Jason Allen is an athlete that has had a CRAPPY situation. he may have some limitations that have made his situation worse, but the reality is that he has been the victim of 'experimentation'.

Saban drafted him as a Safety, got caught in an injury plague to our Corners and changed him to Corner, and then back to Safety.

Cameron had him at corner, then when there was a ridiculous injury plague to the safety position he was tried there.

As a safety he was an impressive tackler, but frequently made the wrong read/call in coverages.

He was good enough at safety; however, that Sparano/Parcells had him there throughout training camp. After training camp they switched him back to corner, and late in the season he came in for Will Allen and played quite well.

He has never had one position from off-season, through training camp, and through the season. What does THAT do for development? Not to mention 2 different systems.

This training camp will be the first time he competes for a starting job at the same position he trained for the year before. He may never be a Patrick Surtain or Champ Bailey...but he should be a solid starter that compliments Will Allen.

I certainly hope so. I suspect he will be given the opportunity.

If he DOES win the starting job, will our corners need a nickname? The "Blackwood Bros" were actually brothers, but Will and Jason Allen aren't. Does the "Allen Bros" make any sense?

How many excuses can you make for the guy?

It is hardly out of the norm for a DB to get moved around.

He's not an impact player - plain and simple.

I don't think I made that many excuses.

It is common for DB's to get moved from nickel, to dime, to corner, but typically the move to safety is a permanent one.

Can you name any of these common positional bounces you refferred to? I don't mean an old corner becoming safety, or a 1 time permamanet switch, but you know the back and forth switch within a season of a STARTER that you say is so common.


I could see if we are talking about Ginn who has been developed for 2 seasons as a WR ( and even he has the whole PR/KR stuff impacting his development). But I don't think the explanation offered for his slow development represents a large number of excuses.


Are you refuting the facts and their impact? Are you saying that those conditions would not impact a player's development?

This is eerily similar to another 1st-round coaching snafu - Vernon Carey. They take a player who demonstrates some flexibility (which is a good thing in and of itself) in college. Then - at the point when the most development of an NFL player occurs - they introduce additional complexity by switching up the player's position multiple times rather then letting them learn and get comfortable at one position while dealing with the rest of the transitional issues from college to the NFL. Even if a player has the aptitude and experience to play multiple positions, I think it's utterly stupid to jerk them around in their rookie year.

However, if you believe in last chances, this is it for JAllen. There's a lot to like about him, but he has not established himself in several opportunities spite of the difficult circumstances listed above. If he can't be a starting corner for us this year, then I don't think he can be a player (other than a high-priced ST or backup D for us. With Bell and Wilson, there's really not much of an opportunity for him to move back into a starting safety position with us.

I agree that shifting positions has influnced Allen's development. I liked what I saw of him at CB last year and am looking forward to seeing how much he will contribute this year. I think he will pan out for us.

It will be his 4th year on a 6 year contract. The good part is the size he brings. We would have 2 safeties over 6' and 200 lbs and a corner over 6' and 200 lbs. If he can step up and we can draft Sean Smith, we would have a huge intimidating secondary to match up with the likes of Moss and T.O. I agree, this is his last chance...which he may not get if we draft a CB high.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I like the way he hits, I just think he doesn't think fast, and thus gets torched by a good receiver.

I think we are going to need an upgrade, but would be happy to see JA actually come of age and win the position with an improved sense for the game.

All the same I think we need to think CB in the draft for the future.

true....WA is in his last year under contract and he is getting worse.

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers