In the often frustrating world of fantasy football, there is perhaps no bigger pain in the neck than Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike “60 Minutes” Wallace. The ex-Steeler has great speed, decent hands and is much more polished than he was when he first entered the league, but Wallace has the tendency to completely disappear in games and it always feels like he follows up a great performance with a clunker.
There’s no doubt that he could completely go off on Thursday night when the Dolphins take on the Cincinnati Bengals, but there are a number of factors that are pointing towards the game being a typical Wallace dud.
Wallace has played five Thursday games over the course of his career and, while the sample size isn’t huge and the numbers aren’t overwhelmingly conclusive, the results are worth considering. For a player who is untrustworthy as Wallace, all variables need to be measured.
Players are presumably more tired during Thursday games after usually having played four days before and Wallace’s numbers reflect that. His Thursday per-game averages (three catches, 59.6 receiving yards and 0.4 touchdowns) are a clear-cut drop from his regular career averages (3.8 catches, 64.3 receiving yards and .48 touchdowns).
Many hoped that Wallace’s inconsistency issues would go away because of his move to Miami; that hasn’t been the case, but it’s not all his fault. The Dolphins scheme is not set up to benefit Wallace’s skill set and, given that it’s Week 9, the odds of it changing are not great.
From the Miami Herald:
“The Dolphins have managed only 25 plays of 20 yards or more, tied with Cleveland and Buffalo for 23rd in the NFL…Mike Wallace, billed as one of the top deep threats in the game, is tied with Jeremy Kerley and Ace Sanders, among others, for an absurd 70th with just four plays of 20 yards or more.” That means 69 other players, including Doug Baldwin and Jason Avant, have more big plays than Wallace.
The struggles of Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill should also be factored into the equation. In the two primetime games that he has participated in, Tannehill boasts a 2:5 TD-to-INT ratio and has a putrid QB rating of 53, 24 points below his career QBR of 77.3. Add in the fact that he’s completed less than 53 percent of his passes in three straight games after completing 63 percent or more of his passes in the Dolphins’ first four games, and it would appear that Tannehill is not exactly primed for a strong performance.
Fantasy football is somewhat of a crap-shoot and Wallace might rip the Bengals for 100 yards and a touchdown – that’s why he’s owned in 90 percent of leagues – but the combination of his troubles on Thursday night, a flawed Miami offensive scheme and Tannehill’s shaky play are reasons enough not to risk playing him.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Icon
