Dolphins want more consistency from Jason Allen
As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald points out, Jason Allen and the Miami Dolphins share something in common. Their inconsistency.
Allen, who the Dolphins drafted in the first round as a safety in 2006, has been asked to move from safety to cornerback to safety, et cetera.
''Well, honestly, with Jason unfortunately he's been bouncing around a little bit positionally,'' Sparano admitted last week. "When we came here, he was safety and then we looked at him as a safety. We moved him to corner. You know how the whole thing went down. So right now it's just, again, he's a guy that from a consistency standpoint that really needs to become consistent out there at what he does well.''
He heads into the 2009 season as a cornerback, but he spent all of the 2008 off-season preparing as though he would be safety.
In his own defense, Allen argues that it's not so easy to move back and forth between the secondary positions with different mindsets, different drills to prepare and different skills necessary to be successful.
''You guys look at it as it's easy, he can just go back and forth,'' Allen said. "But it doesn't work like that. When you train all offseason to play safety and don't train as a corner, it's hard. Corners do different drills; they have to be quick on their feet. Safeties don't do that. That's about being in the middle of the field and working on your drops and making sure you can support the run.''
However, he's not making excuses.
''I want to be a starter,'' Allen said. "I have to come out and prepare myself as a starter. I know I'm capable of doing things. I think at times last year I showed I could do it. I just have to be more consistent.''
It will be an uphill battle for (Jason) Allen.
The spot opposite Will Allen that was vacated by Andre Goodman, who signed with Denver this off-season, is likely to be won by free-agent signee Eric Green or one of the two rookie cornerbacks the Dolphins drafted in the first two rounds - Vontae Davis and Sean Smith - this year.
Allen, who the Dolphins drafted in the first round as a safety in 2006, has been asked to move from safety to cornerback to safety, et cetera.
''Well, honestly, with Jason unfortunately he's been bouncing around a little bit positionally,'' Sparano admitted last week. "When we came here, he was safety and then we looked at him as a safety. We moved him to corner. You know how the whole thing went down. So right now it's just, again, he's a guy that from a consistency standpoint that really needs to become consistent out there at what he does well.''
He heads into the 2009 season as a cornerback, but he spent all of the 2008 off-season preparing as though he would be safety.
In his own defense, Allen argues that it's not so easy to move back and forth between the secondary positions with different mindsets, different drills to prepare and different skills necessary to be successful.
''You guys look at it as it's easy, he can just go back and forth,'' Allen said. "But it doesn't work like that. When you train all offseason to play safety and don't train as a corner, it's hard. Corners do different drills; they have to be quick on their feet. Safeties don't do that. That's about being in the middle of the field and working on your drops and making sure you can support the run.''
However, he's not making excuses.
''I want to be a starter,'' Allen said. "I have to come out and prepare myself as a starter. I know I'm capable of doing things. I think at times last year I showed I could do it. I just have to be more consistent.''
It will be an uphill battle for (Jason) Allen.
The spot opposite Will Allen that was vacated by Andre Goodman, who signed with Denver this off-season, is likely to be won by free-agent signee Eric Green or one of the two rookie cornerbacks the Dolphins drafted in the first two rounds - Vontae Davis and Sean Smith - this year.
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