Allen has surgery, other Friday news, notes

The statement from Mike Tomlin was short and to the point:

"Earlier today, Cortez had minor surgery on his right knee. We wanted him to get the surgery done now so he can begin rehabilitating immediately. This surgery was a minor procedure and will have no long-term effects on his return to the field. We look forward to his rehabilitation process and having him back on the field in a couple of weeks."

That's both bad and good news for the Steelers.

Allen had been sidelined for the first week of practice with what was being considered a day-to-day soreness in his knee.

I haven't confirmed this yet, but when speaking with other reporters Thursday at practice, I was guessing it was a meniscus issue.

Allen is being counted on to move into the starting lineup this season to replace Keenan Lewis, and the Steelers expect big things from him.

But he also logged enough snaps in 2012 that the team was looking at him as a returning starter, not a new one.

The fact that they are able to get this issue fixed now instead of a month from now, is actually a good thing. It gives the team more time to work with some of its younger corners, most notably, Curtis Brown.

@ The Steelers flip-flopped their two tackles on Friday, moving Mike Adams to the left side and Marcus Gilbert to the right.

I think this is the better lineup for them, and we'll see if that holds up at all down the road, though Tomlin said it was just taking a look at them at those spots.

@ Le'Veon Bell had a good night, looking much more prepared in the backs on backers tonight. He's now bending and delivering a blow instead of taking the complete brunt of the rush.

He also had a couple of nice runs in the team portion, including a nice burst and cutback up the middle.

Again, the only way he doesn't win the job is if he's hurt or fumbles in the preseason.

Bell did get a little dinged at one point, having team trainers look at his left knee. But they found no structural damage and he returned to action, making his big run after that incident.

@ Tomlin has had the players hitting in every practice this week with live tackling sessions. Can't help but wonder when that gets dialed back a bit.

@ Rookie Mike Golic Jr. was moved inside to guard today - his college position - and actually looked much better there than at tackle. Maybe with Nik Embernate's injury, the Steelers feel they have more of a need inside than out.

Embernate, Tomlin revealed, tore his ACL and MCL on Thursday. No surgery date has been set.

@ Just when it appeared that Ben Roethlisberger would lead the offense to a score in a hurry-up drill, Troy Polamalu ended the session with a deflection on the final play at the goal line.

To be honest, though, even I had remarked to PR man Burt Lauten that the matchup on that side, Antonio Brown vs. Curtis Brown, was a juicy one for Roethlisberger.

But Polamalu jumped the slant perfectly, showing great explosion.

@ Last year's camp phenom, Adrian Robinson, is this year's whipping boy.

Tomlin chewed Robinson out during backs on backers, saying, "Adrian, you don't inspire me from an energy standpoint. You had better pick your shit up."

Robinson, it appears, is being passed by this year's camp phenom, Alan Baxter.

After all, who doesn't want to hang with my good friend Baxter, and a glass of scotch?