When wide receiver Mike Wallace signed with the Miami Dolphins for five years and $60 million, he envisioned a wide-open offense and winning many games. Through a season and a half, neither has come to fruition, leading the receiver to vent to the media, as he did after Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Mike Wallace frustrated with Dolphins’ offense
Miami’s offense has sputtered out too often for the receiver’s liking.
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Since Wallace arrived in 2013, the Dolphins stand just a single game over .500. Whatever success Miami's had seems to come out of its defensive play rather than its offense, which ranks near the bottom of the league. The Ryan Tannehill-led unit finished 26th in points last season, and though it currently ranks 11th, consistency has been an issue. In Week 9, the Dolphins ran up 37 points on the San Diego Chargers. The next game, that total dropped to 16.
Meanwhile, Wallace's role in the offense has shifted from the way he was used in Pittsburgh, leading to diminished returns. After averaging 17.2 yards per reception for the Steelers, Wallace has produced a mere 12.8 clip with Miami. The receiver isn't pleased, and he let ESPN's James Walker know about it.
“It’s the same thing I tell you every week,” Wallace said. “We have to find our balance, man. We can’t keep doing this on offense. We can’t be up and down to be the team that we want to be. We have to be able to finish football games. Our defense played great once again.
“Definitely, definitely, definitely we have to hold our own weight. I always say we have to be able to hold our own weight,” Wallace said. “We have to be able to kill games. That game should have never even come down to the last drive.”
To Wallace's point, the Dolphins offense has struggled in multiple games against winning teams. In back-to-back losses against the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, Miami was outscored 63-25. Another loss came in Week 6 when the offense stalled out in the second half allowing Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to pull off a comeback in the two-minute drill. A similar story played out in Week 10 when Miami produced only 16 points, opening the door for the Detroit Lions to retake the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining.
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