Mike Chappell

IndyStar

The pass was high. Colts tight end Dwayne Allen jumped, was lightly jostled by Oakland linebacker Kevin Burnett and landed awkwardly.

The result: season-ending surgery on Allen's right hip. His 2013 season was over after 2½ quarters.

"You know (the risk of injury) when you sign up for this game," he said. "We always say playing the sport of football, you have 100 percent chance of injury."

And few teams had to deal with as many injuries the past two seasons — significant ones — as the Colts.

Head trauma. A shredded ACL. A broken this or sprained that. Knee, groin, neck, shoulder or ankle.

They caused the Colts to have 110.3 Adjusted Games Lost last season, a FootballOutsiders.com statistic that includes a player's role and other factors to measure the effect of injuries, the second-most in the NFL. (The New York Giants had the most.) Consider:

• Last season, 31 players combined to miss 152 regular-season games. Seven starters had season-ending injuries, including Reggie Wayne. The Pro Bowl receiver saw his streak of 189 consecutive appearances, the NFL's longest at his position, snapped when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Oct. 20 against Denver.

• The injuries forced coach Chuck Pagano and his staff to shuffle their lineup and General Manager Ryan Grigson to address the 53-man roster on a weekly basis. The Colts used a league-high 67 players, according to the NFL.

• In 2012, 24 players missed a combined 113 games. (The Colts had 92.5 Adjusted Games Lost that season, third-most in the NFL.) Injuries along the offensive line sabotaged continuity and efficiency. The Colts used six different starting lineups, which contributed to rookie quarterback Andrew Luck absorbing 41 sacks, tied for fourth-most in club history.

• The team used 68 players in '12, tied for second-most in the league.

The Colts have endured and thrived, in large part because Luck has stayed on the field. They've reached the postseason the past two seasons with 11-5 records.

"Grit. Grit," Pagano said of his team's ability to succeed despite the spate of injuries. "Perseverance. Resolve."

While the Colts' ability to overcome injuries is undeniable, the fact they've had to do so begs a few questions: Are they doing everything possible to prevent them? Is there a common thread linking this injury to that one?

Pagano insisted the Colts always are analyzing the data, starting with their own injuries and expanding it leaguewide. They're searching for a trend, something to make the next season less risky than the previous one.

The inevitable conclusion: Injuries are part of a violent sport. FootballOutsiders.com's research reinforces that as it has found little correlation in injuries from one season to the next.

"Some of them are just going to happen," Pagano said. "Some are just unfortunate, non-contact."

Allen is adamant he had done everything possible to prepare for the between-the-lines perils.

"I was already in yoga and stretching and getting more flexible," Allen said. "I thought I was doing the right things.

"I just came down the wrong way."

Four days later — in practice and in a non-contact drill, no less — running back Vick Ballard saw his season end when he planted his right foot and felt a sharp pain in his right knee. He had torn his ACL.

"I just made a cut," Ballard said. "Nobody even touched me."

He initially wondered if there was something he could have done to prevent the injury.

"Yeah, you think about that," Ballard said. "But in reality, sometimes there's nothing you can do.

"Football is a physical, demanding sport so you're going to have injuries."

Donald Thomas had two against Miami in Week 2. The starting left guard, signed to a four-year, $14 million contract in the offseason, tore his right biceps, then his right quadriceps tendon.

Preventable? No and no, he insisted.

The quad? "I just planted the wrong way."

The biceps? "My arm got overextended."

"You hope and pray you make it through the season healthy," Thomas said. "You do everything you can physically to control that, but there are things you can't control."

Wayne was on pace for what would have been a club-record ninth 1,000-yard season when he flowed left across Denver's defense in the fourth quarter. Luck's pass arrived low and behind him, he planted his right leg and reached back. Wayne went down and grabbed his right knee.

Pagano replayed the scene in his mind, and slowly shook his head.

"Maybe it's Reggie turning, twisting and (the knee) goes," he said. "What do you attribute that to? Some (injuries) just deal with the game.

"We feel like we've got a great training staff, great strength and conditioning staff. But you're always looking at everything you do from a preparation standpoint in the offseason."

Some wonder if the league's safety-first approach isn't producing an unexpected negative impact. The current collective bargaining agreement has further restricted the amount of time players are allowed to participate in team-related activities to nine weeks. The first two weeks are limited to strength and conditioning work as well as continued injury rehab.

The Colts' offseason work began April 21 and concludes June 19 with the third and final mandatory minicamp session.

Outside of that, players are on their own until reporting to Anderson University on July 23 for the start of training camp. The preseason opener is Aug. 7 on the road against the New York Jets.

"It's so short now," Pagano said of hands-on time with players.

Prior to April 21, players have access to the team's facilities, but "we can't talk to them. We can't talk football," he said.

"We can have guys in the weight room for supervision so no one gets hurt, but (players) have got to come in and do it on their own. You're counting on guys being great pros and really understand what it takes to play a 16-game season, handle training camp, come in, in shape, take care of their bodies."

It's debatable if extended offseason work would reduce the risk of injury. In general, we're not talking about an epidemic of pulled hamstrings.

Allen reconsidered his freakish hip injury.

"Mr. (Jim) Irsay has provided everything for us so that we can train at the highest level, so we can prep our bodies for practice and games," he said. "There is nothing else (to do) from a training standpoint.

"You wish there was (a common thread). But there's not. It's not as simple as stretching more or getting more flexible or whatever. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw."

Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830. You can follow him on Twitter at @mchappell51.