I consider myself a “glass half full” kind of guy and thus not only am I not overly worried about Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen not being ready for the start of the regular season following his Friday knee surgery; I also think the extra reps that third-year cornerback Curtis Brown will receive in Allen\’s absence will do him some good.
Now, depending on what you read, there is a difference in opinion as to whether or not Brown will be the first corner off the bench when the Steelers defense utilize their nickel sub package. Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posted Friday that Brown will come in and likely play outside as William Gay moves inside to the slot, while Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted Friday that rookie safety Shamarko Thomas will play in the slot as the third corner. We shall see what the Friday night practice reports say.
Regardless, Brown has been and will be continuing to get extra reps in the defense going forward, and he really needs them. He is entering his third year and needs to turn the proverbially corner really soon.
The Texas product had a tough preseason last year and followed it up with a poor showing against the San Diego Chargers. He seems to struggle with the mental aspect of the position quite a bit, so hopefully he can build some confidence over the course of the next few weeks.
Brown is a solid special teams player, but up until now, that is all he is known for. He will make the Steelers 53 man roster this year, but past that, his future is very cloudy. We all worried if former Steelers cornerback Keenan Lewis would ever turn the corner and last year he showed that he did. Now it\’s Brown\’s turn to turn right, right now.
