Steelers CB Cortez Allen  hopes to be like Ike Taylor. At least, he hopes to be able to play at the level that Ike Taylor does. Allen, who is entering his 4th season with the Steelers, battled injury early in the season, but saw far more snaps than in previous seasons. Out of the 718 snaps he saw action on, he was thrown at a total of 81 times. Approximately 55% of those pass attempts were caught, and 5 of those resulted in a touchdown.

While he saw less playing time than Ike Taylor, his coverage allowed fewer yards, far fewer YAC (yards after catch), fewer touchdowns, and a significantly lower catch percentage. Arguably, the most important stat is the difference in interceptions. Allen had two, while Taylor had none. In the past you could argue that Ike was assigned to the X receiver, but that wasn’t always the case in 2013.

In an interview with Steelers.com writer Mike Prisuta, Allen shared his hopes to assume the responsibility of being the #1 corner. “Of course,” said Allen. “I’ve always liked to challenge myself. I’ve always wanted that challenge just to see how I match up. And it’s always fun to go against talent like that. Ike’s done it before me. Hopefully, one day I’ll be in that position to be the level of player that he is. It’s a day-by-day process. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him and the guys around me.”

The Citadel alum continued, “Wherever I am in the defense, wherever they see fit, what’s best for the team, then that’s where I’ll be. I’ve never been a guy who said, ‘I want to play on this side or that side.’ We’re both capable of playing either side. And we’re both capable of playing anybody we face. It’s always us. It’s never them.”

I think the future is full of promise for Allen, and he expressed a similar sentiment. Now that the season’s over, he said it’s time to start working on improving. “[He’ll start to] Evaluate myself and begin the process of attacking what I need to improve. Talk to Coach Tomlin and Coach Lake and see what I can improve in the off-season and go from there…there’s so much room for me to grow.”