Bucs' Frazier says Jared Allen not the same anymoreGreg Auman, Times Staff WriterThursday, October 1, 2015 
Defensive end Jared Allen will make his Panthers debut in Tampa on Sunday. David T. Foster III/The Charlotte Observer via APOf all the coaches on the Bucs staff who can speak to the greatness of defensive end Jared Allen -- who will make his Panthers debut in Tampa on Sunday -- it probably starts with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who was in Minnesota for all six of Allen's seasons with the Vikings.Allen had 84.5 sacks in those six seasons, along with 16 forced fumbles, peaking with a 22-sack season in 2011 when Frazier was Minnesota's head coach. And yet when Frazier was asked about Allen on Thursday, he acknowledged he might not be the same pass-rusher he once was, perhaps sending some motivational bulletin-board material up to Charlotte."I have good memories of Jared, seeing him get after quarterbacks for as long as he did for us and did a terrific job in doing that," Frazier said. "I haven't seen much of him on tape from his time with Chicago, but a gregarious guy, great in the locker room, just a good player to have on your team. He's what, 33 maybe now, so I'm not sure he's the same as when he was 25 or 26, although I'm sure he would say different. But a great player, has been a great player in our league for a few years."Allen, in fairness, had just 5.5 sacks last season in Chicago, and had none in the first three games, though he was miscast as a 3-4 outside linebacker, instead of a 4-3 defensive end as he'll be again in Carolina. As we've mentioned, Lovie Smith knows Allen very well, too -- Allen had at least two sacks in four of his first five games against Smith's Bears teams, including 3.5 in one game.