Mancini’s Take: There’s no understating the season-ending injury to Marlin Jackson, a savvy and physical defender with range who was pegged as Philly’s starting free safety prior to rupturing his Achilles tendon. The Eagles had no intention of heaping too much responsibility on Allen this early, but he’s clearly the player who’s best suited to replace Jackson in terms of pure skill. Macho Harris is a hybrid player with enough speed to play corner, but isn’t physical enough to man any of the safety positions. Quentin Demps, on the other hand, isn’t very good in coverage and lacks the ability to make difference-making plays. Alas, the Birds will have to sink or swim with Allen who’s a chiseled athlete at about 6-1, 207 pounds. He can come up and knock the daylights out of ball carriers at the line of scrimmage, but is also athletic enough to provide solid man-to-man and zone coverage. However, the USF product lacks top-end speed, which makes it extremely important for him to avoid gambling too much since he lacks the feet to recover in time. His partner at strong safety, Quintin Mikell has coverage issues of his own. In summary, the Eagles have yet to replace the legendary Brian Dawkins, but Allen has the skill set to be a solid starter. Of course, some patience is required.