BY NICK ST. DENIS
The Miami Dolphins signed free agent receiver Mike Wallace to a monster contract this year and expected monster plays in return.
With Halloween just around the corner, Wallace has yet to scare anyone.
Through seven games, Wallace has hauled in just two receptions of 40 yards or longer and four catches for over 20 yards. He has just one touchdown on 30 receptions, and his 56.9 yards a game ranks 47th among all wideouts and behind teammate Brian Hartline.
"I like what Mike has done," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said Monday, via Dolphins.com. "I like the contributions he’s made for the football team."
Wallace hasn't found the end zone since Week 2, and he has just eight catches over the past two weeks, but Philbin thinks quarterback Ryan Tannehill will connect with Wallace more down the stretch.
"I know to get the ball thrown with distance down the field requires a
lot of things," Philbin said. "It requires precision both by the route-runner and the
quarterback. It requires a certain amount of time to get the ball down
the field.
"Given when you add all of those things up, I
would love to have more lengthy touchdown passes. I’m confident we’ll
get more big plays out of him as the year unfolds."
Miami, which has lost four straight after a 3-0 start, lost receiver Brandon Gibson for the season to injury, so Wallace's targets have to go up simply by default.
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