Cortez Allen

[steelerkeylargo]

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

[feltdizz]

Re: Cortez Allen

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

Who do you think is on the chopping block given 2 more CB's just being drafted?

[steelerkeylargo]

Re: Cortez Allen

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

Who do you think is on the chopping block given 2 more CB's just being drafted?

I think they move Keenan Lewis to Safety.

Mundy and Maddison probably go.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Re: Cortez Allen

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

Who do you think is on the chopping block given 2 more CB's just being drafted?

I think they move Keenan Lewis to Safety.

Mundy and Maddison probably go.

Madison shouldn't be needed, now that we have Curtis Brown. I don't know about Lewis playing safety. Bonehead would likely be Anthony Smith revisited. I think Lewis is gone.

[NJ-STEELER]

Re: Cortez Allen

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

Who do you think is on the chopping block given 2 more CB's just being drafted?

madison and gay?

[papillon]

Re: Cortez Allen

Madison, Gay, Lewis, Butler, Mcfadden...pick two

Pappy

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Cortez Allen

I heard Tomlin get interviewed on ESPN and when asked about the Cortez Allen selection Tomlin answered," We were intrigued by his height/weight/speed measurables combination".

[insanesteelersfan]

Re: Cortez Allen

I heard Tomlin get interviewed on ESPN and when asked about the Cortez Allen selection Tomlin answered," We were intrigued by his height/weight/speed measurables combination".

Well I hope it was more then just that. Otherwise why not draft Robert Sands as well

[steelblood]

Re: Cortez Allen

On the chopping block?

Madison, Gay, and Taylor aren't even on the team. They are all UFAs. Perhaps Gay be a RFA depending on the CBA, but MAdison is likely gone as Brown is a capable gunner and has much better coverage skills.

Right now our corners are

Lewis
Butler
McFadden
Corez Allen
Curtis Brown
and some camp fodder (Donovan Warren, Tuft Harris, etc.)

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Cortez Allen

welp. Definitely a name a few of us have talked about. I really have only seen him when I spent the week in Orlando for the East-West game. This is definitely a Dan Rooney (the scout) pick as this is his area of the country. Allen is our typical body-type prospect. I will say that he looked like he belonged in Orlando but has raw skills. I was talking with Chad Reuter of CBS sports about him, Chad likened him a little bit to Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie. I was really hoping for Carmichael here (damn Texas). I like the pick but I would say this was not a pick where the Steelers stuck to their board.

Who do you think is on the chopping block given 2 more CB's just being drafted?

I think they move Keenan Lewis to Safety.

Mundy and Maddison probably go.

I think Mundy has shown more than Will Allen at safety (which surprised me).

Hopefully some of these rooks can contribute on special teams immediately, because several of the guy on our roster that played ST almost exclusively could be gone next year (Arnaz Battle, Will Allen, Anthony Madison, Keyaron Fox).

[Shawn]

Re: Cortez Allen

On the chopping block?

Madison, Gay, and Taylor aren't even on the team. They are all UFAs. Perhaps Gay be a RFA depending on the CBA, but MAdison is likely gone as Brown is a capable gunner and has much better coverage skills.

Right now our corners are

Lewis
Butler
McFadden
Corez Allen
Curtis Brown
and some camp fodder (Donovan Warren, Tuft Harris, etc.)

Does this scare anyone else but myself?

[steelblood]

Re: Cortez Allen

On the chopping block?

Madison, Gay, and Taylor aren't even on the team. They are all UFAs. Perhaps Gay be a RFA depending on the CBA, but MAdison is likely gone as Brown is a capable gunner and has much better coverage skills.

Right now our corners are

Lewis
Butler
McFadden
Corez Allen
Curtis Brown
and some camp fodder (Donovan Warren, Tuft Harris, etc.)

Does this scare anyone else but myself?

The above is how I reacted to Shawn's post.

[Shawn]

Re: Cortez Allen

I hear ya blood. We can not field a winning team with those guys as our DBs. We might...just might be able to eek out 10 wins against a soft schedule. But, I wouldn't expect one playoff win with those guys. While I will agree with Chadman, a healthy McFadden isn't as bad as some make him out to be...McFadden being far and away the Steelers best DB is sad.

We must sign a good FA...and with the market how will that happen?

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Cortez Allen

Steelers' Allen takes unique path to pros

Posted June 04, 2011
By Mike Wilkening



Steelers rookie CB Cortez Allen played collegiately at The Citadel, the Charleston, S.C. military academy where about a third of its graduating students will go on to serve in various branches of the armed services.

Allen is going on to a different professional career, but his Citadel experience sticks with him as he prepares for the NFL.

"I guess the best thing (is) I've learned how to put in the extra work to be successful," he told PFW. "Nothing is really given to you."

Allen, the Steelers' fourth-round pick, did not play varsity football until his senior year at North Marion High School in Ocala, Fla. He missed his freshman year with a groin injury. As a sophomore, told to pick one sport by his father, he chose basketball. As a junior, he finally chose football, but he was placed on the junior varsity.

That's not a well-worn path to take to be noticed by collegiate coaches, but Allen played well enough as a senior to draw interest from a handful of schools, most notably Cincinnati. But The Citadel, and the belief that the academy would give him a chance to be "set up for life," was his choice.

The 6-1¼, 197-pound Allen played sparingly as a true freshman in 2006, then missed the '07 season with an ACL tear suffered playing basketball. However, he returned in '08 to become a part-time starter, then entered the lineup full time in his final two collegiate seasons, intercepting three passes in '09 and two in 2010.

With the Steelers, whom he visited before the draft, he'll have no shortage of good teachers. His position coach, Carnell Lake, was a standout Steelers defensive back. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is a Hall of Fame cornerback. Head coach Mike Tomlin made his name early in his career as a defensive backs coach. Allen also cited veteran CB Ike Taylor as someone who can teach him.

"There's just so many avenues to learn from, which is a great opportunity for me," Allen said.

Allen's relative inexperience could be an asset, Lake said during the draft.

"That is the beauty of this pick," Lake said. "He played one year of high school football and moved around a little bit, playing the corner at The Citadel. The Citadel is not a 'football factory.' A lot of the work that he gets is very limited in terms of football.

"I asked him when he came to visit us, 'How much time do you get to work on your craft(?)' He said, 'I don't get a lot of time because I have to do The Citadel stuff.'

"So I said, this guy is really playing well, and he's not working on his craft that much because of his limited time. If he can spend a lot of time working on his craft, I see a lot of upside for him. I think that is one of the reasons why we selected him."

Allen said that during football season, he was excused from military drills on Tuesday and Thursday, but a normal day would have him waking at 6:30 a.m., getting into his cadet uniform and marching to breakfast. Then it was off to class. After practice and mandatory study hall, his day wouldn't be over until 10 p.m.

Allen, who said his range and press coverage are two of his top skills, is working out at The Citadel with the Bulldogs' CB coach, Gerald Dixon, who played with the Lions and Bills from 2002-04. Dixon has told Allen that special teams will be key to him contributing early and that "you have to keep that motor going at all times," Allen said.

Allen, a team captain, said he made sure to get in extra on-field work at The Citadel and believes he can handle the transition to the NFL level. He anticipates being used outside in the Steelers' scheme.

"I feel pretty good, confident, in my ability to play off(-man) and on(-man) (coverage) right now," he said.

[url="http://burgh.us/55q"]http://burgh.us/55q[/url]

[steelz09]

Re: Cortez Allen

Madison, Gay, Lewis, Butler, Mcfadden...pick two

Pappy

Out of that list, I'd pick Madison and Gay