Why I Still Believe in Cortez Allen

[SidSmythe]

I am all for benching Allen but i wouldn't throw him out in the trash just yet.

Allen is in position in terms of coverage ... he's playing the receiver but he's just not playing the ball.
I think teaching ball skills is easier to teach than coverage skills.

My concern is whether or not he has the mental toughness to overcome a big bump in the road.

[WindyCitySteel]

Why are we still teaching technique in year four?

[BowCatShot]

I am all for benching Allen but i wouldn't throw him out in the trash just yet.

Allen is in position in terms of coverage ... he's playing the receiver but he's just not playing the ball.
I think teaching ball skills is easier to teach than coverage skills.

My concern is whether or not he has the mental toughness to overcome a big bump in the road.

I agree with you on that. I'm friends with the pastor of the church that Cortez attends and he tells me that Mr. Allen has exceptionally high moral character. Those are exactly the kinds of individuals that we need on this team.

[WindyCitySteel]

I agree with you on that. I'm friends with the pastor of the church that Cortez attends and he tells me that Mr. Allen has exceptionally high moral character. Those are exactly the kinds of individuals that we need on this team.

Um, we need football players, not choir boys.

[Shoe]

Um, we need football players, not choir boys.

Yup.
I'm certainly not for the employ any sort of thug (Cincinnati Bengal) blueprint... and things being equal, I want good guys on our team. But if what the pastor says is true (exceptional guy), I have a feeling that the FO took extra stock into the guy's "exceptional" character, somewhat hoping he had more potential than he really did. He was often compared to Ike (as a mid-round guy from a small school), and I think people projected that onto him. I never saw him as the great athlete that Ike was... Allen was long, lanky, but didn't strike me as particularly quick, nifty, or explosive.

I agree that he can still become a productive, Deshea Townsend or Will Gay-level guy (nickel, 2nd CB type). The ship has sailed on him as a starring player in a defense though.

[Discipline of Steel]

Um, we need football players, not choir boys.

Um, either you forgot Ike's growing pains or you were still in Sunday school at the time.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Why are we still teaching technique in year four?

Coaches should still be teaching technique to guys like Harrison, Keisel, Troy, Heath, Ben, etc. Teaching technique doesn't magically stop after year one or two.

[Slapstick]

Especially after you come from The Citadel...

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

I'm flabbergasted and flummoxed how someone can be signed to a multi-million dollar position without having the skills to do their job at a minimal level. Shouldn't that be a no-brainer? There was truly nobody better in the NFL available?

[feltdizz]

These are the types of things you learn before getting a nice contract.

[WindyCitySteel]

I'm flabbergasted and flummoxed how someone can be signed to a multi-million dollar position without having the skills to do their job at a minimal level. Shouldn't that be a no-brainer? There was truly nobody better in the NFL available?

Exactly. He only knows the part about running with the receiver, and is clueless about what to do when the ball arrives?

[WindyCitySteel]

Coaches should still be teaching technique to guys like Harrison, Keisel, Troy, Heath, Ben, etc. Teaching technique doesn't magically stop after year one or two.

Don't count on it. Ever since Munchak took over the line the players have lauded him for teaching technique, something they apparently hadn't gotten to date.

[BowCatShot]

Um, we need football players, not choir boys.

I never said that he was a choir boy, just that he had exceptional moral character. Usually those kinds of guys can be coached.

[Slapstick]

Woodley regressed after signing a contract. Sometimes, you can't know. I still have hope for Allen.

[B&GinNC]

The deal they signed Allen to is solid CB 2 money on a second contract. It is market value. Given the ages of Ike and Gay and the fact that the other guys on the roster are basically street FA level talent, they had to make the deal.

That said, we saw on Sunday what the NFL has become - cover corners are devalued when they can't touch receivers. The key to playing defense in the NFL is pressure. If you can get pressure, it really is enough to have DBs who can run with receivers and make sure tackles to avoid the YAC situations. Spend the cash and the picks on the guys up front.