Allen impresses Steelers coaches
Marcus Allen may or may not be asked to make his second career NFLstart Monday. But coaches are saying good things about his performance in his first for the Steelers.
“Can’t say enough,” head coach Mike Tomlin said, “about a guy like Marcus Allen, who’s new to the position, who’s new to the number of snaps he had and getting the type of effort that we got from him.”
The Steelers had no choice but to turn to Allen to start alongside Avery Williamson as the primary inside linebackers deployed during Sunday’s road game at the Bills.
A safety by trade who was moved to the linebackers position room in August, Allen started in place of Vince Williams, who after an apparent positive coronavirus test was on the reserve/covid-19 list.
The Steelers also are down Devin Bush (torn ACL) and Robert Spillance (knee) at the position, meaning Allen’s status as the No. 5 option at inside linebacker still left him as being counted on to play 75% of the defensive snaps against Buffalo.
Allen was second on the team in tackles with eight (five solo, one for loss). According to Pro Football Focus, Allen had one QB hurry, one missed tackle and allowed two catches for eight yards while in coverage against the Bills.
“He does a good job for us,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “He’s does what we ask him to do. He will get better with time because it will be easier for him mentally in the things we ask him to do. He’ll know what we expect of him a little bit more. He’s got to put that time in it to determine if he’s a better linebacker or a better defensive back.”
Butler would not commit to Allen’s position switch being permanent, noting that Allen at 205 pounds is a “tweener.”
“He’s having to play that linebacker position right now, and that doesn’t concern mebecause he is a physical guy,” Fichtner said. “He likes to hit. He runs very well. The thing he has to do is make sure he knows what he is doing in terms of possibilities mentally. I think at times he can get lost a little bit, but for the most part he knows what he is doing.
“There are just a couple little things that give him problems sometimes. I’m pleased with his progress. I think he’s going to be a good player for us.”
A four-year starter at strong safety for Penn State, Allen was a 2018 fifth-round pick who appeared in only three regular-season games his first two seasons. He entered Sunday with 78 defense snaps for his career. Allen even spent a large portion of last season on the practice squad, but he has appeared in all 12 games in 2020, appearing in almost half of the Steelers’ specialteams snaps and playing at least some on defense during each of the past seven games.