Update: The Dolphins were clearly fed up with Wallace's antics even though the latest reports were saying that he was making good with Tannehill and the coaching staff in Miami. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2015 5th round pick. The Dolphins may still try to pick up another receiver to pair with Stills and Landry like Cecil Shorts. Wallace will be used heavily on the Vikings, but his value does dip a little bit as Teddy Bridgewater is not yet playing to the level of Tannehill.
NFL Free Agency this year has been a fireworks show. I know, I know.. every year has its blockbuster trades and unforeseeable acquisitions along with players facing unexpected injuries and trouble with the law - but this off-season just seems a little more impactful already.
And it's only March 13th!
So.. is Friday the 13th of March, 2015 the day that Mike Wallace's dynasty outlook on the Dolphins hits a new low? Yes. With the signing of former Saint Kenny Stills, the Dolphins have just shown us where their future lies. And it's looking pretty good, folks.
Let's take a quick look at Kenny Stills: he's a 3rd year player (breakout, anyone?) who, along with a 78.8% catch rate, grabbed 63 balls for a combined 931 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had success in 2014 running multiple routes and was among the very best (4th, in fact) in the NFL at bringing in the football.
Granted, Stills' quarterback was Drew Brees, but Tannehill has been no slouch in his first few years as an NFL signal caller and is generally expected to continue to improve - especially with new offensive targets like Kenny Stills and a recent acquisition from the Browns, Tight End Jordan Cameron.
Back to Mike Wallace.
His numbers have been hovering around 1000 yards for his whole career and while his yardage total in 2014 (862) was disappointing compared to his previous seasons, he was able to match his career high in touchdowns (10) from back in Pittsburgh in 2010. Still, issues on the field and with coaches specifically have made the Dolphins' management rethink Wallace as their go-to receiver. Earlier in the year there were rumors swirling about Wallace being traded or facing a pay cut to stay on the team and although nothing of that sort has happened yet, he's definitely on the hot seat there.
Personally, I think the Dolphins will have Wallace and Stills both lined up on a lot of plays this year and although Stills is the future there, Wallace could keep a place on the team if he is able to take Stills under his wing and teach him how to be a play-maker. That said, Wallace will lose some down-field targets to Stills and some red-zone looks to Cameron. This is not to mention Jarvis Landry, who broke out in 2014 as a rookie with 84 receptions for 758 yards and 5 touchdowns.
What does all of this mean? Well, the Dolphins offensive outlook just shot up for the 2015 season but we'll likely see Wallace's stock plummet slightly as he becomes more a part of the team rather than a lone wolf making plays by himself out there.
The last two seasons have brought early exits for me in the survivor pool league. (Hey even Sex Panther only works 60% of the time every time). I hope to turn it around this year by offering kings blood to the football gods. Also I joined a second and theoretically easier elimination pool where I will be able to pick a team multiple times. I will be referring to the leagues from here on out as single entry(for the league I can only use a team once) and unlimited entry for the other. Each week throughout the season I will give my picks and offer up the reasoning for my choices. And if I am wrong I will explain why the NFL is stupid and my team is the real winner.
So week one is a tough one. All I have to go on is the pre-season, which I watch little to none of every year, trends being established at the end of last year, and off-season moves.
For my single entry pick I am going with the Miami Dolphins over the Washington Redskins on the road. Washington is quickly becoming the laughing stock of the league with their terrible Quarterbacks, insane coach Jay Gruden and meddling owner Daniel Snyder. My early money is on Gruden to be the first head coach firing of the season.
The Dolphins bolstered their defense with the biggest free agent signing of the off-season in Ndamukong Suh, who they hope will make a big impact this season. Also they traded for wide-out Kenny Stills to provide a deep threat for blossoming QB Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins could sniff a playoff berth this year, especially with the soft first 6 games of the season vs: Skins, Jags, Bills, Jets, Titans, and Texans. They will be looking to come out of the gate hot by first rolling over the hapless Redskins.
On the unlimited entry pick I have to go with the Green Bay Packers, a team I have a feeling I will be picking a lot this year. Vegas has them as the pre-season favorites to win the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers has a 12-2 record vs the Chicago Bears and should improve upon that come Sunday in a game they are favored by 7 points. (the 2nd biggest spread of the week after the 7 ½ pt favorite Patriots) While I think the Bears will seem more like a football team this year with the hire of real life head coach John Fox, it just won't happen on Sunday.
Good Luck this year, and drink five for the start of the NFL season tonight when the Steelers take on the Patriots!!
Welcome back to another year of survivor pool action and shattered dreams. I held off continuing this column in fear of the article jinx but was coaxed into bringing it back by popular demand. This year my pool features 871 total entries, which has slimmed down to 576 after two weeks of games.
I narrowly avoided a week 1 devastation when the Seattle Seahawks squeaked out a victory against the Miami Dolphins (12-10) and cruised to an easy victory in week 2 when the Carolina Panthers beat the San Francisco 49ers (46-27). Which leads us to week 3 of the season.
The pick this week is the Miami Dolphins at home against the Cleveland Browns. The fins are tied with Seattle as the most heavily favored team this week by 9.5 points.
Cleveland has been a walking infirmary. Their first two games saw them lose their top two quarterbacks and number one draft pick wide receiver Corey Coleman. With raw rookie quarterback Cody Kessler suiting up for his first NFL action and no Josh Gordon for one more week, this should be an easy victory for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins have looked impressive in two straight narrow losses and will look to capitalize on this opportunity. I would even take the Dolphins and the points, which I tend to avoid when the spread is over a touchdown.
Good luck! And Drink Five!
Last week was a no brainer, with the Steelers walloping the Cleveland Browns. In the process they may have done them a favor concussing Cody Kessler and allowing Josh McCown to regain the starting spot. McCown is the only choice if you are the Browns head coach and don't want to finish the season winless, which they still probably will. Which leads me to this week's survivor pick - the New York Giants 7.5 point favorites at Cleveland. I think the Giants cover in this one as they desperately try to keep pace with the Cowboys.
Looking at the Browns remaining schedule I would say either this game or Cincinnati in two weeks are their best shots to steal a win. In fact, I plan on placing a wager on that Bengals game coming off the bye.
Miami, Buffalo, and New Orleans are also very strong picks this week. Jay Ajayi is going to eat up the 49ers last ranked run defense, making Miami a safe pick.
Blake Bortles has shown this year that he cannot perform well enough to flourish against a top tier defense like Buffalo's. Expect a lot of pressure and interceptions in that one for Blake.
Finally, the Saints, believe it or not, are still in contention in the NFC South at 4-6, only 2 games back of the 6-4 Falcons. I expect them to have an easy day in the dome against Jared Goff and the Rams. The Rams defense will have to have a perfect game to even give them a shot in this one.
Cheers! Drink Five!