Philly.com: Eagles' Nate Allen trying to take on veteran's role in second year

[gobulls83]

I love this guy, probably my favorite USF player of all time. He was just such a ball hawk and was always in the right place at the right time. He's going to be the best of all the USF players in the NFL thus far, provided he comes back from this injury and plays the way he's shown he can.

<blockquote><b>Eagles' Allen trying to take on veteran's role in second year</b>

By Jonathan Tamari, Inquirer Staff Writer

Four days a week, Eagles safety Nate Allen puts in morning and afternoon workouts at the IMG Academies complex in Bradenton, Fla.

Three times each week, he adds rehabilitation sessions to recover from a torn patellar tendon he suffered late last season.

It's all part of the effort to make a leap from rookie safety to defensive leader in his second season, even with the NFL lockout crimping the offseason schedule.

Allen, a 2010 second-round draft pick, said the work was paying off.

"I'm pretty much doing everything. I'm squatting, power cleaning. They've got me running," Allen said Wednesday in a telephone interview. He is running at about 80 percent speed, he said, and in the last two weeks he has added football moves such as backpedaling and cutting.

"I'm right where I need to be, they say," Allen said, referring to his doctors. If training camp begins on time, Allen said, he believes he'll be ready. But he added that would depend in part on the opinion of the team's training staff.

As he waits for the lockout to end, Allen, a relentless student, looks over a playbook, obtained during the window when the NFL lockout was briefly lifted. But he said that reading plays and running through them are very different things.

The Eagles will need Allen, who started 13 games as a rookie before being hurt Dec. 19 against the Giants. If free agent Quintin Mikell leaves, Allen will be the safety with the most experience in the Eagles system. Just one year removed from being the new guy, he'll be the veteran.

"I experienced a lot last year, so I can tell all the young guys what to expect and kind of help them along through their rookie year because I just went through it," he said. "It's fresh in my memory."</blockquote>

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20110609_Eagles__Allen_trying_to_take_on_veteran_s_role_in_second_year.html

[bulls phanatic]

I agree. He is one of my favorite Bulls. He will be a great player

[BullFan98]

If anyone can do it and step into that role it is Nate Allen. 

Excited about watching him when the NFL gets its act together.  I guess this only give him more time to recoup & rehabilitate. 

[Jihme]

it's a shame he's playing in filth-a-delphia.  he'd look better in a Giants' uni

[mikemcp88]

it's a shame he's playing in filth-a-delphia.  he'd look better in a Giants' uni

I agree. Would love to see him play with JPP or come up here to MI

[Guest nybullsfan]

Best of luck with the rehab Nate, that's a tough injury to come back from.

I love watching the Giants vs. Eagles vs. Cowboys games and rooting for the defense regardless of who has the ball, LOL!

We need to get some players on the Redskins now!