Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace heard from a lot of people after telling reporters to “ask coach” about why he only caught one pass in Miami’s season opener, including his mother.
While Wallace said earlier this week that his perceived displeasure with the game plan was really displeasure with how own performance, Wallace’s mom told him that people aren’t going to see things that way. She advised him that he should “always smile” after a win in order to avoid any future issues.
In the present, it seems like everyone’s on the same page. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill said that he won’t be forcing the ball to Wallace and Wallace said Thursday that the quarterback was right to feel that way even though he feels that he needs the ball thrown his way for the offense to operate at prime effectiveness.
“You don’t want to just force me the ball, because that’s not good. I need to get the ball. Everybody knows I need to get the ball,” Wallace said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “But when you have two or three people on me, you don’t want to force me the ball. We have great receivers, that if you cover them one-on-one, will make plays.”
Wallace’s immediate reaction after the game wasn’t a great one, but he’s been pretty vigilant about tamping down the story before it could go much further. The ball will come Wallace’s way and if he does the right things with it when it does, the aftermath of Week One will be less than a blip on the radar.