BALTIMORE — The arrival of Ed Reed looks like it will have a dramatic effect on second-year safety Antonio Allen — and not all in good ways.
Allen played just three snaps last week for the Jets against the Bills after starting for most of the season. You have to wonder how it will stunt his development.
“It kind of hit me by surprise, but I’m not really focused on that,” Allen said of his playing time in Buffalo. “I’m trying to focus on the things that I can control, and that’s when I’m out there on the field, for however many plays, I just have to give my all and continue to play.”
Allen started seven of the Jets’ first nine games and was a key player in several of them. He returned an interception for a touchdown against the Patriots, and the play proved to be a huge momentum swing in the Jets’ win.
Coach Rex Ryan said Allen remains a part of the defensive game plan, but the Bills’ matchups caused him to stay away from some of the packages that include Allen. Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman expects to see more Allen this week.
“[It was] just the circumstance of the game,” Thurman said of last week. “I’m assuming that he’ll play more and a lot of those things are dictated by matchups as well. So, we’re assuming he’ll play more this week.”
Allen, a seventh-round pick in 2012, is concentrating on his job and not his playing time.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Whenever he calls my name, that’s when I’m up. I just have to play through everything.”
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Wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (elbow) and linebacker Garrett McIntyre (knee) officially were ruled out for Sunday’s game.
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Allen is not the only one who has a reduced role now. Tight end Kellen Winslow played just 11 snaps last week in his first game back from suspension. He was playing around 50 snaps in games early this season.
“If you remember, and he had a bunch of catches, we were in two-minute quite a little bit during those stretches,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “It depends, every game is a little bit differently. That was his first game back after a month off. That was on purpose where I wanted [it], much like Santonio [Holmes] coming back. The guy’s off injury, OK, let’s give him a little bit, make sure that they’re ready to go a little bit more the next week. That’s where we are with him as well.”
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Geno Smith has thrown 16 interceptions in 10 games, putting him on pace for 26 this season. But that would not be a Jets record. The single-season interceptions franchise record is 30, set by Al Dorow in 1961 and matched by Richard Todd in 1980. Mark Sanchez’s season-high was 20 in 2009.