The Facts: Allen had a pair of throws slip through his mitts on Wednesday. One came on a toss from Tom Brady that might've sailed a little high and wide during a drill with no defense. The other was from Jimmy Garoppolo and was thrown near Allen's feet in the flat during 11-on-11 work. Both catchable, it seemed. Both incomplete. "There's a standard of excellence here," Allen said. "So if you drop a pass, that's not excellence . . . It's always frustrating whenever you don't do your best."

Diehards Line: CSNNE.com's Phil Perry went on to note that on Tuesday, in the rain, Allen had a few bounce in and out of his hands before making a difficult grab on a low Garoppolo throw for a touchdown. Frustrated by his day to that point he flung the football up in the air as a release of sorts. "That's exactly what that was," Allen said. "A lot of frustration because I know that I can play better. I know that I am better. ..." The 6-3, 265-pound 27-year-old is one of the most experienced players in a tight end room that is relatively crowded at the moment. Behind him and Rob Gronkowski are Matt Lengel, James O'Shaughnessy and undrafted rookies Jacob Hollister and Sam Cotton. He's the clear-cut No. 2, but Allen needs to play like it.