hawaiiansteeler
07-22-2015, 04:28 PM
PRE-CAMP ANALYSIS: CBs
Bob Labriola
Steelers.com
http://www.steelers.com/assets/images/imported/PIT/photos/2014-Photos/2014_Article/06-June/Blake_61214_Article_2.jpg
The cornerback position will be one of the most scrutinized at this training camp.
It’s not to the same degree as Ben Roethlisberger, that’s for sure, but the Steelers’ success in 2015 definitely is tied to the performance they get from Cortez Allen. That’s right. A fifth-year cornerback prospect is going to have a lot to say about whether the Steelers improve upon a season that included both an AFC North Division championship and a one-and-done in the playoffs.
“I think Cortez enters the (2015) season where he left off (in 2014),” said General Manager Kevin Colbert back in February at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We have to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback. He showed signs of that in the past. He was productive in spurts for us in the past. Again, you invest in players you think can be good players.”
The Steelers invested in Allen last summer, and so far it has paid no dividends. After signing him to a five-year contract worth a reported $26 million, Allen started the season’s first seven games and contributed two interceptions and eight passes defensed in them. But over the course of those starts, his play was in decline, and after getting benched following the win over the Houston Texans on Oct. 20, Allen would injure his thumb against Tennessee on Nov. 17 and land on the injured reserve list.
And so it will be that the Steelers will look “to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback” – quite possibly for the final time, one way or another – starting with this 2015 training camp.
“I think we have to look at it realistically, and say this is where he is, this is where we need him to be,” said Colbert. “We are going to support him as he tries to get back to that spot.”
There will be support, but one reality of the NFL is that fifth-year players are expected to produce, or else. The Steelers doubled-down on Allen when the team elected to pay him a $3 million roster bonus in the spring of this year.
to read rest of article:
http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-CBs/c48040c1-e4b1-42a4-a1a4-8961bdac2d65
Bob Labriola
Steelers.com
http://www.steelers.com/assets/images/imported/PIT/photos/2014-Photos/2014_Article/06-June/Blake_61214_Article_2.jpg
The cornerback position will be one of the most scrutinized at this training camp.
It’s not to the same degree as Ben Roethlisberger, that’s for sure, but the Steelers’ success in 2015 definitely is tied to the performance they get from Cortez Allen. That’s right. A fifth-year cornerback prospect is going to have a lot to say about whether the Steelers improve upon a season that included both an AFC North Division championship and a one-and-done in the playoffs.
“I think Cortez enters the (2015) season where he left off (in 2014),” said General Manager Kevin Colbert back in February at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We have to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback. He showed signs of that in the past. He was productive in spurts for us in the past. Again, you invest in players you think can be good players.”
The Steelers invested in Allen last summer, and so far it has paid no dividends. After signing him to a five-year contract worth a reported $26 million, Allen started the season’s first seven games and contributed two interceptions and eight passes defensed in them. But over the course of those starts, his play was in decline, and after getting benched following the win over the Houston Texans on Oct. 20, Allen would injure his thumb against Tennessee on Nov. 17 and land on the injured reserve list.
And so it will be that the Steelers will look “to find out about Cortez and whether he can accept the challenge of being a starting NFL cornerback” – quite possibly for the final time, one way or another – starting with this 2015 training camp.
“I think we have to look at it realistically, and say this is where he is, this is where we need him to be,” said Colbert. “We are going to support him as he tries to get back to that spot.”
There will be support, but one reality of the NFL is that fifth-year players are expected to produce, or else. The Steelers doubled-down on Allen when the team elected to pay him a $3 million roster bonus in the spring of this year.
to read rest of article:
http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/PRE-CAMP-ANALYSIS-CBs/c48040c1-e4b1-42a4-a1a4-8961bdac2d65