Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Wallace could be a game changer against the New York Jets
Mike Wallace might not have the experience of Hines Ward or Antwaan Randle El but he is still Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger’s go-to receiver. Wallace is leading the Steelers’ receivers with most yards and
receptions. Wallace has played seven 100+ yards games this season and scored 10 touchdowns for the Steelers. That’s 3 more 100+ yards games than Hines Ward and 5 more touchdowns.
The New York Jets are scheduled to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the American Football Conference Championship game. Jets coach Rex Ryan has been mum on his strategy against Pittsburgh’s receivers, specifically, on what he intends
to do with Cornerback Darrelle Revis. There is speculation that Revis could be tasked with covering the 13-year veteran of the NFL, Hines Ward, instead of Wallace. However, a comparison of Ward’s performance with Wallace’s suggests that putting Revis on Wallace
won’t be such a bad idea.
The last time the two sides faced each other, Wallace caught 7 passes for 102 yards. Defensive back Antonio Cromartie covered Wallace in that game while Darrelle Revis stayed on Hines Ward. The Jets were able to restrict Ward to
just 34 yards. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed a total of 264 yards for 1 touchdown. Mark Wallace was once again Big Ben’s primary target.
“Mike's grown up a lot,” Roethlisberger said. Wallace has been the leading receiver in seven of Pittsburgh 16 regular season games. It is because of Wallace more than anyone else on the roster that the Steelers have been able to
pass over 225 yards per game in the regular season.
Roethlisberger has a very strong arm and a tendency of going for the big plays. Wallace has often been the receiver when Big Ben passed deep. He has caught 10 passes for more than 40 yards and 26 passes for more than 20. The longest
pass he has caught this season was a 56 yard touchdown pass against the Cleveland Browns in the final regular season game. He caught only three passes in that game for 105 yards and a touchdown.
In week 16 of the regular season, against the Carolina Panthers, Wallace caught 4 passes for 104 yards which included a 43 yards touchdown pass. In the third game of the season, he caught two touchdown passes in 3 total receptions
against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Steelers are the best defensive team in the league but the Jets aren’t that far behind. They have the 6th best defence in the league in terms of points allowed. When these two teams face each other, don’t expect
to see a high scoring matchup. One big play by Wallace could turn the game in favour of the Steelers. The Jets would be wise to keep Wallace boxed in. Cromartie wasn’t able to do that in their last game.
Whatever defensive arrangement the Jets go for against the Steelers, their top two defensive backs would be on Pittsburgh’s top two wide receivers. The pressure then would be on Pittsburgh’s remaining receivers to be open for Roethlisberger’s
passes and make the big plays. Rookie Emanuel Sanders would be the obvious choice.
“He will probably end up with the third corner on him,” Ward said of Sanders. “He is a guy who we will probably need to make a lot of plays. Whoever Revis and Cromartie are covering, the other guys have to go out and make plays.
He has done a great job and he did a great job the last time we played.”
Antonio Brown has also proven that he can pull through for Pittsburgh if the defence stays on top of Wallace and Ward. In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens effectively neutralized those two, restricting
them both to a total of just 6 receptions and a combined 45 yards.
Brown and Sanders then stepped up and caught a combined 129 yards. Roethlisberger was able to pass 226 yards and scored two touchdowns without much help from his two best receivers being covered.
Whether it’s Wallace making the big plays himself or opening up other receivers by drawing coverage, he would have a serious impact on this Sunday’s conference championship game. Cromartie has his work cut out for him.
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