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IRVING – When safety Will Allen walked into the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room for the first time in the spring of 2010, he quickly found himself surrounded by three hard-hitting defensive backs eager to indoctrinate him into the defense’s punishing style.
“The first thing they said to me was, ‘If you don’t stick your face in the fan, you can’t be on this defense,’ ” Allen said of Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor. “They said, ‘We don’t care about interceptions. If you ain’t ready to hit, we don’t need you.’ ”
After three seasons with the Steelers, Allen is ready to make a similar speech to the Dallas Cowboys’ young defensive backs when they arrive at training camp next month in Oxnard, Calif.
“If you aren’t trying to hit, you can forget about it,” Allen said Wednesday, the second day of the Cowboys’ three-day minicamp.
“So that’s my mentality at all costs. I don’t really care. That’s the mentality they have there (in Pittsburgh), and hopefully I can bring that here and get some guys to follow.”
Fresh off starting seven games for the injured Polamalu last season, Allen signed a two-year deal with Dallas in March, reuniting him with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The two spent five seasons together with Tampa Bay after the Buccaneers drafted Allen in the fourth round out of Ohio State in 2004.
“He’s a veteran guy who has been around and knows this system,” Kiffin said of his 4-3 scheme. “But he’s not here just because he knows this system. He can play.”
Kiffen’s defense calls for a physical secondary. He’s counting on Allen to spread the word.
“When we get pads on, that’s something we’re going to have to pride ourselves on,” Allen said. “That’s just a creed we have to live by as a defensive back room and as a defense.
Not only do we have to play hard, we have to hit hard and be mean, too. That’s one thing I learned – those Pittsburgh guys are mean on the field, to everybody. It’s not something you just say. You really believe it, really mean it. It’s your mind set. This is your life.
“Cause everybody’s accountable to each other. And, hopefully, we can build that same accountability here on the back end, everybody from (veteran cornerback) Brandon Carr to (second-year corner) Mo Claiborne. I don’t care how you bring them down, but we’re going to hit.”
Allen is back at full strength after a sore hamstring limited him during OTAs.
“He is a veteran who knows how to practice, how to play,” defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said. “He is a quality safety in this league.”
Pitted against second-year pro Matt Johnson in a competition for the starting safety job alongside Barry Church, Allen has worked with the first team the last two days, although Henderson said that’s “just the rotation right now.”
“It’s a toss-up, a battle,” Henderson said.
No matter what happens, Allen is ready to bring the Steelers’ mentality to the Cowboys.
“In Tampa, I learned from Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber…John Lynch,” Allen said. “And when I got to Pittsburgh, I took it up another notch. Because here were these guys who won multiple Super Bowls, and they play with a different attitude, and they played together as a family. Not saying Tampa wasn’t that way, but Pittsburgh was more consistent.
“So learning all that, seeing all that…has helped me become a better professional, and (I’m ready) to bring some of that knowledge and experience here.”
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“The first thing they said to me was, ‘If you don’t stick your face in the fan, you can’t be on this defense,’ ” Allen said of Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor. “They said, ‘We don’t care about interceptions. If you ain’t ready to hit, we don’t need you.’ ”
After three seasons with the Steelers, Allen is ready to make a similar speech to the Dallas Cowboys’ young defensive backs when they arrive at training camp next month in Oxnard, Calif.
“If you aren’t trying to hit, you can forget about it,” Allen said Wednesday, the second day of the Cowboys’ three-day minicamp.
“So that’s my mentality at all costs. I don’t really care. That’s the mentality they have there (in Pittsburgh), and hopefully I can bring that here and get some guys to follow.”
Fresh off starting seven games for the injured Polamalu last season, Allen signed a two-year deal with Dallas in March, reuniting him with defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The two spent five seasons together with Tampa Bay after the Buccaneers drafted Allen in the fourth round out of Ohio State in 2004.
“He’s a veteran guy who has been around and knows this system,” Kiffin said of his 4-3 scheme. “But he’s not here just because he knows this system. He can play.”
Kiffen’s defense calls for a physical secondary. He’s counting on Allen to spread the word.
“When we get pads on, that’s something we’re going to have to pride ourselves on,” Allen said. “That’s just a creed we have to live by as a defensive back room and as a defense.
Not only do we have to play hard, we have to hit hard and be mean, too. That’s one thing I learned – those Pittsburgh guys are mean on the field, to everybody. It’s not something you just say. You really believe it, really mean it. It’s your mind set. This is your life.
“Cause everybody’s accountable to each other. And, hopefully, we can build that same accountability here on the back end, everybody from (veteran cornerback) Brandon Carr to (second-year corner) Mo Claiborne. I don’t care how you bring them down, but we’re going to hit.”
Allen is back at full strength after a sore hamstring limited him during OTAs.
“He is a veteran who knows how to practice, how to play,” defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said. “He is a quality safety in this league.”
Pitted against second-year pro Matt Johnson in a competition for the starting safety job alongside Barry Church, Allen has worked with the first team the last two days, although Henderson said that’s “just the rotation right now.”
“It’s a toss-up, a battle,” Henderson said.
No matter what happens, Allen is ready to bring the Steelers’ mentality to the Cowboys.
“In Tampa, I learned from Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber…John Lynch,” Allen said. “And when I got to Pittsburgh, I took it up another notch. Because here were these guys who won multiple Super Bowls, and they play with a different attitude, and they played together as a family. Not saying Tampa wasn’t that way, but Pittsburgh was more consistent.
“So learning all that, seeing all that…has helped me become a better professional, and (I’m ready) to bring some of that knowledge and experience here.”
Continue reading...