December 2, 2012;Baltimore, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen (28) breaks up a pass intended for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) at M

When defensive players are drafted by the Steelers, they have to be pretty good to see the field, much less start. For corners in the Dick Lebeau system, they often do not start until their third season, if at all. Keenan Lewis didn’t start until his 4th season, barely contributing as the 3rd corner until 2011. It takes a special player to contribute as a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers for at least 3 years, even Ike Taylor, a staple in the Steelers secondary, didn’t make major contributions until his 3rd season.

A little more than 2 years ago, the Steelers drafted Cortez Allen, a 6’1 196 lb corner out of The Citadel. Allen was seen as a project, but the Steelers knew that this “project” could turn into a product with a little coaching. Last summer, Ike Taylor was quoted saying that Cortez Allen could be “way better than me.” Between being in the same defensive backs room, to Allen working out with Ike during the offseason, Ike Taylor would know better than anyone what Allen is capable of.

Does Cortez Allen’s play on the field support Ike Taylor’s claim? I decided to break down Cortez Allen’s film after his first two seasons in the NFL, because as they say “the eye in the sky will never lie.”

September 16, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau (center) talks to the Steelers defensive backs on the sideline against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past several seasons, the Steelers defense has often been criticized for their old age. Yet each year they finish in the top 5 in overall defense. This offseason, the Steelers continued saying goodbye to their elder defenseman. Earlier on, they said goodbye to James Harrison, due to his large salary that they couldn’t afford. While they did not technically cut Casey Hampton, they sealed his fate when they signed Steve McLendon to a three-year deal a few weeks back.

The Steelers have been known to find young talent to supplant their elder defenseman, so here is the predicted Steelers defensive starters for the 2013 season.

Touchdown! Ben to Plax, just like old times. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned In Week 17 in the NFL

• Playoff spots won and lost in final games
• Coaches ready to clean out their offices
• The NFL is foaming at the mouth for a possible Manning vs. Brady playoff matchup
• Steelers end the season with a win at home over the Browns

We had such high hopes for this season, didn’t we Steeler Nation?  We have high hopes for every season, honestly.  Every year it’s either Super Bowl or bust but sometimes things just don’t go the way they’re supposed to and what you’re left with is something Steeler fans aren’t used to; knowing going into the game that it’s the last game of the season.  The Steelers handled the Browns at home for their last outing as the 2012 Steelers but before we review the game, let’s take some cheap shots.

The AFC playoff teams had all already clinched last weekend but the seedings weren’t set until after this Sunday.  The Broncos and Patriots managed to clinch the top two seeds and first-round byes while the Texans slipped all the way down to the #3 spot and will face the Bengals in the Wild Card game.  The Ratbirds claimed the #4 spot and will welcome the emotional Colts in their Wild Card matchup next weekend.  The Bengals were able to take down the Steelers and Ravens for the first time in Andy Dalton’s and AJ Green’s career thanks to the Ravens laying down most of the game yesterday.

The NFC playoff spots were up for grabs yesterday and even though the Giants destroyed the Eagles in their matchup, they didn’t get the help they needed to clinch and will be the first defending Super Bowl Champions to miss the playoffs since the 2009 Steelers.  The Bears were unable to get the help they needed and Jay Cutler’s bitter beer face will have to continue a little bit longer.  The Vikings behind Adrian Peterson’s amazing season where he fell just 9 yards short of passing Eric Dickerson’s record will face the Packers in the Wild Card round while the Redskins who’s gamble on trading everything for RGIII certainly paid off as they claimed the NFC East crown and will face the Seahawks in the Wild Card round.  It will be up to the Falcons to shake their history of playoff choking as they secured the #1 overall seed and home field advantage.

The Monday following Week 17 is usually the day where NFL coaches all over the league get served their walking papers.  The Andy Reid era is officially over in Philly and apparently the Jets ownership decided to make GM Mike Tannenbaum the scape goat for their failures and will retain loud-mouth Rex Ryan as head coach, at least for the time being.  Others coaches that will be looking for jobs are to include Romeo Crennel, Pat Shurmer, Norv Turner, and Ken Whisenhunt.  Might be easier to just name coaches that won’t be fired today.  The Steelers will be on the hunt for a new Offensive Line and possibly Special Teams coach this offseason.  One thing that is irritating me about the talk of the coaching firings is how everyone thinks Andy Reid is just automatically guaranteed another job somewhere else.  I just don’t understand the national love fest for Andy Reid right now.  I mean I don’t have any strong feelings against the guy I just think he’s getting a whole lot of credit for being great at a job he’s also getting fired for.

The NFL marketing executives have got to be as excited as Jo-Jo the idiot circus boy with a pretty new pet at the fact that Peyton Manning was able to perform so great with the Broncos this season following his comeback from a zillion neck surgeries and awful commercials with Papa John’s.  With the Broncos securing the #1 seed and the Patriots with the #2 it looks as though the possibility of a Manning vs. Brady AFC Championship is highly likely.  Up until you realize that the way the playoffs have been going the past 8 years or so, the final conference championship is almost never the #1 and #2 seeds.

As I mentioned before I was at the Steelers final home game yesterday, along with Heinz Field’s lowest ever crowd for a Steelers game to cheer on my beloved Black & Gold in a game that didn’t mean anything for standings or seedings, but meant a whole lot for me to be there.  I’ve sat through a Steelers game in a hurricane, and in seemingly 1,000 degree weather in Florida and I can honestly say I’ll take a game in the snow any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

The Steelers took the field for warm ups while snow was still falling in Heinz Field on a frosty day.  Though most of the time in Pittsburgh the skies are rather gray, the sun managed to pop out just seconds before Troy Polamalu intercepted Browns’ QB Thad Lewis for the first of four Steelers forced turnovers.  Unfortunately, the offense was unable to capitalize off of the turnover and had to punt on their ensuing possession and you almost worried it was going to be the same scenario as last week; the defense creating opportunities by forcing turnovers and the offense failing to capitalize.  Ben and the offense eventually got it together and opened up a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter after Ben was able to throw 3 touchdown passes including one to Plaxico Burress.  Cortez Allen played another outstanding game, forcing two fumbles again.

I’m still so happy I was able to take in the game yesterday; I can’t really be spiteful or sarcastic about the Steelers 8-8 season at this point.  I’m sure that will come, I know we’d all rather be ready to talk about the playoff matchup the Steelers will face rather than what coaching and personnel changes will happen in this, long offseason that lies before us.  I’ll make sure to wear my smart-ass hat while watching Wild Card Weekend next weekend and report all the cheap shots I can think of.  Until then, bring it on Wild Card Weekend!

Follow me on Twitter @Kimmy_KimKimM and follow all of NPC’s posts @NicePickCowherC

Bengals celebrate game winning, playoff clinching field goal against the Steelers.

What We Learned In Week 16 In The NFL:

• Colts go from first team on the clock to a playoff team
• Peyton Manning has Broncos in prime playoff position
• Giants might not be able to pull off late and post season magic again this season
• Jets and Tebow can’t stay out of the effing headlines
• Steelers blow opportunities after turnovers and chance at playoffs

Not a great start to the holiday season huh?  Definitely not the first time Steeler Nation has had to watch a bad season and playoff hopes go up in smokes but sure doesn’t make it any easier.  The Steelers put on their best defensive performance of the season yesterday and quite possibly the crappiest offensive performance in years at the same time.  With one week left in the NFL season the AFC and NFC playoff picture is all but set and the Steelers have played themselves right off the list.  It’s going to be an excruciatingly long offseason for sure but let’s not think about that now, let’s take some cheap shots first. (more…)

Face Me Ike breaks up this pass to Torrey Smith. But that’s about all he did before he left the game with an ankle injury.

The grass started to look a little greener last week for the Steelers, and it wasn’t because of the 70 degree temps either.  The team welcomed back Troy Polamalu to full practices and a green light for the game against the Ravens on Sunday.  Polamalu was being revered as a shot in the arm to a defense that seemed to be a hair’s breath away from being a dominant force – no not splashy, but shut down force.  As the game got underway, fortunes changed quickly once again for this Steelers team who is continually fighting off injury after injury.  Ike Taylor suffered a leg/ankle injury during the first series and never returned.  A full diagnosis has yet to be released by the team, but most ‘experts’ predict he will be out of the lineup 3-6 weeks.  And, while most would think losing your #1 corner would spell monumental trouble for a successful playoff run, Steeler fans should take a bit of comfort knowing who will now have to step up and take Taylor’s place.

The Maturation of Cortez Allen

The 2011 4th round draft pick out of The Citadel stepped into the role of ‘#2 corner’ when Ike Taylor went down with his injury against the Ravens on Sunday.  Allen split time with Keenan Lewis covering Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin.  During the first half, the Ravens challenged Allen often, and Allen rose to the occasion.  He broke up several passes – often having to catch up in pursuit after the ball was thrown.  Allen’s style is very clear: leave some room, let the pass come in, an reach in to break up the pass even if the body is open for a hit. It was effective and seemed to frustrate the Ravens offense that they couldn’t break Allen.  That didn’t stop them from trying, and in the second half, they were able to complete several bigger passes that lead to a TD and a pass interference (which was a bit of a ticky tacky call at the 10 yard line).

Some might argue that Allen (based on his performance) is not ready for that role, but I think that he fairly ready to take up the mantle.  Yes, he was beat a couple of times, but he never let it get to his head.  He did not grossly change his coverage and knew that what he was doing worked.  Quite frankly, Ike Taylor gives up a big pass on occasion, so there’s no difference there.

Cortez Allen breaks up a pass intended for Torrey Smith. Allen was fairly solid against what has been a big play passing offense this season. Credit: US-Presswire

Let’s look at Allen’s maturation in comparison to his positional brothers.  He quickly became the favorite as the slot cover man late last season in his first season with the team.  He continued that role during training camp and all through the season – and has performed very well.  Allen’s maturation into the #3 guy was expedited by William Gay’s departure and Keenan Lewis’ subpar seasons.  Using those two as a litmus, Allen is years ahead of their development.  Look how long it took Gay to be a dependable cover corner.  Look how long it took Lewis to move into the #2 role and continue to have shaky weeks.  In a defense that touts a large learning curve – 3 years or longer – Allen appears to have the natural talent to swim with the big fish AND possess the brain power to ‘undertand’ Dick LeBeau’s defense.  I was very pleased to see his performance last night.

Will Allen be a shut down type corner like Taylor?  Eh, maybe not percentage’wise.  But, I do believe his ball skills raises the chances of the Steelers picking a pass off on a deep or crossing route.  Let’s give Allen the chance he seems to have earned.  Facing Rivers, Dalton, Romo and Weeden I expect Allen to be challenged but come out successful.  If he gets paired against Dez Bryant it will be a nail biter, but can anyone see Keenan Lewis hanging with him all game?  In Allen We Trust.

The Lake Effect

I’m not talking snow.  I’m talking about Steelers secondary coach, Carnell Lake.  Lake signed on with the team last season as the coach, and I think he is working wonders with the new guys like Cortez Allen.  How else can you explain Keenan Lewis’ ability to FINALLY cover guys at least 75% of the game?  How else can you explain that both Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown are impacting the secondary and special teams at the same time?  How else can you explain that Will Allen and Ryan Clark have been a force in the safety positions during Troy Polamalu’s absence almost all season?  How is it that this defense has been #1 in pass defense two seasons in a row?  Sure the secondary is full of talented players, but it’s Lake’s coaching that has gelled it all together.  What a stroke of brilliance by the Front Office to get Lake on board.

Steelers Continued Pass Rush Success

The Steelers pass rush is starting to come around after being absent almost all season.  James Harrison, as he ever creeps back to 100%, is beginning to gain back that explosiveness off the snap.  He may not have all of it back, but his speed is improving as is his strength as he fights off blocks.  Joe Flacco became ‘Jumpin’ Joe Flacco during the second half.  The pass rush got to him a few times for sacks and hit him just after throws.  This cause Unibrow Boy to get jumpy in the pocket and either rushed throws, threw off target, or a combination of both.  There was one series that Lawrence Timmons began a pass rush, and fell into an open part of the pocket – either because he slipped or got hit.  He landed three feet short of Flacco, but that presence of a black and gold jersey diving towards him was enough to make him throw the ball early to Smith and it was off target.  If the Steelers can keep this up for the rest of the season, QB’s like Rivers and Romo will have tough days behind their line, as they habitually fold under the pressure.

So Steeler Nation, fret not with Taylor gone.  Will it be a smooth ride the next four weeks?  Absolutely not.  But, the defense is far from dire straights as they race for the divisional title and a playoff spot.