Austin On Dallas: Closer Look At Recent Production Of Will Allen
By Brad Austin
The Dallas Cowboys officially added a new safety in free agency and unfortunately his last name is not Huff. Michael Huff’s vast starting safety dividends instead will be cherished by the Baltimore Ravens for a mere $2.3 million base salary in 2013, plus signing bonus pro-rate of $500k.
The Cowboys, a step behind real contenders as usual, went with Will Allen. For the record, the veteran minimum for a player in his 10th season is $940k in 2013. Not much price difference in regards to the sizable production gap both teams can expect from these players.
Since there is no use in my further crying over spilled milk now, let’s take a closer look at what Will Allen supplied the Pittsburgh Steelers’ over the last 3 years. Anything further out than 2010 has negligible relevancy to 2013.
Maybe with one exception being Will Allen did receive special teams honors for his last 2 seasons in Tampa Bay. He was the special teams’ captain in 2008, and garnered Pro Bowl Alternate status as a special teams player in 2009.
Hopefully this signing was executed with the intention of playing Allen heavily on special teams. After digesting his last 3 years in Pittsburgh, special teams may be his most desirable contribution.
2010 SEASON
Allen filled in as a backup at both safety positions for the Steelers in 2010. Versatility seems promising, right? Problem is he barely played SS and also participated in only 43 defensive snaps all season.
This was his 7th NFL season and he only managed 43 plays, with injuries not being the culprit. Allen logged 1 single snap at SS and 42 downs at FS. PFF credited the safety sub with 3 total tackles, while assigning a -0.4 grade for his efforts.
Not very daunting safety performance to say the least. Are we enjoying that $940k veteran minimum yet?
2011 SEASON
This season gets much easier to report on. Allen participated in 8 total defensive snaps all season at FS. He recorded 0 tackles and had no PFF grade. For what it’s worth, Yahoo Sports has him listed at 9 total tackles that season so he must have made a light special teams contribution. Enough said.
2012 SEASON
2012 was Allen’s bread and butter season for Pittsburgh. Through Week 12 he started 7 games due to major injuries at the SS position. He also chipped in 2 plays as back-up SS in that span.
While designated as a SS over those 12 weeks and 400 plays, he collected 30 total tackles and missed 6 tackles. Broken down that adds up to a SS (which enforces the run) producing less than 3 tackles a game, and missing half a tackle per game. Hmmm.
The final 32 plays he logged in 2012 were as a back-up FS. He recorded zeros in all categories. In summation, within 432 plays as both a SS and slightly at FS, Allen fetched 30 tackles and a PFF grade of -0.2.
CONCLUSION
For those of us keeping score, over the last 3 seasons Will Allen participated in 483 snaps for the Steelers’ defense. He amassed 33 total tackles of the defensive secondary variety, and compiled a lackluster PFF average grade of -0.2.
The Cowboys signed Allen to compete for the STARTING safety position with Matt Johnson, basically a do-over rookie who has never played a real down in the NFL and couldn’t shake injuries so far. Not a stellar pair to bet a season on by any means.
If the idea was insurance for Johnson not producing, Dallas missed wildly. If the outlandish thought was Allen may win the starting safety nod, the absurdity is beyond comment.
And if the shelling out of that high veteran minimum was to acquire special teams help along with chipping in at safety, it just wasn’t worth the cost in my estimation.
Special teams play and spot duty at safety could be had with a cheap undrafted rookie or late draft pick safety. Something along the lines of the 2013 version of a rookie Danny McCray.
One last tear in the milk puddle, what was Michael Huff doing in Oakland the last 3 years? Only starting 43 games, with 16 of those at CB. Participating in 2,622 defensive snaps. Recording 209 tackles, 4 QB sacks, 1 QB hit, and 14 QB hurries.
And finally, securing an attractive combined average PFF grade of 6.1. That’s what somewhere around $1.8 mil cap hit more would have bought Dallas in 2013. A productive starter with strong versatility and a contract highly based on performance levels.
The money could have been found if Dallas approached the game like the Baltimore Ravens. Yes they held more cap space, but Dallas would have gotten it done if they had contender type foresight.
There’s no way I will buy Jerry Jones couldn’t have conjured that extra cap space for a real player at a position of great need, and at such a discounted value like this. The price was low for Huff’s worth, and Baltimore will reap the rewards while Dallas plays the hindsight game.
Check the 2013 NFL standings after Week 17 and once again compare the difference between a perennial runner-up and a consistent contender. Blind decisions like this directly result in disparaging results such as that.