered a huge disappointment.
Its clear when Satele goes out, and Pouncey moves back to center that we have no guards or Right Tackle since the Albert injury. Tannehill literally has plays where he can't even get his drop finished before someone is ready to sack him. Oline still needs to be addressed, but in my honest opinion Miami needs to replace either Hartline or Wallace with a Big WR (6'2" or bigger) because the short guys are proving to not be what is needed most in Miami. I mean Marshall still put up numbers with Chad Henne, but Mike Wallace can't with Tannehill, and Tannehill is leaps and bounds better then Henne ever was.

 

[DolfanISS]

I agree. I've been tough on Tannehill for the deep ball issues but it's definitely a combination of deficiencies that are causing the problems.

1. Dallas Thomas shouldn't be on the field, Ryan doesn't have enough time to delver a deep pass.
2. Watch other games, WR's makes plays on non perfect deep balls all the time. Ours NEVER do.
3. Ryan is not great with deep ball accuracy.

However on the not enough time thing, I swear I've seen other QB take a quick 3 step drop and loft a deep pass down the sideline, before the WR is open, and let the WR try to run under it. Why have we never attempted this with Mike Wallace at WR?

 

[Bigjbizzle2]

Because he can't be trusted to win the route, and jump ball if it comes to that. That's why I think Tannehill holds the ball at times, because none of his guys outside of Landry win at the point of the catch. Miami has a bunch of good WR's but not one great one.

 

[datruth55]

I agree. I've been tough on Tannehill for the deep ball issues but it's definitely a combination of deficiencies that are causing the problems.

1. Dallas Thomas shouldn't be on the field, Ryan doesn't have enough time to delver a deep pass.
2. Watch other games, WR's makes plays on non perfect deep balls all the time. Ours NEVER do.
3. Ryan is not great with deep ball accuracy.

However on the not enough time thing, I swear I've seen other QB take a quick 3 step drop and loft a deep pass down the sideline, before the WR is open, and let the WR try to run under it. Why have we never attempted this with Mike Wallace at WR?

Part of the reason is that Mike Wallace is the only deep threat on this team...so teams play with help over the top. There's no concern on the other side of the formation. Now why we haven't run more deep routes for Hartline I don't know. I guess because Hartline usually uses a double move to get open deep and the O-line can't protect long enough for that route to develop.

 

[jvw]

The blame always lie with the QB...the deep ball issues are RT and RT alone....Wallace did shrink once he signed with us, he caught plenty of deep balls with Big Ben....every QB has something they can be better at, in RT case its the deep ball don't put that on anyone else, I'm sure RT isn't ....

 

[datruth55]

The blame always lie with the QB...the deep ball issues are RT and RT alone....Wallace did shrink once he signed with us, he caught plenty of deep balls with Big Ben....every QB has something they can be better at, in RT case its the deep ball don't put that on anyone else, I'm sure RT isn't ....

You do realize that Roethlisberger was ranked 26th in deep ball accuracy in Wallace's last full season with the Steelers?

 

[madmic21]

The blame always lie with the QB...the deep ball issues are RT and RT alone....Wallace did shrink once he signed with us, he caught plenty of deep balls with Big Ben....every QB has something they can be better at, in RT case its the deep ball don't put that on anyone else, I'm sure RT isn't ....

A lot of those deep balls were freelance type plays when BR stayed upright long enough to for Wallace to run around and get off a defender. This offense is not set up to create plays after the play breaks down. Even the offense that BR is currently playing in has somewhat limited the freelance play. I watched the Bronco, Pats, and 49ers games yesterday. A good majority of the plays were a lot like what we run. Quick throws that require plays after the catch. Look what Gates did last night. Saw a lot of 6-8 yard drags on the middle of the field in all of these games.

I think teams can sit on a lot of this stuff because the have faith their pass rush is going to get home fast enough to all but ignore anything out of this box. Look how the Pats and Chargers pass rush last night shortened the field for those QBs.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Part of the reason is that Mike Wallace is the only deep threat on this team...so teams play with help over the top. There's no concern on the other side of the formation. Now why we haven't run more deep routes for Hartline I don't know. I guess because Hartline usually uses a double move to get open deep and the O-line can't protect long enough for that route to develop.

I see what you're saying here, but... Just because Mike Wallace has speed and can get deep doesn't make him a deep threat. He's an unrefined route runner with no natural pass catching abilities and cannot play above his shoulder pads.

 

[FinSolari]

RT can't hit a deep pass to save his life, the guy just plainly sucks at it...While he does many things well, the inability to connect deep will hinder the team's success and will mightily struggle against good defenses especially in the playoffs (PLAYOFFS !?).
I have to admit I am a bit worried about this, I hope to death he can fix this major problem.

Next season the fins should definitely bring in some competition (draft/FA) for him in TC.

 

[LDaniel7]

It's protection issue, timing issue and WR issue (and TE issue).

Miami has ZERO real TEs. None that can threaten the vertical field.

Miami has ONE WR that can threaten vertically but he's limited in catch radius and ability to see the ball in the air (at least two TD passes dropped via losing ball in lights and stadium).

And Miami has an OL that gets absolutely owned by DLs. The most critical piece of the puzzle is crap.

Go back and watch that 51 yard strike that RT throws to Wallace while moving to his right under pressure -- and then come and tell me that with protection and other factors dealt with, RT won't complete the deep ball.

Don't be a football fool. See reality for what it is.

LD

 

[phishxhead]

Wallace has been WIDE OPEN several times and RT still has problems getting the ball close. This is primarily a QB problem.

 

[datruth55]

I see what you're saying here, but... Just because Mike Wallace has speed and can get deep doesn't make him a deep threat. He's an unrefined route runner with no natural pass catching abilities and cannot play above his shoulder pads.

True. Dolphins signed a guy to the practice squad a couple of weeks ago that would probably be more effective on deep passes than Wallace but he's just as unrefined in his route running...maybe more so.

 

[Spiff]

It's protection issue, timing issue and WR issue (and TE issue). Miami has ZERO real TEs. None that can threaten the vertical field. Miami has ONE WR that can threaten vertically but he's limited in catch radius and ability to see the ball in the air (at least two TD passes dropped via losing ball in lights and stadium). And Miami has an OL that gets absolutely owned by DLs. The most critical piece of the puzzle is crap. Go back and watch that 51 yard strike that RT throws to Wallace while moving to his right under pressure -- and then come and tell me that with protection and other factors dealt with, RT won't complete the deep ball. Don't be a football fool. See reality for what it is. LD

Spot on. As always LD.

 

[BlueFin]

Exactly right......Tannehill could be better on deep throws....but the O-line had holes before Albert was hurt which makes having the time for long throws problematic....and outside of Landry his receivers are not playmakers....Wallace has a small catch radius.

 

[jvw]

You do realize that Roethlisberger was ranked 26th in deep ball accuracy in Wallace's last full season with the Steelers?

His ranking means nothing, look at what he and Wallace did his first 3 yrs in Pitt.....Wallace is not the problem on the deep ball.....

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...allace-is-the-nfls-best-deep-ball-combination

Wallace was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft with the 84th overall selection. Wallace was the 11th wide receiver chosen in the draft. On June 18, 2009, Wallace signed a three year contract with the Steelers worth $1.740 million which included a $555,000 signing bonus. In Pittsburgh he was reunited with Keenan Lewis, whom the Steelers selected just twelve picks after Wallace.

Wallace achieved his first 100-yard receiving game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2009; he had 7 receptions for 102 yards. On December 20, Wallace caught a game winning pass while falling out of bounds as time expired to defeat the Green Bay Packers, 37-36.[10] The catch made him a hero in Pittsburgh and the receiver was named the winner of the “Joe Greene Great Performance Award”, which is awarded each season to the outstanding Steelers rookie.[11] It was only his second catch of the game, but the first had been a 60 yard touchdown reception on the very first Steelers offensive snap.[12]

Wallace finished his rookie season leading the entire league in average yards per reception with 19.4 yards.[13]

2010 season[edit]
Following his promising rookie season and Santonio Holmes' trade to the New York Jets, Wallace was moved up the depth chart in 2010 to the #2 receiver spot behind Hines Ward.[14]

In 2010, Wallace had a standout second season with the Steelers, establishing himself as one of the NFL's elite wideouts with 1,257 yards receiving (third most in the AFC) and 10 touchdowns. Wallace led the NFL with seven 100-yard receiving games.

Wallace averaged 21.0 yards per catch in 2010, the most of any AFC receiver.[13] Wallace just missed becoming the third receiver in NFL history to lead the league in yardage per reception in his first two seasons after leading with 19.4 as a rookie. DeSean Jackson of Philadelphia averaged 22.5 yards per catch in 2010.[13]

During Super Bowl XLV Wallace had nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. It was Wallace's first Super Bowl appearance. In the 2011 offseason Mike Wallace stated that he would like to reach 2,000 yards.

2011 season[edit]

Wallace (left) with a soldier and Antonio Brown during Pro Bowl practice
Against the Arizona Cardinals, he and Roethlisberger connected for a 95 yard touchdown reception, becoming the longest in Steeler's history. On December 27, 2011 Wallace was selected to his first ever Pro Bowl for the AFC.[1] Wallace finished the season with 8 touchdown receptions, 1,193 receiving yards and 72 receptions for an average total of 16.6 yards per catch. The Steelers were eliminated in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by the Denver Broncos 29-23. Wallace finished the game with only 3 receptions and 29 receiving yards. He did, however, score a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.