A week ago, Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was flying high. He was scheduled to make his first appearance in a football game in two years. His torn ACL finally seemed to allow him to get on the field. It was big news for the Dolphins, and everyone, including Head Coach Tony Sparano, was excited to have Allen coming back. Then, just before game time, Allen was scrubbed, and watched the game from the sideline.
Reportedly, Allen was held out due to a sore hamstring and not his knee.
But either way, Allen cannot fight to keep his spot on the Dolphins roster, let alone the nickle corner job he is again expected to take, if he cannot get on the field. "You can't show a coach you can do it from the training room," Allen said this week, expressing his frustration at his continuing health issues. "I've been around this league long enough to know what these games mean. No matter what you do throughout this league, you always have to show the coaches you still can play -whether it's a young guy or old guy.''
Sparano agrees with Allen's observation. "Yeah," said during his media availability on Wednesday, "I mean, I have to see him. Obviously that's important because like any other playery, Larry [Johnson], any other of these guys that haven't played for a longer period of time, and I tell them, all the time that it's a 'show me' game. At some point, I have to see it."
Meanwhile, second year cornerback Nolan Carrollis making his case to claim the nickle cornerback position. "You know, Nolan is an interesting guy," Coach Sparano said," because he falls into the line, at least for me - I wouldn't call him a ball hawk - but he's made some plays on the football. He's had some pass break ups. The other thing with Nolan is, right now, as like the third corner today, he has to be able to do things on special teams that I need hom to do at the game, because Sean [Smith] and Vontae [Davis] really are one team guys right now.
"Nolan is a four team guy," Sparano continue about Carroll, "and we're counting on him to be able to do that, too. I would like to see Nolan in the course of a ball game, being able to play some plays at corner for us, particularly when we get into like nickel stuff, dime stuff, get him on the field there. He has a roll, and then all of a sudden, he plays 20 something plays on special teams, and now maybe you got a 40 play guy at the game, and that's helpful."
Continuing his discourse about Allen's situation, Sparano was quoted as saying, "I got to see it on the practice field; I got to see it in the game. It took me two days out here with [linebacker Jason Taylor] to figure out once he got here in pads it took me two days to figure out he’s still got it. So now I can control his practice easy. You know JT didn’t work yesterday and I can go to JT and say you’re down today. I kind of know what this guy needs to get ready to play. He knows what he needs to get ready to play.
