Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference that cornerback Cortez Allen will compete for a role Sunday against Baltimore after he endured another bad game in the 51-34 victory against Indianapolis.
Allen, who signed a five-year, $25 million dollar contract on the eve of the season opener, lost his starting job after six games. If he does not perform well in practice this week, he might be inactive Sunday night against the Ravens.
Allen was replaced by Antwon Blake in the fourth quarter after he was in coverage for two of the three touchdown passes Colts quarterback Andrew Luck threw. Allen will compete with Blake this week to play in the nickel package when five defensive backs are on the field.
Despite pulling Allen against the Colts, Tomlin said he still has confidence in the former fourth-round pick.
“I not only reiterated that to Cortez after the game, but I reiterated that to him within the game. I was doing what I felt was necessary for us to win the football game, but it has no bearing on what I think he is capable of [in the present] or in the long term,” Tomlin said.
“I would imagine that Baltimore will work to attack him, and he better work to defend himself. Such is life in the NFL. Such is life at the cornerback position.”
Tomlin indicated Allen’s problem is not so much his positioning but his awareness.
“He has finish opportunities that he’s not getting done. Oftentimes, he is in position because he does a great job getting in position, but position is just an element of it. You have to finish.”
Starters return
No starter had any significant injuries in the Indianapolis game and right tackle Marcus Gilbert will return the starting lineup this week. Reserve Mike Adams performed well against the Colts, but Tomlin said Gilbert will keep his starting job after sitting out because of a concussion.
Tomlin also said nose tackle Steve McLendon has a “big-time opportunity” to return this week after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. Reserve safety Shamarko Thomas also will return after missing the past three games with a hamstring injury.
The only player injured against the Colts was reserve safety Ross Ventrone, who hurt his hamstring and won’t play this week.
Williams contributing
Inside linebacker Vince Williams played as many defensive snaps against the Colts as he had combined in the first seven games. Williams played 36 snaps while Ryan Shazier, in his first game back after missing four with a knee injury, played 30. Sean Spence, who started those four games in Shazier’s absence, played just one snap.
“As Ryan worked his way back, we were going to limit his exposure and really limit his exposure to minimize his snaps,” Tomlin said. “Vince is a guy that has worked extremely hard and has been a part of the rotation not only this year, but last year. … We’re going to continue to use combinations of those three guys along with Lawrence [Timmons] to meet our situational needs.”
More work for Bryant
Rookie receiver Martavis Bryant has seven receptions and three touchdowns in his first two NFL games, and Tomlin expects his workload will continue to increase.
“We will continue to maybe expand some of the things that he does as he shows that he is capable of handling what it is that we ask him to do,” Tomlin said. “No question he did in this last game, and we asked him to do more in this last game than we did in his first outing.”
First Published: October 28, 2014, 5:22 p.m.
