Will Allen is considered to be a good to VG CB. I would put him somewhere around the middle of the League. He is going to make $5.4M this year, if we keep him. Nate Jones played well for us, and is an UFA. We wanted to re-sign him but, had no luck in the contract offered. We have Davis and Smith. Most agree both will be special, myself included. The good has far out-weighed the bad for a couple of rookies. Should we keep Allen to battle for a starter's job? Keep him to replace Jones? Move him to FS? Trade him? Jones deal is predicated on what you think we should do with Allen. Opinions?
5.4 mil is a heavy hit, but worth it. i think we should keep allen. he will press smith and davis for time, jones won't. that could be a great three way battle with the 'loser' providing great nickel coverage and still be on the field a majority of time with the pass first league we are in now. my only hesitation is how severe was his injury and where is he in his rehab?
I read that Allen will be back to 100%, and tend to agree with you. Good CB's are as hard to find as good QB's. IF, HUGE IF, we can fill in the MONSTER holes at LB, I could see all three on the field together a lot. Getting our best on the field will be a challenge for our new DC. Maybe we come up with a "Cat Back."
Good thought. A poster, on another forum, thought the same. He likened Allen to Troy Vincent, who moved from CB to FS and made the Pro Bowl.
Allen is not the hitter Troy was, although TV would never be confused with a hard hitter, he would at least hit and wrap up. Will is strictly a finess tackler, I don't think he would work at FS..I say resign both. Will and Nate are both very good inside, and Will can play well outside as well, so he's a must to keep. I know one thing if we decide to let Nate go, we better bring in a inside guy cuz Jason Allen is one of the worst I've ever seen inside. He's bad outside, but apsolutely the worst inside, so we can not count on him being the #4 guy. Vontae and Sean are both outside guys.
I like the idea if we add in surrounding talent. I am not down, as most, on Wilson. He missed tackles and had a fair at best year. However, I saw him covering, on MANY plays, receivers who were not his responsibility, as well as doubling to help our rookie CB's. Add in a new team, a new system, and I want to see him this year. He has never showed so badly.
True story. Can Allen adapt? Don't know. I do know that he would be a big upgrade in coverage. Davis would be a natural choice at FS. After seeing his potential at CB, in no way would I make that move. At least, not for another 7-8 years.
Have Will Allen challenge the sophomores in camp. If he's better start him. Either way have him come in and cover the slot receiver in the nickel package. Instant upgrade in coverage. If we can just figure out how to cover the TE with a better safety or linebacker and improvement from the sophomores the pass defense could be nasty.
If we have an uncapped year, I can see them letting Allen go, remember he just signed an extension last year. If not, I see him staying. Jones is another story. While he was one of the more productive players on the D, I don't see that being tied into what we do with Allen. The key for Allen is two-fold....1) is the injury going to be an issue going forward and 2) what is the uncapped year going to do for players in Allen's position...We've got a couple of keepers in Smith and Davis. Allen is under contract and getting rid of him would probably be a big hit, but the uncapped situation makes it a viable option. The same can be said for Crowder, Fergy, Porter, Anderson, Torbor, Fasano, Ayodele, Carey, etc...all veteran guys still under contract who haven't lived up to their billing so far. Personally, I see Crowder and Carey safe...everyone else is up for grabs...
Mike Nolan would blitz from the beer guy from the 4th row if he had a good angle and Jones is the best blitzer in the secondary.....he should IMO be resigned....Allen needs to be renegotiated coming off injury with an incentive laden deal or move on....IMHO.
Troy was bigger then Allen. We keep everyone and let them fight it out in camp. W.Allen could very well take his starting spot back, he was playing very very well. We need Clemons to take over at FS and move Wilson to SS.
I got the TE covered. Line up Wake on the TE, let him nail him at the line, and release him to coverage, and go after the QB.