Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Allen: tweets & other bits on pick 111
- This topic has 18 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 6 months ago by zn.
-
AuthorPosts
-
April 28, 2018 at 1:00 pm #85528znModerator
RamUK sez:
Pat Kirwin said he’s got great hands and good technique and Jim Miller said he’s a natural leader.
==
alyoshamucci sez:
I’m a fan.
He’s a pro’s pro.
Likely a backup swing this year but I’d trust him to start if there was an injury.===
Brian Allen Center 6-1 300 lbs
center, 16 at left guard, five at right guard) . . . was voted a 2017 team captain . . .
CAREER NOTES: Four-year letterwinner played in 51 career games, including 38 starts (17 at earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades three straight years (2015-17) . . . extremely durable lineman finished his career starting in 28 consecutive games, including all 13 games at center in 2017 . . . three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree . . . versatile lineman played both guard spots and center throughout his career . . .April 28, 2018 at 1:06 pm #85529znModeratorVincent Bonsignore@DailyNewsVinny
I’m not saying the #Rams lit candles last year praying the O-line stayed healthy, but let’s just say everyone understood the major break they caught in avoiding injuries on the O-Line as depth was an issue. They are addressing that so far in the draft with an OT and now C.Albert Breer@AlbertBreer
Rams coach Sean McVay’s system values centers big-time, and he got himself a good one in Michigan State’s Brian Allen.Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Brian Allen’s older brother Jack is a center with the Saints. Although he went undrafted. Brian said he didn’t want to get his hopes up, but thought the Rams may be his destination todayAs his older brother Jack hugged him, Brian just told reporters: “I was there in 2015 on his day. i kind of had that situation, that scenario going in my mind… Honesty, I was telling me agent, I think the Rams are going to take me.”
Allen said being drafted by the Rams has him “overjoyed with all the emotions.” “I’m just really excited to have the opportunity.”
Remember that storyline with Noteboom and Whitworth? Get ready for it again with Allen and John Sullivan. Allen said, growing up in the Midwest, Sullivan “is someone I’ve always looked up to.” Says he hopes he doesn’t “annoy him too much” as he learns to be an NFL center.
Although he was listed as a center, Allen said he feels comfortable playing all three interior line positions. He made 17 starts at center, 16 at left guard and five at right guard for Michigan State.
Allen described himself as a “tough, hard-nosed, hard-working guy who’s going to do his job and do what’s expected of him.” He made 38 starts at Michigan State, including his final 28 games.
April 28, 2018 at 1:08 pm #85530znModeratorRich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
And, you guessed it, Brian Allen played in the Les Snead Senior Bowl this year.April 28, 2018 at 1:09 pm #85531znModeratorIMO this is good.
Blythe is just not starter material. This guy IS, looks like.
April 28, 2018 at 1:11 pm #85532AgamemnonParticipantBrian Allen would have likely been there in the 6th or 7th. I don’t get it…
— Downtown Rams (@DowntownRams) April 28, 2018
#Rams Draft Grades
3rd: OT Joseph Noteboom – B+
4th: C Brian Allen – D+— Downtown Rams (@DowntownRams) April 28, 2018
April 28, 2018 at 1:27 pm #85533znModeratorDeadpool sez:
Brian Allen – OC – Michigan State – 6′-1″ 298 lbs. – A strong, tough center that is sluggish in his movement. A workhorse.
He was my 218th ranked prospect, but my 2nd highest rated pure OC behind Quessenberry from UCLA. He has short arms and isn’t very smooth in his movement but he has a few intangibles I really look for in a OL. He was a very good wrestler, that means he knows how to use his hands, he knows how to manipulate weight and is tougher then your average bear. He was also a captain, so a leader and he comes from a deep football family.
And as I have said in the past, my blind spot is OC. I just don’t nail those guys too often.
Not a bad pick if you are desperate for an OC this year. Thats why I had Sean Welsh or Tony Adams to the Rams in the 6th. But they are guards first, projecting to C, Allen is a OC.
ESPN had him ranked 197, NFL.com had him as a 7th rounder.
April 28, 2018 at 1:35 pm #85534znModeratorRick Gosselin@RickGosselin9
The Rams selection of center Brian Allen gives Michigan State a draft pick in a 78th consecutive NFL draft. The only two schools with longer such streaks are Michigan and Southern Cal with 80 consecutive drafts apiece.Kristen Lago@kristennlago
“I came away from there with a pretty good feeling and I thought the feelings were mutual. I’m pretty excited to get out there.” — C Brian Allen on his sense that the #LARams were interested.Pro Football Weekly@PFWeekly
Brian Allen goes to the #Rams at pick No. 11. @greggabe sees him as a quality backupKristen Lago@kristennlago
What does Brian Allen think he brings to the #LaRams locker room?“I’m just a tough, hard-nose working guy who is going to do his job and do what’s expected of him.”
April 28, 2018 at 1:36 pm #85535ZooeyModeratorI don’t really trust rankings at this point, anyway. I think the guys in the Top 100 are pretty well looked at, but after that, my guess is most of these sites are kind of throwing darts based on statistics and combine numbers rather than actual football play.
I have no reason at this point to seriously question the Les Snead Senior Bowl. Looks to me like his method has worked pretty well, better than average.
April 28, 2018 at 1:40 pm #85536HramParticipantI like that they went online the first two picks. It makes a great deal of strategic sense to me. I have zero idea if these were the two to take.
I bet we take one more before the end of the 6th.
April 29, 2018 at 12:06 am #85632znModeratorMyles Simmons@MylesASimmons
Snead calls C Brian Allen a “really good technician” and “very smart.” Adds he’s a “great guy, but mean on the field.”April 29, 2018 at 8:35 am #85651canadaramParticipantOurlads Guide to the NFL Draft:
Three-year starter form Hinsdale, IL. A thick powerful blocker who is solid on the line and dominates on the second level. Takes good angles and cuts off backside puts. Plays with intensity that borderlines on viscous and nasty. Powerful on down blocks. Drives legs in contact. Long torso blocker who can anchor and leverage versus the most powerful bull rushers. Accurate, quick and consistent on his shotgun snaps. Good mental processing to locate the most dangerous man in pass protection. When uncovered, a defender he’s blocking better work to finish because the 37-game starter will give a rib shot to an unaware pass rusher. Allen is productive with decleat blocks and work to finish. A future starter with toughness and intelligence. OSR: 33/38. Sixth/seventh round. (A-32 3/8, H-9 1/4, BP-27, 10-1.88).
April 29, 2018 at 8:40 am #85652canadaramParticipantBrugler:
BRIAN ALLEN | Michigan State 6011 | 298 lbs. | SR. Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central) 10/11/1995 (age 22.6) #65
BACKGROUND: A four-star offensive center recruit out of high school, Brian Allen was a three-year starter on both sides of the line of scrimmage, earning First Team all-state honors as a senior. He became the first wrestler in school history to win four state medals, winning the 2013 3A heavyweight state championship with a perfect 48-0 record (almost made it back-to-back titles, but lost in overtime in the 2014 championship match). Allen also won the state title in the shot put in 2013. He was considered a top-five center recruit in the 2014 cycle with offers from Iowa, Ole Miss, Wisconsin and others, but Michigan State had the inside track, following in the footsteps of his older brother (Jack). He was pressed into action as a true freshman due to injuries, starting a pair of games at left guard. Allen became a regular starter as a sophomore (12 starts), splitting his time between left guard and center to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors. He filled in across the three interior line positions as a junior as the only MSU offensive lineman to start all 12 games, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors. Allen stayed at center for his senior season, starting all 13 games there in 2017 to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors for the third straight year. He accepted his invitation to the 2018 East-West Shrine Game.STRENGTHS: Flexible hips to snap-and-seal…works hard to achieve body position…foot quickness to pull into space and take out moving targets…knee bend to play low and establish leverage, resetting to find his anchor after contact…grappling hands and wrestling background is clear…always in a ready position with astute awareness…takes pride in his finishing skills…lead singer making the protection calls and checks…voted a senior captain with exemplary competitive toughness…NFL bloodlines – older brother (Jack) was an All-American at MSU and has played two seasons with the New Orleans Saints…experienced at all three interior line spots.
WEAKNESSES: Undersized by NFL standards with a short, smaller-framed body…belly-to-belly blocker with shorter arms…falls behind quickly if he doesn’t land his initial punch…doesn’t play with the upper body power to redirect or displace defenders…can be bullied by physical nose tackles who can overwhelm him at the point of attack…not explosive off the snap and lacks the nimble footwork to recover once beat…lower body stiffness shows in pass protection…allows athletic three- techniques to cross his face without a pat-down…inconsistent timing and success as a second-level blocker.
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Michigan State, Allen started the final 28 games of his career, including all 13 games at center. He earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors each of his three seasons as a starter and his versatility was a valuable asset for the Spartans, spending time at left guard, right guard and center. A team leader in East Lansing, Allen has terrific intangibles, toughness and intelligence that will win over pro coaches. While he isn’t a poor athlete, he isn’t an impressive athlete either and lacks the ideal size or sustain skills that teams desire at the position. Overall, Allen is a smart, scrappy center who is rarely out-maneuvered, but he can be overpowered, creating doubt that he will be anything more than a NFL back-up.
GRADE: 6th-7th RoundApril 29, 2018 at 9:00 am #85655znModeratorA future starter with toughness and intelligence.
lead singer making the protection calls and checks…voted a senior captain with exemplary competitive toughness
A team leader in East Lansing, Allen has terrific intangibles, toughness and intelligence that will win over pro coaches.
TexasRam sez:
Sure there are many consensus rankings, but teams will have a diff emphasis on some traits that will affect their rankings. Teams have different systems and prospects can vastly differ in value per system and team.
And in the case of Notebloom and Allen you can see they both have quick feet and the ability to block in space. Perfect fit for our zone scheme and the Mcvay offense that uses a lot of movement by the Oline with the screen game.
Neither one are maulers, though if you watch Allen’s film such as vs Ohio state you can see him really moving some huge bodies.
April 29, 2018 at 12:34 pm #85690znModeratorBrian Allen might be the centerpiece of Rams’ draft
link: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/28/brian-allen-might-be-the-centerpiece-of-rams-draft/
THOUSAND OAKS — “The basement” has become a metaphor for cyber-driven dysfunction, a teenage wasteland below ground.
The Allen basement, in Hinsdale, Ill., is an exception.
It is the headwater for a long stream of large people in Michigan State uniforms.
On Saturday, it contributed its second son to the NFL.
Brian Allen, Spartan center for four years and the king of the high school mat in his time, was the first of the Rams’ fourth-round picks on Saturday.
His older brother Jack was undrafted after his Michigan State career but made the New Orleans roster in 2016 anyway.
His younger brother Matt is a redshirt freshman in East Lansing and was the top recruit among centers in the Midwest..
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio was asked to compare Jack to Brian.
“I don’t really like to do that,” he said, “especially in this case, because one of them will get mad at me.”
Dantonio has been to the basement.
“There’s a wrestling mat down there,” he said. “There’s a three-year gap between all the brothers, so they get after it. For us, we’ve had an Allen in the program since 2011 and we’ll have one until 2020. So that’s pretty good.
“When we go to the house, they already know what we’re all about and what our direction is.”
Offensive line coach Mark Staten has gone down those steps, too.
“There’s holes in the wall, they’ve had to get people to come down and work on the sheetrock,” Staten said. ‘It’s about what you’d expect with three brothers like that.”
All three Hinsdale Central wrestlers won Illinois state championships. Brian was the first to get medals all four years. He went 49-0 as a junior, 45-2 as a senior.
John, the father, wrestled at Purdue. Jim Zajicek, John’s stepbrother, was an assistant wrestling coach at Hinsdale Central.
Brian also won the state shot put title and, in football, played on both sides. He was a starting guard alongside Jack as a freshman at East Lansing, moved to center when Jack left, and started his final 28 games for the Spartans, including a blowout win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
Pro Football Focus, in its draft guide, praised Allen’s low stance and noted that he was “never overmatched” in any MSU game.
It also knocked his athleticism and said he was undersized, even though he lists at 6-foot-2, 302.
Staten, who played with Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer at Miami of Ohio, says the mat has a way of equalizing all that. Wrestling is the extracurricular activity that football coaches want to see on the worksheet. It identifies want-to, and exposes fear.
“There’s no excuse when you wrestle,” Staten said. “You’re either winning or you’re losing. It’s that one-on-one thing that you have to have when you’re lined up. And you also pick up a lot off things about the physical angles and the leverage.
“Brian learned from his brother. He was our team captain. He knew when to put a boot up somebody’s (backside) and when to put his arm around somebody. He played with a hip problem and some other things, but it was hard to tell because he’d never admit it.”
An NFL scout tabbed Allen “the bully of the Big 10,” but then nobody picked him in the first two days of this draft. It brought up brief nightmares from Jack’s undrafted year. Brian had said beforehand that he would hold no draft party.
“I’ll probably just hang out with the family and sit on the couch like a loser,” he said. “Expect the worst, hope for the best.”
He even pointed out to Staten that he had an extra year of eligibility he could use on wrestling. Academics weren’t a problem, since Allen was a 3.3 economics student.
Roger Chandler, the wrestling coach, had suggested that very thing for years..
“I told Brian to forget it, you’re going to be playing football,” Staten said.
Allen got clarification, in his mind, when he came to Thousand Oaks. “I was telling my agent today that I thought the Rams would take me,” he said.
The current center, John Sullivan, signed a two-year extension, but turns 33 during training camp. The Rams dare not pretend they can get through another 16-game season without a sidelining injury to a starting lineman.
They drafted 10 of their 11 players on Saturday alone. Even a tape freak like Rams general manager Les Snead risked eyestrain.
“But if you’ve been watching football players all fall and December, February and April and you’re kind of dozing off,” Snead said, “you put the Michigan State center on film.”
Soon the basement will be appearing on the Coliseum floor.
April 30, 2018 at 3:11 pm #85762May 19, 2018 at 11:12 pm #86313znModeratorAllen Brings Wrestling Mentality to Offensive Line
Read 📰 » https://t.co/6ma63g7tXi pic.twitter.com/yIWSP8cz5Z
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 17, 2018
May 19, 2018 at 11:55 pm #86317InvaderRamModeratorwell right now i got noteboom, allen, kiser, and ogbo pencilled in as future starters…
gotta be the greatest draft in nfl history i figure…
hahahaha.
May 20, 2018 at 12:05 am #86319znModeratorwell right now i got noteboom, allen, kiser, and ogbo pencilled in as future starters…
gotta be the greatest draft in nfl history i figure…
hahahaha.
It could be a really good one, this draft.
There might be another guy or 2 in there too.
..
June 17, 2018 at 1:57 am #87417znModerator==
Lol I love this… people always think they can “beat” a pro linemen in a 1 on 1. I’ve been asked too many times to get in a stance because so and so wants to try getting around me. It’s not happening. https://t.co/4FJwpyQ4zk
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) June 17, 2018
==
Pence wasn’t trying very hard but when Allen threw him like a rag doll at the end, he realized this is for real
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) June 17, 2018
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.