Mark Kaboly | Tribune-Review
Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace has a message for cornerbacks who might start to creep up to the line of scrimmage: We can still go deep.
Offensive coordinator Todd Haley really hasn’t dialed up the long ball much to Wallace this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do it.
“Each week we are doing a little more,” Wallace said.
But so far, Haley is content with throwing the ball short to Wallace. Fifty-six percent of Wallace’s targets this year have come from less than 10 yards down the field. Only 12 of his 56 targets have come from farther than 20 yards down the field.
Knowing that, defenses have yet to try to jump some of the Steelers quick passes.
Wallace said that’s probably a good idea.
“At the end of the day, they still know who we are,” Wallace said. “They still know who we are. Hopefully (opposing) coaches put up those plays we still have to let them know we can still do it. If somebody decides to jump it, we are just going to have to do something about it.”
Wallace, a guy who has made a name for himself for going long, has been very diplomatic about nearly eliminating his best attribute.
“I talk to (Todd Haley) and mess with him and say I want some shots down the field but at the same time, coach is doing a good job,” Wallace said. “But it is a matter of taking them short and making them long instead of catching them long.”
