Atlanta Falcons: Ricardo Allen has high hopes for 2018 defense
By Derek Snyder
Atlanta Falcons safety, Ricardo Allen, made his thoughts clear on how great this Dirty Birds defense can become in their fourth season under Dan Quinn.
Since the 2014-2015 season, Atlanta Falcons fans have been widely divided on whether Ricardo Allen should be on the team. He was drafted out of Purdue as a cornerback, sent to the practice squad and has recently become a huge contributor at safety to this ever-improving Dirty Birds defense.
If there are still people who think Allen should be on the bench, I can promise you that ship has sailed far away from shore. Allen is one of the best defensive-backs on the Falcons and is a key part of the team’s 53-man roster.
With that kind of responsibility comes a higher platform; one that gives player an opportunity to speak into the team’s goals for the future. While NFL front-offices may not give every player that power, the NFL media loves to let players like Allen speak their mind.
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When asked about the Falcons defensive goals for 2018, the Falcons defensive standout definitely made a big statement. Take a look at what he said in Vaughn McClure’s article from ESPN below:
"“I want to be a top-5 defense, and I think that’s a goal we can set,” Allen told ESPN. “We set a goal coming from being one of the worst defenses to pushing ourselves in the top 10 [last season]. We set that goal, and we did it. And I think now it’s time to set a higher standard. The standards that we set, if we’re willing to chase it, ‘Let’s try to chase this top 5.’ Shoot, why not try to be the best defense?"
I don’t know about you, but I love Allen’s confidence. This Falcons defense has been bad for a long time, but thanks to Dan Quinn and some key draft picks, this team has the opportunity to become great in 2018.
Some fans around the league may take this statement from Allen personally, but I don’t believe that was his intent whatsoever. In my opinion, this is a player who has great confidence in himself and even more in his teammates. If the Falcons do indeed become a top-five defense in 2018, we’ll all be pointing back to this moment when Allen called his shot.
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If the Falcons had more players like Allen, constantly striving for higher goals, it wouldn’t have taken them forty-plus years to have back-to-back winning seasons. Just saying.