Will Steelers' Mike Wallace Sit Out The Entire Season?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made Mike Wallace wait on getting a new long-term deal, so now Wallace is making the Steelers wait. He didn't show up to OTAs this week and doesn't plan to show up until he gets a long-term deal.

Wallace, over the course of the last two seasons, has been one of the NFL's best wide receivers. He would have more of a leadership role this season now that Hines Ward is retired. The team hired Todd Haley to be the team's new offensive coordinator and will need to implement a new offense. Wallace is missing a lot of key time.

Could he hold out and force the Steelers to trade him? He is holding all of the cards, but does Pittsburgh have enough cap space to give into his demands?

Before I get into the fiscal details of what Mike Wallace would get if he signs his one-year tender and what he wants long term, let me tell you his agent's name. Wallace is represented by Bus Cook, who most famously dragged out every Brett Favre negotiation. The Steelers are playing with fire when they negotiate with one of Cook's players.

Wallace is a restricted free-agent. If another team wants to sign him, he is free to do so, but that team would give up a first-round draft pick. His one-year tender is $2.74 million and he has yet to sign it. He wants a long-term deal in the neighborhood of Larry Fitzgerald's mega-deal he signed last year. That deal was for $120 million dollars over eight years...Pittsburgh lacks that kind of cap space. They can't offer anywhere near those numbers. Wallace could sign the one-year tender, play out the year and become an unrestricted free-agent after this season. He would be risking a lot to do that, since injuries happen so frequently in today's NFL.

Wallace must sign at some point this season, since he must accrue service time in order to reach unrestricted free-agent status. This is similar to the situation that Vincent Jackson was in with the San Diego Chargers in 2010.

A lot of football experts thought that the Steelers would trade Wallace before the NFL Draft. Pittsburgh didn't get the kind of deal that they expected and held onto him. Both sides say they want to work on a long-term deal, but it is turning into a waiting game. The Steelers can't fiscally give him the deal that he wants and not many other teams could swing the cap space either.

The Steelers offense in 2012 is rumored to look a lot different. Former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians had a pass-happy system, but ownership wants to get back to running the ball. Haley is known for his passing attack while he was on the coaching staff of the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs the previous three seasons and was fired after the final game in 2011. Ben Roethlisberger has already commented that the offense is 90% different.

The Steelers could still suit up a nice receiving corps without Wallace. Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, and recently-signed Jerricho Cotchery at wide receiver with Heath Miller and Leonard Pope as your tight-end tandem. The running back group will be getting a lot of carries. Rashard Mendenhall is coming off an injury and will need some carries from Isaac Redman and high-draft pick Chris Rainey. Jonathan Dwyer and John Clay are in camp and are battling for a roster spot.

It is only a matter of time before Mike Wallace and the Steelers come to an agreement. One of the sides will lose in the deal. The Steelers have dealt with disgruntled wide receivers in the past, Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes. Wallace doesn't have the on and off-the-field issues as Holmes or Burress, but know when to cut their losses. They can't afford to tie up a large portion of their salary cap on a wide receiver in a "run first" offense.

Interview: Ken Dilger

I had a chance to speak with former Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight-end, Ken Dilger. We spoke about NFL Playoffs, what happened to the Colts this season, and who was a better high school quarterback, him or Jay Cutler. It was great to speak with him and he was in Peoria, Illinois doing some great work for a charity. See what he's up to now and find out how you can contact him.

Me: I want to ask you about the Colts. I I want to asked you about the Colts. It was tough to see them struggle with injuries all season. What could they have done differently against the Jets in the playoffs?

Ken Dilger: When you have 19 or 20 guys on injured reserve and are missing Austin Collie & Dallas Clark, it's hard. The Jets game was very conservative. They didn't throw it down the field. They were nervous to make a mistake. They were out-hustled in the 2nd half.

Me: Did you question the late timeout?

Dilger: I did, anytime you have an offense trying to run down the clock and Sanchez doesn't have experience and ability. You let the offense run the clock. Everybody should question that.

Me: When Clark comes back, do you think they can use Tamme & Clark in 2 TE sets, even though Tamme's blocking ability isn't great?

Dilger: No, I don't think you will see that. you need one pass catching tight-end and Clark is better. I think you will see Brody Eldridge used more.

Me: The production that teams are getting from their tight-end position really spiked over the last few years. Look at what the Patriots did with two rookie tight-ends this year. What are your thoughts on the evolution of the position?

Dilger: It has been changing the last 15 years or so. The tight-end position became more of a pass catching threat. Guys like Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, and Heath Miller have changed the position. Every team is trying to find that guy. If you have a big tight-end that can run, you have a big mismatch.

Me: Who was a better quarterback at Heritage High School, you or Jay Cutler?

Dilger: {laughs} I would say it was me.

Me: Do you think he would agree?

Dilger: No, he won a championship there.

Me: Why did you change to tight-end at Illinois?

Dilger: I was a big kid and didn't have a weight program in high school. I gained 20 lbs that first semester and it was a natural progression to the position.

Me: Who do you have this week and who is your favorite to win in the Conference championships?

Dilger: You have two great matchups. Bears & Packers are hated division rivals. They know each other so well. It will come down to turnovers, which quarterback can managed the situation and atmopshere. The slight edge to the Packets because of Rodgers. The AFC, you have two hated teams with two great defenses. The Jets played well enough to win, but you go into Pittsburgh, Polamalu & Miller didn't play last game. You have to give edge to Pittsburgh across the board. It's a great match-up.

Me: Who would win between the Steelers and Packers in the Super Bowl?

Dilger: Steelers & Packers? Pittsburgh has more weapons on offense with Mendenhall and veteran wide-receivers.

Me: Are you saying Mendenhall because he went to Illinois?

Dilger: Of course, It doesn't hurt!

Me: Do you ever wear your Super Bowl ring?

Dilger: I do! I wear it out for special events like this one.

Me: What are you up to these days?

Dilger: I live in Indianapolis. I run a mortgage company here.

Me: A lot of current and former athletes use social media to keep in touch with your fans. How do you keep in touch with the fans? Twitter or Facebook?

Dilger: I'm on Facebook 3500 fans on there, I get asked a lot of questions. My wife thinks it's stupid.

Me: Tell me about why you're in Peoria today

Dilger: I am with the Febreeze TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE campaign. A family in Peoria was one of the finalists and put a photo and video of them in their basement in all their Colts gear. She didn't win, but we have a big presentation to give $10,000 to St. Jude Hospital in her name.

Me: Thanks for taking time to talk with me today. Good luck with with everything and it sounds like a great charity.


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NFL Week 6: Fantasy Football Sit/Start

These are the weeks where a fantasy football team owner can build a team to win a championship. Teams will start dropping players to fill needs due to bye weeks. Mike Sims-Walker probably killed many of you last week, but if you started Austin Collie or Miles Austin, you won. These kind of pick-ups are what you need to win. Here are my fantasy football sit'em or start'em for Week 6.

It's that time of year where you have to be rash judgments on players. You need to cut the dead weight before it causes you to lose games. I have listed a few guys that you need to cut and some guys that you need to grab off of the waiver wire right now.

START'EM

Aaron Rodgers - Ben Roethlisberger hosted WWE RAW last week and still put up huge numbers against Detroit. Rodgers didn't host RAW, so I expect that he'll do even better.

Rashard Mendenhall - Is Willie Parker even alive at this point? Mendenhall has done a great job so far this season and looks like the starting job could be his when Parker gets back. He faces the Browns and he'll be running all over them.

Matt Hasselbeck - Looks like he's back to the pass-happy QB that he was a few seasons ago. A side-note, I also like Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, they'll have nice weeks against Arizona.

Mike Sims-Walker - I lost a game last week because he was suspended at the last minute before the game. He has a lot to prove and look for him to be the #1 option in the Jaguars passing attack.

Both Steve Smiths - Having the name Steve Smith will be beneficial if you're an NFL wide receiver this week. Carolina's Steve Smith faces Tampa Bay and New York Giants version plays the Saints. They will both have nice weeks.

Cedric Benson - Yes, I am finally telling everyone to start Cedric Benson this week. He has looked like the running back that he was supposed to be coming out of Texas. Houston has given up tons of rushing yards against opposing running backs and he'll help you this week.

Matt Forte - The sophomore slump may not be over yet, but I think he'll have a good game against Atlanta. He showed signs two weeks ago and a bye week only helped him get back to 100%.

Brent Celek - The Eagles play in Oakland this weekend and Celek is going to have a monster game. Donovan McNabb looks healthier than expected and even if he gets knocked out, Kevin Kolb likes Celek as a main target.

Jeremy Shockey - Do you think that he has a chip on his shoulder? He does and he should, he was a productive player when he was on the field and they sold him for 10 cents on the dollar. When he's targeted this week, you better be sure that he'll catch the ball.

Philadelphia Eagles Defense - I would feel safe starting any team's defense against a team that has JaMarcus Russell at quarterback.

Donnie Avery - He had a nice game last week and he's the only receiver on the Rams that could start on any other team. The Rams play Jacksonville and it could be a close game, especially if the Jaguars play like they did last week.

Mike Wallace - DEEP LEAGUE START - He's barely owned in any leagues and this guy is a legit #3 WR on the Steelers. He has surpassed Limas Sweed at that position and Big Ben is looking for him.


SIT'EM

Eli Manning - His injury scares me and I am not sure if he can go 100% against the Saints. A couple scrambles or a sack, he could be out of the game.

Pierre Thomas - ESPN has his projected points as 20+ this week against the Giants, but I'm not buying it. The G-men are solid against the run and I don't see him having that good of a game.

Brandon Jacobs - I'm starting to worry about the big man. Ahmad Bradshaw has looked very good, yet Jacobs can barely get yards. He could breakout this week, but he's a risky play against a better than expected Saints defense.

Larry Johnson - He looks like an old man out there and I have completely written him off. The Chiefs play the Redskins this weekend, but LJ is a fantasy dud.

Willis McGahee - Ray Rice seems to be the #1 back in Baltimore and McGahee's touchdowns have been very fluky. I don't like him against the Vikings stiff run defense.

Mark Sanchez - Buffalo is in town and last week they made Derek Anderson go 2 for 17 from the field. I don't care if it was Derek Anderson, but they were doing something right. The Jets will run against the Bills and Sanchez will just try to play it safe.

Jeremy Maclin - The Eagles will not have to pass that much against Oakland, since they will have a healthy lead by halftime. Maclin is a nice player, but I like Desean Jackson and Brent Celek much more in this game. Rookie wide receivers will have nice games, but they are usually very inconsistent.

New York Giants Defense - They are usually an automatic start, but I fear Drew Brees. They will stop the running game, but Brees is this generation's Dan Fouts. He will get his numbers, no matter what team he faces.

Owen Daniels - The Bengals have an upgraded linebacking corps and Daniels will have a hard time getting open. Daniels has been a nice target for Matt Schaub so far this season, but he'll have a rough game.

Fred Jackson - Marshawn Lynch is back from suspension and Jackson didn't get near as much action as expected last week. It appears that the starting role is still Lynch's and Jackson is a possible flex option, but not against the Jets.

Jerricho Cotchery - The trade for Braylon Edwards has hurt his stock and it could be time to go out and pick up a guy like Miles Austin or Austin Collie.

What's Next For Juice Williams?

I guess the blame for Ron Zook's disappointing last two seasons have finally fell upon Juice Williams. He said today that he is going to bench Williams in favor of junior quarterback, Eddie McGee. Williams was the taste of the town two seasons ago when he upset Ohio State in the Shoe and lead his team to a Rose Bowl bid. It has been a rocky road since then and now the senior has found himself on the bench. What is next for Juice Williams? Could the NFL be in his future?

In 2005, Isiah "Juice" Williams, was one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation. He played for Chicago Vocational Career Academy and chose to stay close to home and play in-state at Illinois. A lot of the successful college quarterbacks at that time were Vince Young, Troy Smith, and you could even add Marcus Vick in that discussion. They all fell in the same category as a duel-threat quarterback that can use his legs to move to the ball. Since that time, Vince Young has fluttered in the NFL, Troy Smith has barely sniffed the ball for the Baltimore Ravens, and Vick (either one) has fell into legal problems off-the-field. It could be the paradigm-shift that has caused teams and colleges to stray away from those types of colleges, but Williams can't blame anything except for his own ability.

A strong running game with Rashard Mendenhall helped Williams beat Ohio State and head into the Rose Bowl in 2007. When Mendenhall left for the NFL, Illinois became one-dimensional and had to rely on the passing game and Williams' feet to move the ball. A series of injuries and suspensions have lead to a disappointing season in 2008 and at the beginning of this year. Arrelious Benn hasn't been 100% this season and when you take away a target like that, the quarterback will suffer. Eddie McGee has shown that he is a better passer than Williams and also has some speed that could be useful, but Williams' intangibles are still better. He has clearly been rattled by his lack of production and maybe sitting him down is the best for the team. I wouldn't back a plan that would permanently bench Williams, he's a weapon, try to get him into the game in a Wildcat type of play-set and you could benefit.

If you are looking toward the 2010 season, getting McGee into the game for some regular reps is a smart decision, but Zook can't bet that he'll be around for it. Zook has taken a lot of heat for putting together great recruiting classes, but not getting much out of them. If he does get fired after this season and I ran a major program, I would hire him as an assistant coach and only let him recruit. He has shown that he can recruit with the best of them, but his coaching ability is suspect to this point.

Do I think that Juice Williams can play in the NFL? Not right now, but if the Wildcat system catches on even more, he could be a nice undrafted free-agent signing. I could see him going up to Canada and trying his ability out up there. If he is a success, maybe he can catch on with a team has a 3rd string or practice squad player. This benching is bad news for Williams and his professional career, but he must remember this moment and keep working. You never know what can happen, Matt Cassel never even started a game in college and he's a starter in the NFL.