Steelers rookie receiver Mike Wallace hit the ground running
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By Charean Williams
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
Things have come a little "quicker" than Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver Mike Wallace expected. That's saying something, since Wallace has run a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash and has been challenged to a race by Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.
Wallace, who trained with Johnson in McKinney prior to the NFL Scouting Combine last February, has caught on fast. He has more receiving yardage (437 yards) than any rookie, and he has three touchdowns, though he has caught only 25 passes.
"It's the perfect situation," Wallace said in a telephone interview. "(Surrounded by stars on the defending Super Bowl champions) has made things a lot easier. I don't have to try to be the man. I can just come in and learn."
Wallace beat out former Texas star Limas Sweed, a second-round pick in 2008, for the No. 3 receiver job behind Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward. From the start, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have trusted Wallace, and the Steelers have been rewarded with big plays.
"(Roethlisberger) has given me a lot of chances," said Wallace, who has only one drop this season. "I just try and catch everything that comes my way. I think every game they have more trust in me, and hopefully that continues."
Wallace has had: a 22-yard catch in overtime against the Tennessee Titans to set up the winning field goal; a 29-yard catch against the Cleveland Browns; a 47-yard touchdown against the Detroit Lions; a 35-yard catch that set up a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers; a 102-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bengals; a 40-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings; and a 25-yard touchdown last week against the Denver Broncos.
Wallace has played much bigger than he is (6-0, 199).
"I just feel I'm confident in what I can do," Wallace said. "I'm not really surprising myself, but I might be surprising everybody else."
Oh, brother
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Michael Bennett is compared to his younger brother "all the time." That's because, as Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett admits, Martellus is "more flamboyant."
But the former Texas A&M defensive end is trying to make a name for himself. In his first extensive playing time, Michael Bennett made three tackles and had a sack in the Bucs' 38-28 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
"It shows what I'm capable of doing," Bennett said in a telephone interview. "If I get the opportunities, I can make a lot of plays."
Bennett made the Seahawks' 53-player roster as an undrafted free agent after making nine tackles, five quarterback hurries and two sacks while deflecting a pass and recovering a pass in the preseason. Injuries forced the Seattle Seahawks to cut Bennett on Oct. 11 to make room for defensive tackle Kyle Williams. They intended to re-sign Bennett, but the Bucs claimed him off waivers.
"It's worked out for me," Bennett said. "I've gotten a chance to play, and I've been making some plays."
The only disappointment Bennett has had is he didn't get to play his brother. The Cowboys beat the Bucs in the season opener when Michael was with the Seahawks, and he was in Tampa Bay when the Cowboys played Seattle on Nov. 1.
"All the Aggies wanted to see that one," Bennett said.
Bennett hopes to finish his rookie season with six sacks and a lot more wins than the one the Bucs have now.
"We've got a bunch of young guys, but now everybody is expecting us to play like veterans," Bennett said, "even though they still make us do rookie things, like buying their lunch."
Kitna can relate
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been sacked a league-leading 37 times, putting him on pace to be sacked 74 times. David Carr was sacked 76 times during the Texans' expansion season of 2002, which ranks as the most in NFL history.
Cowboys backup Jon Kitna is fourth on the all-time list, sacked 63 times in 2006 while with Detroit.
"I definitely feel for him," Kitna said of Rodgers. "Getting hit like that is not fun; it's not fun at all. It's hard to make good decisions and things like that when you're under that kind of constant pressure. Unless you've been under that, you don't really realize."
Brady vs. Manning
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have been the league's best quarterbacks for a long time now. One or the other has won the league MVP award four of the past six seasons, including 2003 when Manning shared it with Steve McNair.
Their teams are the winningest of the decade, with the Colts having won 109 games and the Patriots 108.
Brady set the single-season touchdowns record with 50 in 2007. Manning is on pace to break the single-season records for completion percentage and yards this season.
So who is better?
"Peyton doesn't have too many bad seasons; in fact, I don't think he ever has a bad season," Brady said in a national conference call. "He doesn't ever play any bad games. So if I'm just in that conversation, I'm OK with it."
Brady made his first NFL start against the Colts in 2001, and he is 7-3 head-to-head against Manning.
The Blitz
The Philadelphia Eagles are second in the league in takeaways with 22, but they have turned those 22 turnovers into only 69 points. The New Orleans Saints have a league-high 24 takeaways, which they have turned into 93 points.
The Washington Redskins have allowed 28 sacks, putting them on pace to give up 56. That would be their second-most allowed in 24 years.
The 1999 expansion Cleveland Browns scored 20 touchdowns. The current Browns are on pace for 12.
The Arizona Cardinals are 4-0 on the road and 1-3 at home. The reason is turnovers. The Cardinals are minus-9 in turnover ratio at home, with 12 giveaways and three takeaways, and plus-three on the road. The Cardinals were 14-4 at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2007-08.
The St. Louis Rams are the first team in NFL history to have three consecutive home games against undefeated opponents. Minnesota was 4-0 when it visited St. Louis on Oct. 11. Indianapolis was 5-0 when it visited Oct. 25. The Saints arrive today sporting an 8-0 record. "Who's in charge of scheduling around here?" coach Steve Spagnuolo asked St. Louis reporters last week.
Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith led the NFL in receiving yards per game last season at 101.5. He ranks 30th this season at 59.8. He has 34 receptions for 478 yards and one touchdown. Smith's 50-yard touchdown reception against the Cardinals is the only scoring reception by a Panthers' wideout this season. The only team with fewer touchdown catches by wideouts is Cleveland with none.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who are 3-30 in their past 33 games, visit Oakland. One of those three wins was at Oakland, a 20-13 victory on Nov. 30. In fact, the Chiefs have a six-game winning streak at Oakland. Their last loss in the Black Hole was in the regular-season finale of the 2002 season.
My five cents
1The San Diego Chargers have $13.35 million invested in their running backs this season, but they're not getting much for their money. San Diego ranks last in rushing yards per game (69.6) and yards per carry (3.1). LaDainian Tomlinson looks as if he's on his last legs. He missed two games with a sprained ankle and likely will have fewer than 1,000 yards for the first time in his career.
2The Houston Texans looked into Larry Johnson, which speaks to their desperation to find a running back they can trust. Matt Schaub has thrown the most passes in the NFL. Gary Kubiak wants to run the ball more, but his three running backs have lost seven fumbles. Two of those fumbles potentially cost them victories, including Ryan Moats' on the goal line late in the first half last week.
3The defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers are flying under the radar. No one is talking about them, but they are favored this week against the Cincinnati Bengals, and after that, they don't play a team that currently has a winning record. That means Pittsburgh, if it wins this week, easily could head into the playoffs on a 13-game winning streak.
4The Atlanta Falcons are looking as though they made a smart move in signing defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux to a five-year, $25 million extension last year. He had 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks against Washington last week. The Port Arthur native has four sacks this season.
5Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid is being criticized for his game management and for good reason. The Eagles are 1-8-1 in their past 10 games that have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Since their loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, the Eagles have won only five of 31 games when trailing after three quarters.
Who's hot
In the past three games, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson has 491 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries. For the season, he has 959 yards and six touchdowns on 144 carries. He is averaging 6.66 yards per carry. Among running backs with at least 100 carries in a season, only Dan Towler averaged more than 6.66 yards per carry in a season. Towler rushed for 6.78 yards per carry for the Los Angeles Rams in 1951.
Who's not
Baltimore Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka is 8-of-11 on field goals, but two of his misses were huge. A 44-yard, game-winning attempt against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 18 was wide left, and he was wide left on a 38-yarder in the fourth quarter of last week's 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The kicker he replaced, Matt Stover, is 6-for-6 with the Indianapolis Colts.
He said it
"It helped me realize that I have to help my family more than what I am. I went to Dallas (on the team's bye week) and saw my two daughters and realized that I have to help them more than what I did. Then, we went to New Orleans and saw (his son) Adam and realized it's tough on him, maybe more so than I anticipated it would. He used to call Vikki every night on his way home from work. The girls, I'll call them and the one is just crying like crazy on the phone, and I'll ask what's wrong, and she'll say 'I'm sad.' Those things kind of helped me realize I got to do better with them." Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, whose wife, Vikki, died of natural causes Oct. 8.
Numbers game
174Rushing yards the Buffalo Bills are allowing this season, a pace that would be the most in the NFL in 26 years. Bills opponents are getting 5.14 yards per carry, which would rank as the 14th worst in NFL history for a full season.
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Midseason awards
MVP: QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis. He is on pace to pass for an NFL-record 5,090 yards, and his completion percentage of 70.60 also would set an NFL record.
Defensive Player: FS Darren Sharper, New Orleans. He has seven interceptions, returning three for touchdowns.
Offensive Rookie: WR Percy Harvin, Minnesota. He ranks second in the NFL with a 30.7 kickoff return average, with two touchdowns, and he has 28 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensive Rookie: LB Brian Cushing, Houston. His 78 tackles rank third in the NFL, and he has 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.
Comeback Player: QB Tom Brady, New England. He has returned from his knee injury to pass for 2,364 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Coach: Josh McDaniels, Denver. Looked as if he was in over his head until the season started. The Broncos are a surprising 6-2.
Assistant coach: Mike Zimmer, Cincinnati. The Bengals ranked 27th in total defense in 2007, the year before Zimmer got there. They were 12th last year, and they are 14th this season, including second against the run. They are allowing only 16.9 points per game.
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