OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- In the offseason, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace acknowledged that he had lost "maybe just a step, a half a step" since his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It didn't look that way in the season opener when he burned the Buffalo Bills on a 66-yard touchdown catch.
Wallace's top speed was clocked at 22 miles per hour by ESPN's Sports Science. To put that in perspective, Wallace can cover 27 yards on a Joe Flacco pass that's in the air for 2.5 seconds.
In comparison, the fastest human footspeed on record is 27.8 mph, which was set by Usain Bolt at the 2009 World Championships.
Sports Science made the point that Wallace's speed could factor into Sunday's game against the Browns. Cleveland safeties Jordan Poyer and Ibraheim Campbell can cover 25.5 yards over that time, which means Wallace theoretically can get behind them by over a yard.
Wallace hasn't fared well against the Browns. He has one career 100-yard receiving game against the Browns in eight career games. He’s been held to 35 yards receiving combined in the past three games against Cleveland.
But this matchup has the potential to be different for Wallace, especially if he can get behind the defense like he did in Week 1. The Browns allowed 16 passes of 40 or more yards last season. Only the New Orleans Saints gave up more.
