It’s probably a good thing that Falcons safety Ricardo Allen takes a philosophical approach to life. A less stoic outlook could have discouraged him at some point during the rocky beginning to his NFL career.
Allen was a Falcons draft pick at cornerback in 2014 who was cut before his rookie season and ended up on their practice squad. Now he’s set to be their starting free safety for the second consecutive year.
“I’m a person that enjoys the process of life,” Allen said. “Sometimes you have to be broken down to be built back up. Every day I take it is a challenge to come out and be the best I can be. There are going to be good days and there are going to be some bad, but you can never let those (bad) days define you.”
Allen has a chance to become an unusual smashing success for the team’s player-development program. If the Falcons hope to make a big leap in coach Dan Quinn’s second season, it’s important for them to get good production from minimum-salaried players such as Allen.
Soon after he was hired, Quinn switched Allen from cornerback to safety. Allen said he understood the move because Quinn prefers tall cornerbacks, and Allen stands 5-foot-9. He said coaches also told him they liked his playing style.
“It freed me up a little bit,” he said. “It let me go play ball and play at my own tempo. I like that.”
As a former cornerback, Allen has good coverage skills for his new position. Quinn said he also made the move because he liked Allen’s tackling ability and believed he has the right attitude to play free safety in his defense.
The position has a lot of responsibility with making calls in the secondary, and Quinn said Allen’s meticulous study habits and his willingness to speak up make him a good fit for the role.
“(It’s good) to see the jump that he made from a corner to safety, to becoming a starter, to making calls out there, to finding his voice for the defense,” Quinn said. “He’s a naturally quiet guy, so (teammates) in time learn to trust him, like: ‘I can count on this guy. He’s going to tell me the right information, he’s going to give me the right stuff.’”
The Falcons look for Allen to further blossom after he started 14 games in 2015. Allen finished the season with a team-high three interceptions, including a pick that secured a victory against the Eagles in Week 1. Allen also had 59 solo tackles, five passes defended, a sack and a fumble recovery.
There’s a lot of pressure on Allen as the safety valve in the back of the defense. Falcons passing-game coordinator Jerome Henderson went down his list of responsibilities: talking to teammates on both sides of the field, getting the secondary lined up, making sure no passes are completed behind him on deep routes such as seams and posts.
“And then the big thing, he’s got to be the guy if a play breaks out in front of him, he’s got to be the guy that lets us play defense again,” Henderson said. “We put a lot of responsibility on him to get guys tackled in the open field.
Pro Football Focus gave Allen an overall positive grade, with high marks for his pass coverage, but knocked him for his run support.
“When you went back and looked at him last year, he made more (tackles) than he missed, but there were a few that got away from him,” Henderson said. “He’s working. The great thing about the kid is he works his butt off in everything he does. He’s very responsible, very conscientious. It’s very important to him. He’s a team guy.”
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