December 24, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace (17) reacts after a pass reception to the one yard line against the St. Louis Rams during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 27-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Just when things couldn’t get any more precarious as far as the relationship between the Steelers and Mike Wallace, he has formally made the decision to no-show at camp, having failed to check in by 3PM and take part in coach Tomlin’s conditioning test. The worst part about it is the total silence from Wallace, who has given so little indication of what is to come for him that some even thought a deal was going to happen imminently.

Given that Ward is another character giving the Steelers cause for stress, they must be at the point where they’re considering pursuing other players instead. Rather than voice their enthusiasm for him despite the no show, they had the following to say, something that’ll register as an “oh no” moment for anyone from Wallace himself (if he is even interested in the Steelers anymore) to those who check out the odd game between OnlinePoker.com study sessions:

“Obviously, we have a desire for him to be here,” Tomlin said. “We want him to be part of this thing, both short-term and long-term. We’ve been in negotiations with him. He’s not here today. That’s unfortunate for him.”

Unfortunate for Wallace rather than the Steelers sounds like a less-than-subtle hint about how they feel right now. However, Jerricho Cotchery, long-time receiver, feels positive that things can be sorted out. “He’s the lead dog. So, when he comes in, I’m pretty sure there’ll be a lot of time set aside for him to get up to speed. We’re not worried about that. Whenever Mike gets here, he’ll be ready to roll.”

Whether he ever will be ready to roll with the Steelers isn’t clear, but Tomlin is passionate about Wallace being part of something greater, which should hopefully motivate him to take part: “I want the player here. One thing experience has taught me is this is bigger than all of us. It’s bigger than Mike, it’s bigger than me. So I mean that when I say it’s unfortunate for him that he’s not here.”

The St. Louis Rams have taken an undeniable step back after looking like a team of the future last year. The Rams lost their first 6 games and failed to get the money as well in all 6 of their sports betting matchups. Sam Bradford is struggling but the entire team has simply regressed. Coach Steve Spagnuolo is beginning to feel the heat and the Rams have shown no signs of coming out of their funk.

Miami head coach Tony Sparano went through the humiliation of his bosses openly flirting with Jim Harbaugh last January only to be allowed to stay because Harbaugh rejected the Fish out of hand. Sparano may wish he was whacked as he is also 0-6 and his team has yet to get a win.

The Indianapolis Colts have been a disgrace so far this season as they have made little effort to play hard or smart without their quarterback, Peyton Manning, who is out after neck surgery. The Colts have a record of 0-7 straight up after a 62-7 debacle on NBC Sunday Night Football that should have had advertisers demanding a refund.

San Francisco has been a great story under Harbaugh with their mark of 5-1 straight up and 5-0-1 against the odds. Playing in the horrible NFC West almost assures a playoff spot for the Niners as there is not much to like about Seattle, Arizona or St. Louis.

The Cincinnati Bengals are also an outstanding surprise as they have responded to rookie quarterback Andy Dalton to go 4-2 straight up. The Bengals were written off for dead but are now taken seriously in the very tough NFC North.

The Carolina Panthers have been one of the best values even though they are just 2-5 straight up because rookie quarterback sensation Cam Newton has kept them in every game.