not really. He was playing a 3rd S role, like he did last year, with the primary responsibility being TE coverage. It's not the most complex role, and he's been asked to cover much more difficult receivers this year. i thought it was the right move for playing the Chargers, and would be the right move for the Broncos as well. However, i have my doubts about his ability to cover well, which is why i don't see him as a good CB option (more desperation than anything).
Allen to me isn't a good option at CB, he's an excellent tackler and would serve best against TEs. More than likely I think his ability to play safety has regressed due to the lack of experience this season. I think the Chargers game was the first time he lined up as a safety. Give Gates credit also, the guy carved up the Seahawks defense in tune of 3 TDs earlier in the season. Not every CB can play safety and I would say the same vice versa.
yes i tend to agree. I'm not going to get on Allen for his CB play, just like I'm not going to get on the coaches for playing him at CB. He was out of position there, but we were/are desperately thin at the position. I was a little disappointed at his S play last week though, as it was the role which should be his comfort zone. Maybe it was just some rust, and Gates can certainly still make plays. Big question is, what to do this week if Walls can't go? i think the gameplan of 6 DB's was the right approach against the Chargers, but we still got picked apart with shoddy coverage. Do we try it again against the Broncos, with Allen playing the 3rd S matched on Julius, and Adams starting at CB on Sanders? ugh, and that leaves Wilson on Welker. i think we do, although its not a great scenario, and the Broncos have the better match up at virtually every receiver position.
That, you have to put on Idzik - not only did you not look for a replacement when McDougle and Milliner went down - you potentially ruined the progression of a safety with a high ceiling. Rex needs to take the pressure off the CBs and run more zone. You have one of the better defensive lines in the league, you have to take advantage of that and let them go after the QB. I think Rex will use more zone this week, but his stubborn attitude will burn us at some point when he sends the kitchen sink at Peyton and he burns us for a TD. Playing man and blitzing all day against Peyton will be a nightmare match-up for the Jets.
Breaking News "Antonio Allen to stay at CB for the rest of the season, except when he is not." - Dennis Thurman
He got beat a couple times left alone inside against a 1st ballot HOF TE and now he's "regressed". That word has to be the most overused word on this board. He wasn't even really playing safety against SD; he was essentially a 3rd/4th CB playing man on Gates on certain packages. Without safety help or the boundary to serve as an extra defender, Gates was free to run anywhere he wanted. When you combine that with thin d-line rotation in 100 degrees heat and the way Rivers is surgically cutting up teams on the blitz this year, you get what you got on Sunday. Rivers and Gates lit the Seahawks secondary up too; have their safeties "regressed"?
Idzik put us in a very tenuous position at CB, with shaky starters and virtually no depth heading into the season. The injuries are no one's fault, but heading into the season with that type of depth is on Idzik..
He doesn't look like the same player as last year in my opinion. Hence my comment on regression. Allen played safety against the Chargers, let's not over complicate things here. Milliner and Walls started at CB. He gave up 2 TDs. Not exactly "beat" a couple of times - those are big plays.
By the way, check out the Chargers-Seahawks game again, he wasn't beating just safeties, Gates was beating linebackers also for TDs
Well I guess he's "regressed" until his next positive play in which he will back on the progress trail. You are right Milliner and Walls started at CB but Pryor and Landry also started at safety. Allen came in in a sub-package on passing down where he was following Gates where ever he happened to line-up. If you want to call that a 3rd safety rather than a 3rd/4th CB it's up to you. Either way he did not have the full responsibilities of a safety. Sorry that the truth is complicated. 2 TDs is exactly a couple of plays.
I saw the game not just the highlights he gave Kam and the LBs the business; the guy is just a tough cover. You have to give respect when it's due. They get paid on the other side too. Rex told the announcers the day before the game that he had planned to double Gates in the red zone. Hindsight says he should have stuck to that plan.
You said he came in as a 4th CB. I recommend getting your terminology right. And giving up 2 TDs means your doing a bad job it's not just a couple of plays. Those TDs were all the Chargers needed. He's regressed as a safety due all of his reps at CB. He was more effective last year battling Gronk.
There's nothing wrong with my terminology just your recollection. I said he was playing more of a "3rd/4th CB" role. 3rd or 4th depending if Wilson was in but all he did was cover Gates for the most part when he was in. Like it or not giving up 8 and 12 yard TD passes is still a couple of plays.
Not an Idzik screwup a Rex screwup. If you keep exposing your Dbs on 3rd downs to predictable and unsuccessful blitz packages that the entire league has figured out you will get burned. Plus how many times in the past 6 years has the bugaboo on poor coverage been lack of communication. The players are supposed to be coached up on this and know where to go and where their teammates are on the field. This is Football 101. But all we hear about is again when there is a breakdown; "lack of communication."
I think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. Making Manning uncomfortable with up the middle pressure is one approach. I think it's going to have to come from the front 4 though, as he'll make us pay leaving these shoddy CB's on an island. He also makes a living at reading Safeties. If you don't mask coverage, get too predictable and conservative leaving your safeties deep, he'll pick that apart with run audibles and underneath passes against our LBs and Kyle Wilson. He'll also look to pick on the inexperience of Pryor imo, and still find ways to hit receivers in single coverage, even with a more conservative Cover 2. Oddly enough, even tho our game plan was destroyed against San Diego, i think a similar one is in line here. I'd play Allen as a 3rd Safety again, and play a lot of 3 Safety Dime defenses. Last week on 3rd downs we rushed 4 or 5 around 90% of the time. It wasn't as blitz happy as many seem to think. This week however, i'd adjust to rushing only 4 more often. Where I'd send heat, would probably only be 5, with an ILB or S up the middle, and not that frequently. All in all, more DB's on the field. Keep the play in front of you, even if that means getting picked apart by Manning (its gonna happen anyway). Just try to slow them down, tackle efficiently and try to create turnover opportunities. The front 4 are going to have to be beasts, secondary will have to execute way better, and our offense will need long sustained drives to have any chance at this one. I don't like our odds.
