Like so many of his teammates, Ricardo Allen
stood on the field at NRG Stadium in disbelief on February 5th. How could the
Falcons have lost that game? What else did they have to do? What more could
they have done? Why weren't they Super Bowl champions? Fortunately for Allen,
doubt has always been a part of life, and something he has embraced.
This offseason will be no different for the young
Falcons safety, who, among his other disadvantages, is dramatically undersized
for any role on an NFL team, aside from kicker or third down back. Despite 90
tackles for Atlanta last year, and a clutch pair of playoff interceptions, many
pundits find free safety to be the Falcons most upgradable defensive position.
This criticism, like that has come before it has
nothing to do with Allen's productivity. Video certainly shows him overmatched
at times in run stopping or when attempting to take down a larger receiver or tight
end, but he generally accomplishes his task. His size is a handicap, certainly,
but that's far from the only reason you could have been surprised to see him in
the NFL today.
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Adrian was the football player in the Allen
family of Daytona Beach, Florida. He had the passion for the game and the spot
on the roster at Mainland High School. His younger brother, Ricardo "threw
the ball around in the back yard", but never demonstrated the desire to
play the game.
Adrian is the older brother of Ricardo, and was a
star running back for Mainland, the high school Ricardo would eventually attend.
One evening, while Ricardo was trying to prepare himself something to eat, he
drifted off, leaving hamburger in popping grease unattended. A half hour later,
Adrian discovered a fire in the kitchen and attempted to douse it with water.
Unfortunately, as the fire was a grease fire, it spread with the splash of the
water, severely burning the older Allen.
Adrian's career was over. Ricardo was shaken by
this misfortune, feeling the sting of culpability. Rather than internalizing
this pain, the younger Allen took it as a sort of divine inspiration. He needed
to play football because his brother no longer could. Ricardo joined Mainland's
team when he reached high school a few years later, and worked hard on the
field, as much for his family as for himself.
While at Mainland, the younger Allen played on the
defensive side of the ball, and turned himself into a 3 star recruit at
cornerback. He was recruited by several major conference teams, though none
were close to home. The Floridian powerhouses had options that were taller than
the 5'9 Allen, and opted for raw ability, rather than the results that Allen
produced in high school. He had opportunities in the SEC, ACC and at Illinois,
but opted to attend Purdue University.
Despite not looking the part of a major college
football player, Allen rose to the top almost immediately. Even though there
wasn't a buzz around him when he came out of high school, Danny Hope's staff
took notice of the diminutive DB as soon as he reached the sidelines in Purdue.
He was a ball hawk, and a hard worker, still out to prove himself and to right
the childhood wrong he still felt guilty about.
Internally, he may not yet have felt that he
righted any wrong, but he certainly proved himself as an athlete. He set a
Purdue record for interceptions returned for touchdowns, and was named
all-conference and started every year he was in West Lafayette. Normally, this
would be a sign of a career in the NFL, but his was in doubt. He couldn't shake
the fact that in a league where wide receivers were getting bigger every year,
he was still only 5'9".
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Purdue was a bad team while Ricardo Allen was
there, and they only got worse as he played through his 4 years in West
Lafayette. Undoubtedly, this buried some of his accomplishments with the Boilermakers,
and as a result, nobody batted an eye when Allen, who had broken some of Rod
Woodson's records at Purdue, fell to the 5th round, where he was selected by
Atlanta.
Dismissed before the draft, and at a disadvantage
when he arrived at camp, thanks again to both his size, but also his provenance,
coming from a weak football program, Ricardo Allen did not make the Falcons
roster in his first year. He spent his rookie season with the scout team,
moving to safety and biding his time.
He stepped in a year later and ended up
acquitting himself nicely in pass defense, but allowing questions to linger
about his size and strength. Safeties are usually hard hitters with a bit of
size, which is important in run support or regulating the middle of the season.
Still, he was a durable player, and more or less reliable in his first year as
a starter.
This season, the Falcons drafted additional
support at safety, in Keanu Neal from Florida. The big, talented and well
regarded first round pick was a surefire choice for one of the starting roles
at safety. After proving himself in 2015, Ricardo Allen was tabbed for the
second starting safety position, lining up next to the hard hitting former Gator
The pairing worked, especially for Allen, who
stepped up and was part of 90 tackles this season.
Allen was back to his college era best when the
playoffs rolled around. He doubled his season's output in interceptions, with
two, including one from Russell Wilson and another from Aaron Rodgers. He
started in the Super Bowl, and though he didn't turn in any big plays, he was
always near the action, his keen nose for the action evident again
And then, the Super Bowl came. Fearing nothing,
Ricardo Allen made a statement to that effect. Neither he nor his counterparts in the secondary were afraid of Tom Brady or
the Patriots. The first half of SB LI made everyone realize that the statement
wasn't just bluster. The Falcons were more than willing to face up to Brady and
his Patriots.
It wasn't fear that led to the Falcons downfall,
but rather the Patriots persistence and experience. The Falcons offense didn't
lift their foot off the accelerator in the first half, but suddenly seemed
overwhelmed, undisciplined and careless in the second half. They couldn't hold
on to the ball any more, and it was in Tom Brady's capable hands for the rest
of the game. The Atlanta defense wore down because they were constantly on the
field, and the Patriots were eventually able to pick them apart.
The Falcons had bad breaks, such as Julian
Edelman's famous catch, and were often overpowered on defense, thanks to tired
legs. James White's winning touchdown is a perfect example of a team that had
simply been on the field too much. Ricardo Allen was there for both plays, but
didn't have enough in the tank to turn them to Atlanta's favor.
The loss really wasn't all on the defense, and it
wouldn't have been specifically on Allen, even if it was the defense's fault.
That doesn't mean that he, like the rest of the team, isn't left wondering what
they could have done. How could they have change the outcome of the game? What
could they have done differently?
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The Falcons organization, like Allen, leftare wrestling
with that question this offseason. Unless they can win the Super Bowl, they
will likely live with those questions for the remainder of their days. Even if
they DO win a ring, they may never get over Super Bowl 51.
The Falcons are taking a broader look at the
organization, but asking the same questions. What can they do to make sure they
not only reach, but win the Super Bowl in Minneapolis? One of the first places
many people are looking at is the undersized safety from Purdue, from Daytona
Beach, Florida. Can't he be upgraded?
With a young defense, most of whom come with a
better pedigree than Allen, many pundits point to Free Safety as a target area
in the draft. Allen is a restricted free agent, and if the Falcons believe they
can improve that spot, he may be out of a starting role. He has signed a tender to remain with the team, but that doesn't mean the team won't attempt to draft new talent at his position and with contracts in the NFL not guaranteed, he could still be unemployed at some point this summer
The good news is, there will be a team, just as
the Falcons did towards the end of the 2015 draft, that looks at Allen's track
record and not his size and brings him aboard with an eye towards a starting
spot. Maybe he will never leave Atlanta, but maybe he will need to some day.
Allen has dedicated his football career to an
older brother who couldn't follow his dream. Everyone doubted him, every step
of the way, and even now, with reels of tape and years of success, questions
remain. He can never give enough to appease his skeptics, but that's ok for
Ricardo Allen, because he hasn't given enough to give himself peace either.
