Preseason G1 player to watch: Roberto Wallace

The Dolphins open their preseason Saturday with a home game versus the Tampa Bay Bucs. During the next four weeks, I'll preview the game one day out by shining the spotlight on one player you must keep your eye on because, well, he's impressed me and has a chance to, as Jimmy Johnson once said, be special.

Today we shine that spotlight on wide receiver Roberto Wallace.

Wallace is an undrafted free agent out of San Diego State. So he is, by definition, a long shot on a Miami team that already seems to have roster spots reserved for Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, and Greg Camarillo.

Wallace is locked in a battle for a spot with guys such as Patrick Turner, Julius Pruitt, Marlon Moore, and Ryan Grice-Mullen.

But he has caught my eye because he brings a combination of size and deep-play ability that isn't common among receivers. Wallace is listed at 6-1 and 195 pounds on page 266 of the Miami Dolphins media guide.

That is simply not correct.

He is every bit as big as Marshall and Turner, at 6-4 and 225 pounds. But unlike Turner, I've seen Wallace flash deep-play ability. He showed it in a practice the first week when he caught a 40-plus-yard TD pass versus Sean Smith. And I saw it during a recent evening practice in the Nick Saban Memorial Bubble (NSMB) when he beat Jason Allen deep down the left sideline.

I spoke to a Dolphins personnel man about Wallace and asked how it was that he wasn't drafted? I wanted to know what the problem was with him that no one spent even a seventh-round pick on a receiver with such impressive size and ability to flash (at least occassionally).

"His production was his main issue," the personnel man told me.

Seems throughout Wallace's senior season, the team's scouts simply weren't too impressed because the kids simply wasn't catching passes.

"Everyone had undrafted free agent grades on him early in the year but as the year went on the grades on him started to climb," the personnel man told me.

Wallace caught only 36 passes for 463 yards in 11 games for the Aztecs his senior year. That was third on the team in receptions. So he clearly wasn't the quarterback's favorite target. But the personnel man told me the San Diego State QB last year, Ryan Lindley, struggled early on and really didn't in tune with Wallace until later in the season.

Sure enough, Wallace averaged only 2.4 catches per game the first five outings of the year. He averaged 3.4 catches per game the final seven games of the year, and his outing in the season-finale against UNLV opened eyes. 

In that game the Aztecs actually made an attempt to get Wallace the ball and he caught eight passes for 108 yards. I'm also told the fact that Vincent Brown did not play the final five games of the year was another reason Wallace was given the opportunity to step up and perform.

And he did.

Wallace started playing football later in life. He was born in Panama City, Panama and didn't play football until his junior year in high school after moving to Oceanside, Calif. So he's still learning the game, especially route running techniques.

I cannot predict Wallace will make the Dolphins. Yes, he has prototypical size. Yes, he moves well enough. But he has much to learn and the inconsistencies still exist. But he bears watching. Like I said, he flashes.

If he does it often enough starting with Saturday's game against Tampa Bay, he could earn himself a practice squad spot. And maybe I'm being conservative.  

Comments

[Home]

carlito
U always come running like a pathetic lil puppy dog to save sean smith from the truth

Again
U Know Nothing
Cuz U never see with your own eyes by going to practice even though u r local
So U really on the jaded coconut head Jamaican reporter
Who Sucks trying to give ANY INSIGHT on Miami Dolphins football
But that is all the sun sentinel can afford

sean has NEVER MADE AN INT IN ALL 16 Games
Even when the Ball
3 Times was thrown right in his hands

Four Dif Dolphin WRs RIP Him to Shreds in practice
Marshall
Hartline
Turner
Wallace

on a regular basis

Once in awhile sean makes a token PD

Sorry Pal
sean SUCKS!

Now Go back to the SS and Suck Up there carlito

[Cuban Menace]

Is CJ Spiller gonna play tonite, I heard he Signed today, Any info out there??

[ALoco]

home,

why are you mean toward carlito ? sean smith not his brother and we r happy that carlito comes here to post .

[Home]

Omar
Has gone on the blog,paper and radio running his misinformation on the Dolphins for far too long

Coconut Head Kelly the SS Fraud Dolphin reporter stated on all media listed above many,many times that Karlos Dansby & Brandon Marshall would never be a Miami Dolphin when Home blogged to hinm that they both and only these 2 players would be on the Dolphins

So consider the Source

Also Home thinks Vontae is far superior than
Shucking & Jiving Poser CB sean

[ALoco]

we agree that omar and the baseball guy are fraud .

[Cuban Menace]

Who's excited to see Odrick tommarrow nite?

[ALoco]

i like to see marshall the 50 million basketball player b/c if he doesn't preform tomorrow a lot of jokes will be on him .

[SoiledBottom]

Dear mr. Salguero

I have been seeing posts saying Sean Smith is bad and shouldn't play...I understand these opinions.

What I don't understand is what Sean smiths ability to Shuck and eat an oyster and speak in the language of Jive (Google jive..there are translators) has to do with his Football ability.

Soiled :)

[This is the END]

A diagnosis provided to current posting morons on MH Site... Including but not limited to

Aloco, AKA...God knows how many
Home, Dangerous anti-social paranoid psychotic with visions of grandeur.
And all other individuals that are either a alter ego of above OR feed the above by being Co-Dependent enablers of their destructive behavior. There is only one end to your folly, DEATH. Be it literal, social or mental.

We as a community on the Herald Dolphins blog ask that you go die elsewhere in piece... leave here forever and PERHAPS your Karma will be forgiven you...? Perhaps?

PLEASE READ, be you guilty or victim....

Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities (known as alter egos or alters), each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. In the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems the name for this diagnosis is multiple personality disorder.
This disorder is theoretically linked with the interaction of overwhelming stress, traumatic antecedents,insufficient childhood nurturing, and an innate ability to dissociate memories or experiences from consciousness.A high percentage of patients report child abuse.People diagnosed with DID often report that they have experienced severe physical and sexual abuse, especially during their childhood.Several psychiatric rating scales of DID sufferers suggested that DID is strongly related to childhood trauma rather than to an underlying Brain blood flow dysfunction.
It has been theorized that severe sexual, physical, or psychological trauma in childhood predisposes an individual to the development of DID. The steps in the development of a dissociative identity are theorized to be as follows:

1. The child is harmed by a trusted caregiver (often a parent or guardian) and splits off the awareness and memory of the traumatic event to survive in the relationship.
2. The memories and feelings go into the subconscious and are experienced later in the form of a separate personality.
3. The process happens repeatedly at different times so that different personalities develop, containing different memories and performing different functions that are helpful or destructive.
4. Dissociation becomes a coping mechanism for the individual when faced with further stressful situations
DID does not resolve spontaneously, and symptoms vary over time. Individuals with primarily dissociative symptoms and features of post traumatic stress disorder normally recover with treatment. Those with co-morbid addictions, personality, mood, or eating disorders face a longer, slower, and more complicated recovery process. Individuals still attached to abusers face the poorest prognosis; treatment may be long-term and consist solely of symptom relief rather than personality integration. Changes in identity, loss of memory, and awaking in unexplained locations and situations often leads to chaotic personal lives.

Individuals with the condition commonly attempt suicide.

Have a nice short life....Idiots

[Cuban Menace]

Wow , The "End" sounds angry(And likes to copy/paste a lot,) Keep your door Locked Lil' Aloco, I think he might want to make a "Aloco-Suit" outta you.....

[Cuban Menace]

Gotta tell you all that Buffalo looks REALLY BAD.... 21 to 3 with 7 minutes left till half time....

[FB]

Cuban, did you notice that Anthony Armstrong was on the dolphins' practice squad for 2 years in a row. He's a fast son of a gun!

[FB]

Aloco, what did you do to p off "The End" this much? Could it be that he thinks that you're faking your English???

[klndry]

If he can run and catch he is a big upgrade over FTSG (find the sideline Ginn)

And if he can run and catch deep, the receiver position is set.

[Cuban Menace]

FB Yeah, Aint that a pisser...And Yeah Aloco, What did you do to "The End" to make him so angry??????

[FB]

"The End" sounds like he's gonna do something crazy; that sounds freaky to me dude...
Anyway, I've seen Roberto Wallace many times at camp this year. He's made some very nice plays. I would confuse him with Marshall all the time; they're the same height and are built alike. Let's see what happens. I still prefer Turner because I think he has the potential, he just needs to see the field.

[JaxDolphin]

Odin, lol couldn't agree more about little nicky. My nickname for him is "FDS".

[salsita]

The end, dont take this so seriously. This is a blog and just that. Go back to the SS and enjoy the tightly knit group of 8(TK8). With the chairman of the board.

[ALoco]

the end should first know how to write in good english ,i stopped reading when i reached the word ( pieace ) as peace .

god help us w/these crazy people .
to be or not to be .

[ALoco]

i am sure armando is having live blog tomorrow .

[louis]

Lilmouth, Heard he had a arguement with Waterboy..., Big surprise, A new poster, See a pettern, The "TK8" is there, my advice to you is dont even bother going over there, That's the only thing I'll post about those Buffoons ...

poor, poor cuban. there she goes crying again because she's banned from the SS ans tin blog. this circus is the only place left for a clown !!!

[louis]

Wow , The "End" sounds angry(And likes to copy/paste a lot,) Keep your door Locked Lil' Aloco, I think he might want to make a "Aloco-Suit" outta you.....

Cuban menace or mange ,He forgot to include your pathetic and sad self !

[The End]

The end, dont take this so seriously. This is a blog and just that. Go back to the SS and enjoy the tightly knit group of 8(TK8). With the chairman of the board.

Hey cuban " the mange menace , how's your imaginary girlfriend Hot ashley doing , you know the blow up doll ??? and you talk about other people locking their doors because of " the end " ?? they need to lock you up !

[cn]

the end , be nice to people

[cn]

The End, Fu c k you .

[salsita]

the end is also NJ, dont be fooled people. NJ is really pyscho

[ALoco]

nice beautiful women on qvc .

[beerphin]

should trade Camarillo. leaving WR Marshall Hartline Bess Wallace Turner

[beerphin]

If Ginn got a 5th Camarillo should atleast get a 5th rd pick

[fyi]

hahahaaaaaa, jaskin, i think NJ's is of a cheerleader. ouuu, that just opens one's self up to criticism. i mean, who of us believes ANY 47 year old could score an NFL cheerleader unless he's a hollywood leading man or lights his cigars and rubs his SoiledBottom with $100 bills?

Posted by: Mark in Toronto | August 13, 2010 at 04:50 PM

NJ is an unmarried fool, nobody will hook up with a pyscho

[superPHIN]

i actually feel sorry for buffalo. Preseason or not, losing 42-17 is still bad and even worse when your first string looks as bad as your third string...Mr. Gailey cant catch a break as a head coach anywhere it seems

[Aloco]

FYI ARE YOU MARRIED ?

[fyi]

ALoco yes I am. It is weird that 47 year old NJ never married. Woman are smart and know a real winner(LOL) when they meet the real NJ

[Aloco]

FYI , then you're idiot and a fool for being married

[Derek4Dolphins]

superPHIN,

That was a brutal beating Buffalo took. Even if it was Preseason. Keep in mind however, Miami was undefeated in their preseason last year. And, Buffalo landed the most embarrassing win against our team last year by far.

I am not saying Buffalo is better then they looked tonight, I doubt they will be much better. Shanahan will get Washington in shape before Dallas & Philly knows it. I just stopped taking the outcome of the preseason games less serious then I do how the players played and mainly how each QB looked, rarely does a QB look like crap in preseason then turn it all around in game 1 - 16. The score is important, any game is... but not as important as how the scoring was done. It is also not NEARLY as important as the other team scoring against you and how they did it. THAT is where Buffalo really looked bad. They were beat on the ground and in the air. Sad days indeed.

[ALoco]

fake aloco post at 11:50pm

[><]

>

[Darryl Dunphy]

Boy Buffalo might be in trouble. Not only did 2 of their RB's get banged up tonight(Lynch, Jackson) C.J. Spiller cannot block!!! Do not think for 1 second this didn't go un-noticed by our advanced scouts. Both times he had to block he got pole axed. One great effort led to a pick 6 for Washington. Blocking scheme is the most difficult skill for rookie backs to pickup. The Buffalo line is a JV outfit at best, pair that with a rookie that has no clue how to pass protect, and it could be open season game 1.

[payuengsnwings]

The game saturday night is on the NFL network?Am I right?Anybody?

[who are you]

hope so
or else sat night will suck royally

[payuengsnwings]

Ya gonna put off fishin saturday night to watch the game.Better be on tv up here.

[JaxDolphin]

Darn it Armando, stop agreeing with me. Its... unseemly. The day after I extol the positives of keeping young Wallace, what do you do? You put up the interview that I recommended to all Dolfans in the aforementioned post. Whatever. Its not ok with me when you take my ideas as your own (who could blame you?), but at least give credit where due. Nice to know I have a follower, though.

[JaxDolphin]

Here's the post, you guys decide.

Good points all NYScott. Quite a challenge trying to follow your team from afar, huh? Heck, I'm only 350 miles away, you're like what, 1200? The trouble with freedom of speech is that is so frequently abused.
Speaking of football, I read that Wake is learning to play the run and the pass, that's good news.
From the Department of Redundancy Department, Jason Allen is said to be on the rebound again, or was that again?
Find a new rug for the practice bubble, good athletes are dropping like flies in that place, hmm...Nick Saban's revenge?
I like Wallace's chances to make the team, also saw an interview with him at miamidolphins.com, seems quite bright and articulate (a rarity) and I think he gets it. Keep catching that oblique spheroid kid and you'll go far.

Posted by: JaxDolphin | August 11, 2010 at 06:35 PM

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2010/08/sparano-explains-the-dilemma-caused-by-his-offense/comments/page/2/#comments#ixzz0wZCmRH21

[The Manegotts]

This guy should make the team. Turner had his chance.

[careercriminal]

Wallace has a much better chance of making it if he cal also excel on special team.

[MojoMark]

Mando,

This Wallace seems to be a stud in the rough but I wish you hadn't written this article about him. Now it will be more difficult to stash him on the practice squad. I don't see them cutting Turner. What about trading Camarillo?

[Oscar Ocana]

Saludos desde Panama Armando. Aca los Dolphins son unos de los equipos favoritos de los panamenos y por supuesto estamos complacidos por la posibilidad de que Roberto pueda hacer el equipo principal. Estaremos pegados al televisor esta noche y ojala el chico pueda hacer lo suficiente para ganarse ese quinto cupo de WR.

Oscar