Eagles, Allen move on from his costly mistake

Nate Allen continued to receive staunch support from the Eagles' coaching staff on Tuesday, when defensive coordinator Bill Davis said he is "absolutely confident" in the safety.

The trade deadline passed without the Eagles acquiring a safety. It was further evidence that the Eagles are behind Allen, who was at fault for a 75-yard touchdown pass that helped decide the Eagles' loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

"I watch every play Nate had. Nate had a very good game. He had one bad play," Davis said. "Over and over again, Nate was in the right spot, the right leverage, making the plays, and at the end of the game he had one bad play. The spotlight is on you, and that's part of being in the secondary, but Nate has thick skin, and we as a defense, collectively, blew it at the end."

Allen was sidelined for practice Tuesday with a hamstring injury. Davis said the injury is minor, and Allen said he would continue to monitor it throughout the week. Allen has moved past Sunday's blown coverage, preparing for this week's game against the Houston Texans.

"Obviously you think about the one play. That's just being a ballplayer," Allen said. "It [stinks] that that's going to happen. I'm not going to beat myself up any more about it. If you do that, it affects the next game and the next game, and you've got to learn from it to move on from it."

Davis identified key plays that Allen made in the game, going beyond the forced fumble and recovery that coach Chip Kelly mentioned on Monday. Allen's coverage helped prevent a touchdown at one point, and he bailed the Eagles out on a third-down stop. There were other miscues, too, such as a third-down penalty.

Allen, who accepted responsibility for the final touchdown after the game, made no excuses about the play. He's been in Philadelphia for five seasons, long enough to know to take the heat when it's hottest. He also has allowed enough big plays to gain experience in dealing with criticism.

"Definitely through the years [in Philadelphia], I've matured as a player and as a man," Allen said. "You go through things on this level, and sometimes your character's tested. At the end of the day, it's bigger than football. It's a blessing to be here. Football is what I do. It's not what I am. At the end of the day, there's greater problems in the world going on. I'm not contemplating suicide or anything like that."

Playing safety in Philadelphia comes with more pressure than in most other places, mostly because of the one who preceded Allen. He arrived two seasons after the team decided not to keep Brian Dawkins, and he has seen a legion of safeties come through the locker room as the Eagles have sought a replacement.

"I definitely learned it's a tough city, and [the fans] are passionate," Allen said. "It's a good thing and a bad thing because when you're doing good, you're on top of the world. And when it's bad, you're at the bottom of the barrel. But I've learned you can't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows."

He has started 61 of 66 regular-season games in an Eagles uniform, plus one playoff game. Allen is on his second contract with the Eagles, but he signed a one-year deal in March only after the team and Allen could not find better options elsewhere. He held off Earl Wolff during the preseason, and he must prove he's more than a placeholder until the Eagles find a better option.

Allen has been inconsistent this season. He's a good athlete who knows the scheme, but he has been beaten in coverage at times. Part of that is the nature of playing deep safety - when DeSean Jackson or John Brown race past him, there is no one to bail him out.

"It's not a trend I'm seeing," Davis said. "Has he played the perfect season? No. . . . I know it was magnified on Nate because of the situation in the game, where it was."

But the team remains confident in Allen, so he will be on the field when he is healthy. He knows he'll face the same scrutiny if he is beaten deep again.

It's "part of being a football player and a defensive back," Allen said. "Five years I've been here. It's always been like that, and it'll continue to be like that. Bad things will only get magnified. I won't let it beat me down."

@ZBerm