Minnesota Vikings: 5 players who must step up down the stretch
By Dan Zinski
Nov 22, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Mike Wallace (11) against the Green Bay Packers at TCF Bank Stadium. The Packers defeated the Vikings 30-15. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
4. Mike Wallace
Everyone keeps asking “What’s going on with Mike Wallace?”
That’s a good question. What exactly is going on with Mike Wallace?
It just doesn’t seem like Wallace and Teddy Bridgewater are on the same page.
When Bridgewater tries to find Wallace, he either misses or Wallace drops it.
Against Atlanta, Wallace at least contributed to the winning effort by drawing a couple of pass interference penalties. Jerome Simpson, you recall, was also good at drawing interference penalties.
It’s never good to be lumped in with Jerome Simpson.
Wallace of course does still command the respect of defenses by virtue of his deep speed.
Right now Wallace is a $9 million decoy. While he’s doing nothing on the stat sheet, players like Stefon Diggs, Jarius Wright and Kyle Rudolph are getting it done.
So Wallace’s presence is apparently affecting defenses and opening things up. But at some point Wallace will need to be more than a decoy.
Wallace, Bridgewater and Norv Turner need to figure out a way to make it happen.
And it would definitely help for Bridgewater to get better protection, giving potential deep throws to Wallace a chance to develop.