It’s no secret that cornerback Cortez Allen was one of the most disappointing players to wear a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform in 2014.
But with training camp starting in Latrobe, there may be no player worth monitoring more throughout the preseason than Allen.
Make no mistake about it, the Steelers must have Allen back to his 2013 form. If he doesn’t live up to the confidence the Steelers showed in him that earned Allen a lengthy contract, the Steelers secondary becomes that much thinner.
The fans won’t be the only ones with a close eye on Allen’s performance during camp, Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert will certainly be watching with a close eye.
“We don’t know if last year was a flub,” Colbert told “The Fan Morning Show” on Monday “[Allen] did some really good things in his first and second seasons, and that’s why we were very comfortable in rewarding him with a contract that would keep him here for a period of time. He had a rough preseason, and he lost his confidence. And it’s something that if he regains that confidence… it’s kind of a wait-and-see. He knows it. We’ve talked about it, we talk about it openly.”
“It’s very similar to what Ike Taylor went through… some of Ike’s struggles when he was younger. He reached a point where he lost his confidence, lost his starting job, got it back, and ended up having a nice career. So, we’re confident that Cortez will put the work in to try to get back to that form, but again, it has to happen on the field for us to regain the confidence in him.”
While the Steelers have yet to put the pads on, Allen has started out camp with flashes of both the guy from 2014 and the guy from 2013.
On Sunday he was torched by some of the Steelers top receivers, most notably Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. But on Monday Allen responded with a red zone interception.
None of that means much without the pads on, but it goes to show that Allen must become more consistent.
And he knows it.
To his credit Allen isn’t hiding from what happened to him a season ago.
“It’s a little bit frustrating, a little bit disappointing,” Allen said. “But it’s part of what we do. There’s going to be ups and downs. It’s how you attack those situations as far as your perspective on it. There’s always room for improvement. You take that and learn from it and keep going.”
The Steelers need Allen to bounce back. At 6-foot tall he is the Steelers biggest corner and he is one of their more athletic ones.
As camp progresses, perhaps no Steelers player will be more heavily scrutinized than the fifth-year corner, as many feel Allen has to prove he is worthy of the five-year, $26 million contract extension he received last summer.
We will find out in the upcoming weeks which player Allen truly is.
“I’ve never worried about whether I can do it or not,” Allen said. “I’ve done it before and proven that I can make plays. I’ve made plays, I just have to do it. Stay healthy and do it.”
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
