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Finally! Mike Wallace’s breakout game against the New England Patriots, and star cornerback Darrelle Revis, was exactly what fantasy football owners and Miami Dolphins fans have been expecting since he decided to dive into the free-agent market and sign with Miami. Seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, which constituted a beastly outing in PPR leagues, isn’t a bad day. So was this the start of a trend or just a good afternoon in the South Florida sun?
The Mike Wallace apologist would attribute the lack of production in his first year with the team to a different offensive scheme and a second-year quarterback with a terrible offensive line whose ineptitude throughout the second half of the season rendered the deep ball pointless. It is tempting to believe that the extenuating circumstances that destroyed the Dolphins’ offense a year ago were the cause of the majority of Wallace’s problems and it might not be a terrible argument. Statistically, he had a “better than average” season by his standards last year. Was it the flashy season that everybody had hoped for? No, but he had the most catches of his career (73) and was targeted more than ever before in his career (142 times). There is no reason to believe that he will be targeted less in Bill Lazor’s new offense, and he stands to be even more productive with a competent running game that forces the safety to respect the run.
So what about this weekend? Even though he is dealing with a hamstring issue, Wallace looks to be good to go against a suspect Buffalo Bills secondary. Stephon Gilmore looks to be able to play, but at what capacity? Expect Wallace to have more than the 11 targets he had a week ago and be even more successful.
This could be a watershed week for Wallace. The only thing that causes hesitation is that the Buffalo defensive line has Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus, which could match up well against a refurbished Miami offensive line. If the Dolphins can keep Ryan Tannehill’s jersey relatively clean however, look for Mike Wallace to have a huge game. You should start him if you have the chance.
