Week 11: Texans @ Colts

huevonkiller · Nov 15, 2008

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Some notes before the game:

Colts Team Report

Yahoo! Sports Nov 14, 12:50 am EST

Inside Slant

With the Indianapolis Colts beginning preparations for Sunday’s home game with AFC South rival Houston, don’t expect Tony Dungy’s team to take the game for granted.

Yes, the Colts are 5-4 and have posted consecutive wins over the likes of the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. And, yes, Indianapolis has won 12 of its last 13 meetings with the Texans. But Dungy won’t allow anyone to become too enamored of the Colts’ recent run of success or become dismissive of the Texans’ 3-6 won-loss record.

All the Indianapolis coach has to do is remind his team of the last matchup with Houston, a 31-27 decision at Reliant Stadium on Oct. 5 that required Indianapolis to come up with a 21-point rally late in the game in order to pull out the improbable victory.

“Getting ready for Houston, we had a chance to look (at a videotape) of that first game. If we were in any stages of complacency, I think our players looking at that game should take that out of us,” Dungy said recently.

“We got off to a great start (in the earlier meeting), got up 10-0 and then they put up 27 unanswered points. I think we saw their whole arsenal. The front seven people they have on defense, (wide receiver) Andre Johnson and some good (running) backs. We have to continue to work and see if we can play better than we have the last couple of weeks and defend our home turf.”

The Colts have posted a 2-2 regular-season record at Lucas Oil Stadium this year, winning their last two games against Baltimore and the Patriots after early losses to Chicago and Jacksonville.

“It’s obviously a big game for us being back at home and trying to get on a three-game winning streak (this season) for the first time. I think we’ll have good work and good concentration (during practice this week). And that’s what we’ll need,” the Indianapolis coach said.

What happened in that first game won’t have any effect on how the Colts perform on Sunday.

“It’s one of those things, a perfect storm. We got into the no-huddle offense down 17 points, so that picked up the tempo for us a little bit. We hit a fourth-down pass to (rookie tight end) Tom Santi (for a touchdown) that they really had covered well,” Dungy recalled.

“We don’t get the onside kick, so you’re feeling like, ‘It’s really going to be desperate now,’ and we got a fumble recovery (by middle linebacker Gary Brackett) for a quick touchdown. To get those 14 points real fast like that is just one of those things that doesn’t normally happen. The thing you have to credit our guys with is they continued to play. They didn’t say, ‘We didn’t get the onside kick, so the game’s over.’ Once we got back in it, (Indianapolis) made some plays down the stretch.”

Series History: 14th meeting. Colts lead series, 12-1. Indianapolis has a 6-0 home record against the Texans (all previous games were played at the RCA Dome). The Colts have won the last three meetings overall. Houston’s lone win in the series occurred on Dec. 24, 2006 as the Colts dropped a 27-24 decision at Reliant Stadium, thanks to a 48-yard field goal by Kris Brown with no time remaining. RB Ron Dayne ran for a career-high 158 yards in that game. Indianapolis appeared headed for a second loss to the Texans in the first matchup between the two franchises this year, with Houston leading by 17 points (27-10) in the fourth quarter. The Colts rallied to score 21 unanswered points in a span of 2:10 to pull out the victory. Houston’s best chances of winning at Indianapolis occurred on Oct. 26, 2003 when the Texans squandered a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter and couldn’t hold on as the Colts registered a 30-21 win.

Notes, Quotes

• Colts coach Tony Dungy has a 12-1 record against the Texans.

• Indianapolis has a 29-10 overall record in AFC South play. The Colts have either owned or shared the divisional lead in 95 of 112 weeks of the division’s existence.

• The Colts have a .769 home-field winning percentage since 2002 (40-12).

• “That’s what it takes. You have to get big plays from a number of guys. It’s funny, we talked about it. I had mentioned going there a couple of times myself and winning games where we got contributions from young guys. I talked to the team about (K) Adam Vinatieri, when he was with New England, going there and winning in the (2002 AFC) Championship Game with a blocked field goal and a punt return. We just said, ‘You never know who’s going to make the big play.’ We had to have all 53 guys feeling like they could make one for us to win, and we did. Some defensive backs stepped up with some big interceptions, the defensive line play, not only (DT) Eric (Foster), but (DT) Antonio Johnson went in there and gave us some good play, (RB) Dominic (Rhodes) coming off the bench and giving us some good runs and that big catch. It is kind of gratifying when it’s not just your starting players, but it’s everyone.”—Tony Dungy, on the Colts stepping up their play in consecutive wins over New England and Pittsburgh.

• “It is, in a way, because we’re playing a lot of the teams that are contending with us and we’ll have a chance to have a good AFC record, which is the No. 1 tiebreaker, if we continue to win. If we win 11 or 12 games, I think we’ll be in there. If you win nine, you probably won’t. If you win 10, it’s going to be dicey, so we just have to keep winning and not put it in other people’s hands, not worry about tiebreakers. We just have to keep winning.”—Dungy, on if the chances of making the AFC playoffs this season is in the Colts’ control.

• “Not really. It’s always like that, it’s just for the last five or six years, we haven’t really had to think about it too much. But, it’s no different than it has been in the past. Three weeks from now, there will be a few less, and then three weeks from there, there will be a few less. But, it’s probably no different than it always has been.”—Dungy, on if he is surprised that so many AFC teams are still in contention for a playoff berth.

• “They really do. I told that to the team after the Tennessee game, ‘We’re playing New England, we’re playing Pittsburgh, we’re playing Houston, and San Diego the next week. These are all teams that you’re in the hunt for that wild-card spot with.’ Head-to-head will probably be the first tiebreaker with somebody, and then the next thing is going to be AFC record, so you have to win all these games against these AFC teams, especially the ones that are in the wild-card chase with you.”—Dungy, on whether AFC games now mean as much as divisional games for the Colts.

• In 13 career games with Houston, QB Peyton Manning has completed 295 of 409 passes for 3,539 yards, with 31 touchdowns and five interceptions. Manning has hit on 72.1 percent of his career passes and has a 118.4 career passer rating against the Texans.

• “Every time you throw an incompletion, everybody wants to know, ‘What’s wrong? How can that possibly happen?’ I’m trying to make good throws, and every time I throw an incompletion, I always look to see if I could have made a better throw or not. Everybody’s making a big deal about the (Pittsburgh) game (Sunday) night. I thought I could have made some better throws in that game. Some of those should have been in-stride catches with a better ball. So I think everybody’s overreacting a little bit about all that.”—QB Peyton Manning, on three incomplete passes to WR Marvin Harrison against Pittsburgh last week.

• The Colts offense ranks first in the NFL in touchdown percentage inside the red zone, scoring a TD 76 percent of the time (19 of 25).

• RB Joseph Addai, a Houston native, has four rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons against the Texans. Addai is attempting to register his fourth straight game with a touchdown against Houston.

• WR Reggie Wayne has averaged 108 receiving yards (324 yards overall) in his last three games this season. Wayne is aiming for his third consecutive 100-yard receiving home game against Houston. He has had 135 yards and 143 yards receiving over the last two seasons.

• The Colts have the league’s 32nd-ranked running game through nine games this season, averaging just 69.2 yards per game.

• “We can’t continue to run the ball as poorly as we have and expect to keep winning games. Although you look at some of the (New England) Patriots teams that have went far, deep in the playoffs, and their running game wasn’t necessarily the best. To be honest with you, I could care less how we win. We could throw the ball 60 times to win. So whatever mentality you take, whatever we have to do to win football games, I could care less.”—Colts C Jeff Saturday, on the team’s struggles to come up with a consistent running game this season.

By The Numbers: 5—The Colts have swept the season home-and-home series with Houston in five of the last six years.

Quote To Note: “We’re playing a little bit better. We’ve played three really good teams in the last three weeks, and had three good performances, which we hadn’t really had those good performances back to back. I think we’re practicing better. We just have to now make that show up in the game situation.”—Coach Tony Dungy, on what he has seen that leads him to believe that the Colts are ready to embark on a winning streak.

Strategy And Personnel

CB Marlin Jackson had surgery two weeks ago to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Jackson, who won’t return until next season, says that he is making good progress in his rehab.

“Everything is going good so far,” Jackson said this week. “I’m just rehabbing right now. That’s pretty much it.

“The surgery wasn’t going to be the easiest part, but the rehab is the hardest part. It’s going to be tough. You’ve got to be mentally strong. It ain’t really a problem for me. I’ll be all right. I’ve just got to rehab and know it out.”

PLAYER NOTES

• S Antoine Bethea (ankle) did not practice Thursday. Bethea is expected to return for workouts as the week progresses and play Sunday against Houston.

• WR Anthony Gonzalez (hamstring) was held out of Thursday’s practice. Gonzalez should be able to play this week against the Texans.

• DE Robert Mathis sat out Thursday practice to rest old injuries. Mathis is expected to start Sunday against the Texans.

• CB Keiwan Ratliff (quadriceps) did not practice Thursday. Ratliff is expected to return for workouts later this week. He is still slated to start against the Texans.

Game Plan: Everything revolves around the run. Offensively, the Colts need to try and reestablish the ground game this week. Indianapolis has struggled to get anything going on a consistent basis with its running game, although there have been flashes of potential over the last three or four weeks.

Defensively, the team’s run defense has improved in the last month. Statistically, the Colts rank 24th overall—allowing an average of 133.8. But those numbers have gotten steadily better in recent weeks (55 vs. Pittsburgh, 88 vs. Tennessee and 51 vs. Baltimore). That improvement needs to continue, especially this week against a Houston offense that ranks 17th in the league (107.3 yards per game).

Matchups To Watch: Colts LT Tony Ugoh vs. Texans RDE Mario Williams. Ugoh saw limited playing time the first time these two teams matched up this season. He is regaining the form he exhibited as a rookie last year after getting off to a sluggish start this season. Ugoh has also been bothered by a strained groin, but appears to be recovering nicely from that injury. Williams has played well, recording a team-high eight sacks in 2008.

Texans QB Sage Rosenfels vs. Colts S Bob Sanders. Rosenfels played well in the first meeting of these two teams. Well, until the final five minutes of the game when he turned the ball over three times (two fumbles and an interception). Sanders, meanwhile, did not play in that Texans game at Reliant Stadium as he was sidelined with a high right ankle sprain and minor knee surgery.

Colts RDE Dwight Freeney vs. Texans LT Duane Brown. Freeney, the Colts’ all-time sack record holder, had two sacks and a fumble recovery in last week’s road win over Pittsburgh. He has played very well against Houston in the past, recording nine career sacks. Brown has had limited success against Freeney in the past.

Injury Impact:

• CB Kelvin Hayden (hamstring) has not practiced this week and will not play this week against Houston.

• WR Roy Hall (hamstring/knee) has not practiced since he was initially injured against Chicago in the opening week of the season. He will not play against the Texans.

• S Antoine Bethea (ankle) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. He hopes to be able to take part in Friday’s workout. His availability for the Houston game won’t be known until after Friday’s practice session.

• WR Anthony Gonzalez (hamstring) has yet to practice this week. He may be able to return for Friday’s workout. His status for the Texans game is expected to be updated by Saturday.

• DT Daniel Muir (hamstring) returned for Thursday’s workout after sitting out on Wednesday. He remains hopeful of playing Sunday against Houston.

• TE Tom Santi (shoulder) has missed most of the last two weeks of practice. No decision on his availability for the Texans game is expected until Saturday.

• OG Ryan Lilja (knee) is expected to get some additional practice work in this week. Lilja, who underwent knee surgery in the offseason, is on the Colts’ physically-unable-to-perform list. He began practicing last week, starting the clock on his possible return to the active roster. A decision, though, is expected sometime next week.
Click to expand...

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Analysis:

Schaub continues to suffer through injuries and he will be out for this game. The Texans aren't too solid either in general and have only defeated the Dolphins, Lions, and Bengals. Steve Slaton their rookie sensation even had to rest a bit last week out of exhaustion so factoring in all of this plus this being a home game for us, it should be a lock. I'd expect a double digit victory actually, with us reaching the mid 30's in points scored.

huevonkiller · Nov 16, 2008

Thank God, on 3rd and 2 we come up with the stop. FG time for them.

huevonkiller · Nov 16, 2008

46 yard return by Chad Simpson, he's looked nice the few times he's touched the ball.

huevonkiller · Nov 16, 2008

First down to Wayne after two Addai runs, hell yeah.

44Thrilla · Nov 16, 2008

Go Texans!

huevonkiller · Nov 16, 2008

Session tracked down Slaton on the toss.

huevonkiller · Nov 16, 2008

Clark to the 31, but why is he trying to run out of bounds?...

Incomplete over the middle, there was some pressure.

umair · Nov 16, 2008

Sage Rosenfels, this motherfucker always chokes at the end. SOB

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Week 11: Texans @ Colts

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Week 11: Texans @ Colts

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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44Thrilla cuatro cuatro

huevonkiller Change (Deftones)

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umair "Never underestimate the heart of a champion."

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