Colts tight end Dwayne Allen: Give playmakers (like me) the football
- Colts at Texans, 8:25 p.m. Thursday, CBS, NFL
Say this for Dwayne Allen: He does not suffer from an inferiority complex.
"When I'm on the field, I am a dominant tight end both blocking and receiving," the Indianapolis Colts' fourth-year player said Monday.
But Allen hit on an important point in that very audacious — and largely true — statement.
"When" he actually gets on the field is oftentimes a bit of a question given his rash of injuries the past three seasons.
Allen is among the best young tight ends in the game. But if there's one thing holding him back from reaching the next level, some might argue it's his availability. This week, Allen is fighting an ankle sprain that's kept him out the past two games and his status is a question once again as the Colts head into Thursday night's matchup against the Houston Texans (8:25 p.m.; CBS, NFL Network).
Allen doesn't accept that criticism as valid.
"Some people might say that," he said. "But they factor in the whole year that I missed to injury (he missed 15 games in 2013). You factor that out and I played all 17 games my rookie year, I played 13 regular-season games and all of the postseason games last year. And this year I've missed two so far. When you look at it in its entirety, it's really not that bad."
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Allen is in a contract year, with his rookie deal set to expire after this season. The presence of fellow 2012 draft pick Coby Fleener might factor into whether the Colts are able to keep Allen long term.
While he's here, however, Allen thinks there's a bigger impediment standing between him and elite status: Opportunity. Put simply, Allen wants more of it.
He held up backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's performance on Sunday as an example. Hasselbeck targeted Fleener 12 times — nearly equaling the 16 times tight ends had been targeted in the previous three games.
Allen strongly suggested he wants starter Andrew Luck to do likewise.
"There are some things that we have to work out offensively," said Allen, who has three catches for 17 yards in six quarters of action. "But I think having Matt out there this Sunday and seeing the way he distributed the ball, it was a step in the right direction."
Then, while gesturing across the way to Fleener's locker, Allen playfully said, "I'm not even going to talk about the (12) targets to the tight end position. That's what we need, the ball finding all of our playmakers' hands."
Asked where the Colts are offensively through four games — they're 18th in total offense after ranking third in 2014 — Allen said the picture remains incomplete.
The Colts, Allen said, need "to find a groove and an identity. I think from Tennessee to this week, we looked very different offensively. We had somewhat better production. But what is our identity? We have all these pieces. It's like, what are we? Are we a running team? Are we a passing team? Who are the (primary) options? We're starting to figure out who those guys are and the ball is starting to find those guys."
Will Allen be one of those guys? We will know soon enough. Once he gets back on the field.
Call Star reporter Stephen Holder at (317) 444-6520. Follow him on Twitter: @HolderStephen.
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