Spotlight Is On Nate Allen To Shine

Getting ready for week 8, the official midpoint of the NFL season, one player has had a chance to make his mark, earn the trust of his teammates, and prove to himself that he deserves to play in this game – unfortunately for Nate Allen, this week will most likely be his last.

I’m not trying to ruin everyone’s enthusiasm, what the Miami Dolphins have done these past three weeks is simply amazing. I look at this team and continue to think about the potential that they have, however, when I see opposing QBs making their reads and throwing the ball, I’m expecting someone to make a play on the ball, and through six games, the announcers have yet to call Allen’s number.

Reshad Jones is the most valuable player on the team right now. He is playing all over the field and is basically the anchor of the Dolphins defense. The year that Jones is having resembles Ed Reed’s MVP season. Reviewing the Titans game, we saw a player that understood and never gave up on the play, recognized the live ball and took it to the house for a touchdown.

Rewind to the last drive against the Falcons, two weeks ago, and you see a player that was playing over the top help, called out his teammate “Tank” before the play and understood the pattern and development of the play based on his film study. As the play developed, Jones has the game sealing interception as the Dolphins continued the win streak.

The young boys at the corner “X” and “Tank” are outperforming two proven veterans that are regulated to sideline duties – Bryon Maxwell and Alterraun Verner.

Both of these promising players have brought an element to the Dolphins secondary that fans haven’t seen since Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison, or Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. They might need a little more experience to gain everyone’s trust, but they are headed in the right direction. Howard held his own against Julio Jones two weeks ago and although Tank got beat twice yesterday against the Jets, the future looks bright for this third-round pick.

Which brings us back to the Free Safety position. Nate Allen was signed to stop the revolving carousel of Free Safeties that the Dolphins had previously brought in. His presence on the field has not been shown or felt. Yes, Allen hasn’t performed terrible, but he’s averaging maybe 2 tackles a game – which is good news as the linebackers are actually doing their job. However, Allen wasn’t brought in to help in the run game, his biggest strength is his play making ability in the passing game. Regrettably, this has gone unnoticed for the past 6 weeks.

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Waiting in the wings is T.J McDonald – a player that is built like a linebacker but has wide receiver speed. A player that the Dolphins thought so much of, that they signed him to a one-year contract, loved what they saw from him and then re-signed him to an additional 4 year contract. TJ’s presence will be felt on the field based on his nature and how he loves contact. Think of it this way, there will be two Reshad Jones on the field as the Dolphins starting free and strong safety – honestly, who wants to run a cross route against them? TJ first play in scrimmage during OTA, he gave Jay Ajayi a concussion – comparing that to the six game that Allen has played, Dolphin fans can’t wait until week 9 starts and TJ is back from his suspension.

So where am I going with this…honestly to Thursday night. The Dolphins face the Ravens and what could honestly be Allen’s last game as a starter. Allen – it’s time to shine, suit up and show everyone that you deserve to play. Your teammates are counting on you to make a play, otherwise, one of them that has been sitting on the sidelines for the past eight weeks, is ready to take that spotlight.

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