Steelers Film Room: Underrated Steelers: Cortez Allen
By Nick Kelly
Final Thoughts
On October 30th, 2011, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the New England Patriots, who the Steelers had only beaten a handful of times in the past decade. The Patriots had often gotten the better of the Steelers, beating Dick Lebeau’s zone blitz scheme. This all changed on this cold fall afternoon. The year before, the Patriots rookie tight end, Rob Gronkowski demolished corner William Gay for 3 touchdowns, leading the Patriots to a 39-26 victory. I saw how dominant Gronkowski was first hand, since I was at the game.
Dec 2, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) cannot hold onto a pass in the end zone while defended by Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen (28) at M
I saw how scary and game changing Gronkowski could be. I knew, the Steelers knew, and the rest of the league found out soon enough in 2011 when he scored 17 touchdowns. None of those 17 came against the Steelers, for one reason, and one reason only: Cortez Allen. As I stated before, you are lucky to get on the field at all as a Steelers defensive rookie, other than special teams. The fact that the Steelers put their secret weapon Cortez Allen on one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league shows the confidence that they had in his ability to take Gronkowski out of the game. Due to his smarts, ball hawking ability, and his physicality, Cortez Allen was able to shut down Gronkowski, leading the Steelers to victory.
While Cortez Allen may not have been well-known when he came into the league, I can assure you everyone across the NFL will know the name Cortez Allen soon enough.
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