Jason Allen's unfortunate twist
The Dolphins drafted Jason Allen in the first round because they loved his ability to play SAFETY.
They believed him capable of roaming and covering and hitting and being something of an insurance policy against big plays back there.
Everyone in the Dolphins organization wants Allen to live up to those expectations and I think eventually he will. But right now, the guy's attempt at reaching that potential is being sidetracked.
Because the Dolphins are so short at cornerback, Allen has spent his second week of practice at the cornerback spot. He hasn't gotten any significant snaps at safety that I've seen.
And I watch every practice.
I understand the need at CB, but the question has to be asked: Is Miami's short-term need at CB greater than the long-term goal of getting him in the starting lineup as the free safety?
Personally, I think the situation stinks but it speaks to Miami's veiled concerns that Travis Daniels may not be ready for the start of the season.
What do you think?
They believed him capable of roaming and covering and hitting and being something of an insurance policy against big plays back there.
Everyone in the Dolphins organization wants Allen to live up to those expectations and I think eventually he will. But right now, the guy's attempt at reaching that potential is being sidetracked.
Because the Dolphins are so short at cornerback, Allen has spent his second week of practice at the cornerback spot. He hasn't gotten any significant snaps at safety that I've seen.
And I watch every practice.
I understand the need at CB, but the question has to be asked: Is Miami's short-term need at CB greater than the long-term goal of getting him in the starting lineup as the free safety?
Personally, I think the situation stinks but it speaks to Miami's veiled concerns that Travis Daniels may not be ready for the start of the season.
What do you think?
posted by Armando Salguero at 9:57 PM
Get our feeds
23 Comments:
His versatility was one of the reasons he was drafted so high. I think Saban and the coaching staff would agree that it sucks for him to have to do this so soon - and that it might slow his growth at safety. On the other hand, it will speed up his training to play either position when called upon, which is eventually where they want him.
honestly i think we are really in bad shape at corner, we dont have a dominat corner and the others are half decent
Hey, didn't Ronaldo Hill play some Corner last year with the Raiders? Why not put him at CB, since you got guys like Deeke Cooper and Yerimiah Bell that can step in and let Jason Allen develope more? I'm not too concerned though, It's only the second preseason game, Pittsburg is still 3 weeks away. They'll be ready to go
I think the patriots won a superbowl because they had players (troy brown among others) who were willing to play at positions they were not ever intended to. Sure, it would be good if the phins had the depth at corner that would allow Allen to stick with learning safety but if you always look to the future then it ends up being "jam yesterday and jam tomorrow but never jam today".
--funkyj
This was all very predictable when Allen was late coming in. Especially for a rookie, being successful is about being prepared. Allen isn't and, so, his rookie season is going to be one of ups and downs. Wayne Huizenga was right to be concerned about getting him into camp on time. The front office dropped the ball (again).
His versatility was one of the biggest reason why the Phins drafted Jason. Obviously you would like to see him get the reps at safety, because that is going to be his position with Miami. But with the injuries that have occured, it nice to have a guy that has the ability to fill in at corner from time to time as well.
What if he turns out to be a great corner? He'll never go back to safety, no matter how you drafted him. That's the main point, if he can play well at corner or not.
A great front 7 will make any bunch of clowns in the secondary look good - lets just hope for that.
Otherwise we are in deep trouble.
These guys are awful...
IN NICK WE TRUST....
Could be worse. Its all about the start of the season and thats little under a month away so there is a cusion to prepare players. Think they regret getting rid of Pat and Sam yet?
I think he needs to completely learn the defense in one position before changing. Someone mentioned the Pats and Troy Brown, he has been in the league for years and his learning the CB position did not hamper his offense. It seems like it would be difficult for any rookie to learn one position , much less two in this complicated offense. We all saw the Fins secondary get beat for big plays multiple times by the Jags and that is what Allen was supposed to help as a safety.
That being said, so far Saban has not given anyone a great reason to question him . . .
There's nothing unfortunate about this situation. Jason Allen's versatility was one of his attractive qualities coming out of Tennesee. Learning cornerback will only further his overall understanding of the secondary's schemes. Part of being a great free saftey is knowing everybody's responsibilities, and getting some time at corner will help long term.
I hope Saban can fix the problems at the corner spot,, The Jaguars are not a great offensive team and they were able to passed for 350+ yards.. As for Jason Allen I think they should use his versatility to put him around the field with some plays at corner and use him at safety.
Worried....isn't safety where corners go to die. Remember Rod Woodson. Maybe he can play better at corner right now than he did at safety against Jax.
MIAMI HAS TWO VETERANS CORNERS IN ALLEN AND GOODMAN WHO ARE HEALTHY, JASON ALLEN WAS NOT IN THE GAME WHEN MIAMI DOMINATED THE JAQUARS IN the FIRST QUARTER WHICH MEANS THE SAFETIES THEY HAVE ARE NOT BAD. JASON COULD END UP A BETTER CORNER THAN SAFETY. Players can sometimes BE MORE EFFECTIVE at another position IN THE PROS than the position they played in college (marcus vick, for example) it happens in the pros all the time. linebackers becoming strong safeties, q.b becoming running backs, many tight ends now play the dual role of fullback. get in where you can fit in. if you got sam madison and surtain like corners, you can make do with average safties.
i believe the dolphins will keep 6 wrs this year. after signing dan wilkinson, coach saban stated they would keep only 9 defensive linemen, mainly because as he said, wilkinson can play mutiple defensive line rolls, last year the dolphins kept 10 linemen, this will free up a spot for vick to make the team.
the fate of the miami dolphins this year resides in the return to form of daunte culpepper and the stability of health of zach thomas and jason taylor, not in the impact of a rookie safety and what position he plays, let's not get sidetracked.
I think he needs time to learn cb in the NFL, better to make these mistakes in the preseason. He has looked less like a 1st rounder but lets see how he reacts to getting burnt by a guy who is likely to be #5 on the depth chart for Tampa Bay. Nick Saban didnt look to happy with his coverage!
The dolphins will play him where they most need him right now...alot or most of the time players play different positions than in college..
So he was late getting into camp. Why, because we needed to cram a 6 year deal down his throat. His missing camp will pay off later.
The situation is dire at corner - that's what the Dolphins are saying. To take a college Safety and turn him into a Pro Corner is - to put it mildly - a reach. The situation is one of necessity, but it's a questionable invention.
Is Jeff Zgoninia on the trading block.
I plan on reading this newspaper every week. I am a Minnesota Viking fan and I can not wait to read what Dolphin fans have to say by the end of the season about Dante Culpepper. I can tell you everyone in Minnesota couldn't believe that a team was desperate enough to trade for this guy. We just assumed he would be cut at the end of last season. I don't want to sound like a hater but if you just look at some game films of this guy you will see he cannot read a defense and I am afraid Miami has made a terrible mistake with Duante. I hope for your sake we are wrong but he has been absolutely horrible since Randy Moss's departure.
Good Luck!
Post a Comment
<< Home