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05/26/2010 -
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Mike Wallace is on the fast track to replacing Santonio Holmes as the Steelers' primary deep passing threat. Byron Leftwich needed only one practice to realize that.
During a 7-on-7 passing drill recently in a voluntary practice, Wallace beat his man cleanly, but Leftwich's pass landed behind the receiver. The timing and precision needed to correctly execute the fly pattern weren't there.
Clearly, it's going to take the Steelers some time to adjust to having a receiver other than Holmes lining up with Hines Ward in a tandem that, for one season, paired two Super Bowl MVPs.
Or maybe it won't.
Wallace is convinced the transition will take less time than expected, given he's replacing a former first-round draft pick who caught 79 passes last season and had a combined 18 touchdown receptions the last three seasons.
``I feel like they believe I can do the same things Santonio did,'' Wallace said. ``I don't feel like there's anything Santonio did that I can't do. I'm still running some of the routes I ran last year, it's just that I have more of them to run.''
Maybe Wallace doesn't have Holmes' knowledge of NFL cornerbacks, or of opponents' defensive tendencies. And he's still not certain how running plays out of Holmes' position will differ from running them out of Ward's position; he spent last season as Ward's backup.
Leftwich does know this: Few defenders will be faster than Wallace.
``We all know what Santonio can do,'' said Leftwich, who is running the first-team offense during Ben Roethlisberger's absence. ``Mike, he's running by a lot of people. He's got speed that not a lot of people have. We haven't seen that in the league a lot. There's only a few people who can run like that.''
Holmes is fast, but he's not as fast as Wallace, who caught 39 passes for 756 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 19.4 yards per catch as a rookie. His speed was such an asset, the Steelers felt confident they didn't need to look elsewhere for a replacement last month when they decided to trade Holmes to the Jets following a series of off-field missteps.
After compensating for Wallace's speed, Leftwich managed to hit the former Mississippi receiver on the same deep pass play that didn't work the first time.
``When you think of Mike, you think of a deep threat,'' quarterback Dennis Dixon said. ``Whenever you go up top with Mike, you've got to be sure to release it early because he can outrun your arm.''
To Ward, the biggest adjustment for Wallace won't be in lining up at a different position, but learning how to get open while running precise patterns on first and second downs.
Last season, Wallace - a third-round draft pick - mostly played in multiple receiver packages in which he rarely opposed top-line cornerbacks or was double-teamed.
``Sometimes the (top) guys lined up on me, but for the most part they were on Santonio or Hines,'' Wallace said. ``But I'm always ready for a challenge. I don't feel like I'm afraid of anybody, I don't fear anybody and they go to work just like I go to work. I'm going to be ready for them, just like they're going to be ready for me.''
Wallace also benefited from the instruction time Ward and Holmes gave him.
``I learned how to be a pro, coming in every day and working and never being satisfied with a good game or having one good week,'' Wallace said. ``If you're hanging onto that, you're going to get whipped. Every day's a new day, that's the main thing.''
Every season's a new one, too, and this could be an especially demanding one for the Steelers because Roethlisberger will be suspended until October.
``We know what type of business we're in and we're ready to roll with whoever's in,'' Wallace said. ``It's always going to be hard when he's not here, but we've got to keep rolling. I feel like when he comes back, we're going to pick up where we left off.''
Wallace also hopes to pick up where Holmes left off, averaging seven catches per game during the second half of last season.
``That's the nature of the business,'' Wallace said. ``One guy's out and the next day I have to step in.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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