I don't get the love for Dwayne Allen as a player

[YourNextGM]

I mean,  he seems like a wonderful human,  but a flawed player.  You rarely see him makimg difficult catches.  You're never going to throw him a jump ball. I actually prefered Fleener as a player,  and I really didn't like him either.  So what is it about Allen that he just had to be re-signed? 

[pgt_rob]

Allen wasn't used as a receiver for most of the season last year. He was an extra linemen most of the time to block. 

[JColts72]

12 minutes ago, pgt_rob said:

Allen wasn't used as a receiver for most of the season last year. He was an extra linemen most of the time to block. 

He may be better off as a lineman since he was used to block mainly instead of a TE. In don't get the hype either of him being the next great star TE.

[Jackie Daytona]

It's probably the 1000 yards and 13 TD's in 40 games as the 3rd or 4th scoring option......  including last year, when he was forced to be a blocker nearly 100 percent of his snaps

 

[Valpo2004]

I also don't get why we gave him so much money.  I would have also rather given the money to Fleener.  

 

Good blocking TE but you can find plenty of good blocking TE's.  They arn't worth the money we gave to Allen.

 

He looked pretty good his rookie year but after that he's been pretty disappointing in terms of production.

[Jackie Daytona]

you take away last year of being miscast, and he has 936 yards, 12 td's and 75 catches on 118 targets across only 30 games......  not horrible for a young TE

[DougDew]

I don't think either Allen or Fleener are worth the contract's they signed.  I thought they would command that money, but wish the Colts would have let both of them walk.  I said so frequently last spring.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

I've got somewhat of a love/hate thing with Allen. He has some solid measurables and does contribute (when healthy), but sometimes I think he kind of sucks too. For instance that fumble he had in the red zone vs the Ravens in the 2nd preseason game was inexcusable. It's stuff like that that will cost the team a win here and there.

[Valpo2004]

51 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I don't think either Allen or Fleener are worth the contract's they signed.  I thought they would command that money, but wish the Colts would have let both of them walk.  I said so frequently last spring.

 

Ehh the Colts where sort of in a difficult position there.  I don't think there where a lot of good FA TE's to sign and it's not easy to get better when you have to replace your top 2 TE's in the same offseason.  And we can't roll with Jack Doyle and Eric Swoop as our top 2 TE's.  

 

Also I don't think there where many real good TE's in the draft either.

 

They where sort of forced to keep one of them.  I personally wish it would have been Fleener.  While I wouldn't call Fleener an elite player he's underrated here.  He's been top 10 among TE's in receiving yards in 2014.  He was a decent to above average TE1.  I don't know why he got so much crap from Colt's fans.  The only thing I can figure is they where expecting him to be Jimmy Graham or something just because he used to play with Luck at Stanford.  

 

But in 2014 he was #8 in receiving yards among TE's.  2013 he was 13.  

[Yoshinator]

Allen is a nice red Zone target and blocker, other than that, I'm not a big fan of him, but I like him better than Fleener, and Allen is a good Ying to Hilton, Moncrief, and Dorsett's yang. They can be very effective together if Luck is on his game.

[Myles]

I prefer Allen to Fleener.   I'm not saying he was worth the money paid, but I'm OK with him being part of the team.   His blocking skills will probably be utilized as well.  

[SP_21]

45 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Allen is a nice red Zone target and blocker, other than that, I'm not a big fan of him, but I like him better than Fleener, and Allen is a good Ying to Hilton, Moncrief, and Dorsett's yang. They can be very effective together if Luck is on his game.

What else is a TE supposed to do besides block and catch TDs?

[Yoshinator]

Just now, SP_21 said:

What else is a TE supposed to do besides block and catch TDs?

He's a standard TE, I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of a modern-type TE, like Gary Barnidge, Jason Witten, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce, that can catch, run, break tackles, and get 10-20 gains for the team. Power TE's that are used for catching the ball, not just blocking like a heath miller was early in his career before the last year or two. I like Allen because he is a polar opposite to our WR's, but if we didn't have them, I'd prefer a catching TE 9 times out of 10. We have the receivers that make Allen the exception for us.

[achcolts]

Man a lot of people are hating on him. He's a solid all around TE and truly think if he stays healthy and we don't have OL woes, he'll have a great season . I loved what I saw from him his rookie land 3rd year. Has a lot of potential

[ColtsLegacy]

I'm so ready for DA to shut these people up. Let's go season.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

4 hours ago, Shafty138 said:

you take away last year of being miscast, and he has 936 yards, 12 td's and 75 catches on 118 targets across only 30 games......  not horrible for a young TE

 

He has also been very good in the redzone (when healthy).

 

4 hours ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

I've got somewhat of a love/hate thing with Allen. He has some solid measurables and does contribute (when healthy), but sometimes I think he kind of sucks too. For instance that fumble he had in the red zone vs the Ravens in the 2nd preseason game was inexcusable. It's stuff like that that will cost the team a win here and there.

The fumble vs. the Ravens is an anomaly for Allen and was in a preseason game (still sucks to fumble, but I don't expect to see Allen being the primary reason for costing us wins).

 

I don't think Allen is the greatest TE -- but he's also been in a system where he has mostly been misused (IMO).  I am hopeful Chud will utilize him better than Pep did and give him more of a mixed role of blocker and pass catcher (considering he was not a primary component of the pass game for most of his time with Pep, he has put up some pretty good numbers).  Also, with the speed we have at WR and with Allen's size an ability to make catches in traffic and in the middle, we should be able to utilize him with mismatches (or if teams focus on him and protecting the middle of the field, we should be able to utilize our speedy WRs to exploit mismatches).

[aaron11]

4 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

I also don't get why we gave him so much money.  I would have also rather given the money to Fleener.  

 

Good blocking TE but you can find plenty of good blocking TE's.  They arn't worth the money we gave to Allen.

 

He looked pretty good his rookie year but after that he's been pretty disappointing in terms of production.

blocking tight ends are a dime a dozen.  how much better of a blocker is he than say, doyle or fleener anyway?

[aaron11]

1000 receiving yards in 4 years

[twfish]

Allen can do what the colts need him to do. Do we need a TE that can't block but can go vertices up the field when we have 3 sub 4.40 guys? No. Do we need a TE that can block so our qb can get the ball to those 3? Yes do we need a TE that is a big red zone target with reliable hands when 2 of the 3 WR are a tad undersized? Yes. I liked Fleener at first but the drops and missed blocks were terrible, along with that the way he bashed the team leaving and hearing what some people on the staff said about him put him in a bad place for me. I think swoope can end up taking Fleener place just as well but I don't think any tight end we had in the off season could fill Allens role as well.

[SP_21]

3 hours ago, Jared Cisneros said:

He's a standard TE, I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of a modern-type TE, like Gary Barnidge, Jason Witten, Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce, that can catch, run, break tackles, and get 10-20 gains for the team. Power TE's that are used for catching the ball, not just blocking like a heath miller was early in his career before the last year or two. I like Allen because he is a polar opposite to our WR's, but if we didn't have them, I'd prefer a catching TE 9 times out of 10. We have the receivers that make Allen the exception for us.

All of the guys you mentioned are/were the focal point of their teams passing attack. Allen has never had that opportunity with Fleener getting most of the targets. 

 

Allen should and I think he will prove a lot of people wrong this year. He's a very underrated pass catcher to go along with his blocking skills. 

[Carlos Danger]

I like him a lot. I think, if not for injuries, he'd be in the "elite TE" discussions. 

 

I expect him to outplay Fleener (different situations I know) on their current contracts. 

[1959Colts]

My two cents... Allen has under-achieved.

Now that he got paid, let's see if he can deliver.

[BOTT]

6 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

I also don't get why we gave him so much money.  I would have also rather given the money to Fleener.  

 

Good blocking TE but you can find plenty of good blocking TE's.  They arn't worth the money we gave to Allen.

 

He looked pretty good his rookie year but after that he's been pretty disappointing in terms of production.

I wouldn't have given either one the contacts they signed.  But if I had to, I would have gambled on Allen.  I liked Coby, but,his play drives me nuts.  He's like a Ferrari somebody slipped a cheap 4 banger in.

[ColtsLegacy]

7 minutes ago, BOTT said:

I wouldn't have given either one the contacts they signed.  But if I had to, I would have gambled on Allen.  I liked Coby, but,his play drives me nuts.  He's like a Ferrari somebody slipped a cheap 4 banger in.

 

So you're saying you like Coby's body but not his package?

[BOTT]

12 minutes ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

So you're saying you like Coby's body but not his package?

LoL.  Yeah, I guess I am.

[a06cc]

 He is a tough player when healthy. He can block, catch and fight for extra yards. Fleener could only catch. That was why we kept Allen. He can also get into other players heads. An example is when he got poked in the eye last season. That won us the game against Denver. He has to stay healthy though. That's the only thing I can't stand about him. 

[OffensivelyPC]

I love how people act like Gronkowskis and 2013 Jimmy Grahams are just being churned out of the college scene like every team should have one. Theres a reason Dwayne and Coby got the contracts they did, which is because thats what the market would pay for those guys despite their flaws.

[Pacergeek]

Allen is OK, but compared to TE's of the past, like Marcus Pollard and Dallas Clark, he isn't very good

[deedub75]

7 hours ago, pgt_rob said:

Allen wasn't used as a receiver for most of the season last year. He was an extra linemen most of the time to block. 

 

He probably will be a highly paid blocker if he stays healthy.

[Superman]

How about Tay Glover Wright? He's easily the worst player on the team, and no one seems to be complaining about him. Not sure why... 

[GoColts8818]

I was on the keep Fleener bandwagon.  The fact Allen has been MIA a lot of the pre-season outside of his fumble is troublesome.

 

Still I get his appeal.  He can block and be a red zone target.  He showed that his rookie season.  The problem is due to injury and having to use him to block we haven't seen that player since his rookie year.  If he plays like his rookie year this will be a good deal for the Colts if he doesn't he won't see this full contract.

[Bluefire4]

Allen is a great blocker and that is always helpful and he is also capable, yet overrated at receiver. He was a red zone threat for a period but I didn't see it last year and didn't see it this preseason when we struggled in the red zone.

 

I don't get why we paid Allen so much money but I'd definitely rather give it to him than Fleener. Fleener is just too unreliable with his route running and pass catching and cannot break a tackle to save his life. That's why you are hearing the news that him and Brees are jelling. Both TEs got overpaid this year but that's how it goes in the NFL sometimes.

[Bluefire4]

21 minutes ago, Superman said:

How about Tay Glover Wright? He's easily the worst player on the team, and no one seems to be complaining about him. Not sure why... 

Because he's not being paid heavily and will be gone on Saturday. I doubt he plays more than 10 snaps Thursday if we can get Smith and Mitchell back out there.

[akcolt]

15 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

I also don't get why we gave him so much money.  I would have also rather given the money to Fleener.  

 

Good blocking TE but you can find plenty of good blocking TE's.  They arn't worth the money we gave to Allen.

 

He looked pretty good his rookie year but after that he's been pretty disappointing in terms of production.

We paid Allen because he can break tackles after the catch and he can block those are things Fleener can't do. Fleener was a one trick pony. Swoope looks like he can provide what Fleener did  speed and he is just learning the game. Fleener was soft a strong breeze would bring him down. Allen was asked to be the blocking TE because Fleener could not block. Blocking TE's maybe a dime a dozen but an all around good TE is not easy to find that's what Allen is. That's why we kept him. He's a better football player. 

[DougDew]

It looks to me that Chase Coffman is capable of blocking, making a tough catch, and breaking the first tackle.  Not sure how much else we really need from a TE

[theanarchist]

My only real complaint with Allen has been his inability to stay healthy. Otherwise he's a solid all around TE. Good blocker, Decent hands, Runs pretty well etc.. Stay healthy. I didn't ever think anyone was saying that he was the next great TE. I know when the Colts resigned him that it was said that he was the better all around player between Fleener and himself. I agree he's a better blocker.

[CoachLite]

14 hours ago, 1959Colts said:

My two cents... Allen has under-achieved.

Now that he got paid, let's see if he can deliver.

Ya know, I think this could be said of most of the Colt's players, as a team. Doesn't it make you wonder why?

[tikyle]

20 hours ago, YourNextGM said:

I mean,  he seems like a wonderful human,  but a flawed player.  You rarely see him makimg difficult catches.  You're never going to throw him a jump ball. I actually prefered Fleener as a player,  and I really didn't like him either.  So what is it about Allen that he just had to be re-signed? 

What did Fleener do better than Allen?

When both were healthy, other than speed, Allen was better at every other aspect of being a TE IMHO.

Blocking, catching, route running, scoring TDs, etc.  Now Fleener's availabilty was much better than Allen's.  But for a guy who basically had the same measurables as Jimmy Graham, Fleener just made zero impact compared to Graham.  Too many dropped passes.  Would not catch the ball in traffic.  Was not a jump ball guy.  Let smallish CB and S guard him.

[jbaron04]

I like Allen  just afraid he we always be in and out the lineup, but he is what we need a te that can block,  catch and a good red zone threat. We have hilton, Moncrief and dorsett there is only so many balls to go and around per game 

If luck is throwing say 36 times a game where would a 100% receiving te be able to sure his worth. So allen is what we need 3rd or 4th pass option good blocker and red zone threat 

[Myles]

16 hours ago, aaron11 said:

how much better of a blocker is he than say, doyle or fleener anyway?

Much better.