Mike Wallace was bound to experience some backlash from his preseason holdout.
The wide receiver hasn't exactly been thrilled with Todd Haley's new offense and the Pittsburgh Steelers' emphasis on shorter routes and quick passes. Wallace has tried to adapt to the new style, but he has been plagued by six dropped passes -- and he's starting to hear it from Steelers fans.
"I made the bed, I'll lie in it," Wallace said Wednesday, via The Associated Press. "Anything I do is going to be magnified, good, bad, it doesn't really matter.
"I've just got to do what I need to do, and I don't give anybody a reason to say anything. Whatever happens, I take full responsibility for it."
Wallace is on pace to match his career high of 72 receptions and needs to find the end zone only once more to better his 2011 total of eight touchdowns. The yardage, however, is way down, and Wallace likely will miss 1,000 yards for the first time since 2009, his rookie season.
Last week, Wallace talked about losing focus during games when the ball isn't coming his way.
"When you're not getting the ball into the games, sometime you might get a little frustrated and lose focus in the game, not on the game, but sometimes you get mentally not focused on the things you always need to be focused on," Wallace said Wednesday.
Wallace still has plenty of chances to prove himself, but you can't help but wonder how the Steelers' front office views his season. Wallace signed a one-year restricted free-agent deal for $2.7 million to end his holdout. The Steelers wouldn't give him the long-term lucrative contract he desired. Will they now? The Steelers didn't want to give up Vincent Jackson-type money (five years, $55 million). Will another team when Wallace is an unrestricted free agent?
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
