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LORK's Week 1 Preview

Who Wins It?

  • Texans by a lot

    Votes: 15 23.1%
  • Texans barely

    Votes: 37 56.9%
  • Colts barely

    Votes: 11 16.9%
  • Colts by a lot

    Votes: 2 3.1%

  • Total voters
    65
  • Poll closed .

LORK 88

Wreck'em Ŧech!

And so it begins, another season of NFL football and another season filled with uncanny optimism. Up until this point, we’ve only had hints of how the Texans will perform in the regular season and we’ve seen both the good (Dallas) and the bad (New Orleans) which leads us to believe that as fans we’re in for yet another wild ride. Just like the past 2 seasons when they played two playoff teams opening weekend, the Texans will be tested right out of the gates against Indianapolis Colts. Houston knows how to play with the Colts and always makes a game out of it, but they never know how to win always falling tragically either by their own faults or at the greatness of Peyton Manning. However, this is a new season and everyone is undefeated. Can the Texans get off to a fast start against a team they’re 1-15 against?


Houston’s Running Game vs. Indy’s Run D: The Colts run defense has never really been one of the best in the league. Despite all this, they still find ways to win games by making you pass. Freeney and Mathis always seem to be coming up field so to counter this Indy has gotten bigger in the middle with Antonio Johnson and Daniel Muir. Johnson is a bit sluggish and more of a traditional NT while Muir can move around and is pretty athletic for his size. The Colts linebackers have some consistency going for them as they have all 3 starters returning this season. Brackett will man the middle again and is the leader of the group. Clint Sessions will start at WLB and is the most explosive of the group. He lead the team in tackles and excels in pass coverage. Phillip Wheeler is athletic, but still trying to find his place on the defense. He is a solid player though and shouldn’t be overlooked. Houston normally struggles with massive defensive lines or 3-4 fronts so having an athletic offensive line to combat the Colts quick front 4 should be a solid matchup for us. Foster seems to have much better vision than Slaton and makes quicker decisions which will be a huge benefit against the speedy Colts. We have to get the run game going if we want to be a much more balanced offense and keep the Colts off guard.

Houston’s Passing Game vs. Indy’s Pass D: Bad news for the Texans, Bob Sanders is back and healthy which is automatically a boost to their secondary. If he can return to form or at least close to it, the Colts secondary just became a lot tougher. Not only that, but the Colts have 3 starting caliber CBs now in Kelvin Hayden, Jacob Lacey, and Jerraud Powers. Hayden has been around for several years and is the veteran of the group. Powers and Lacey are both second year players who more than stepped up their rookie years (Powers picked off Schaub). Rounding out the secondary is free safety Antoine Bethea. He has great awareness and is athletic enough to make plays downfield. He’s also been the most consistent player for the Colts secondary the past few years missing a total of 4 games in 4 years. Of course, their pass defense isn’t complete without mentioning Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Both Freeney and Mathis are undersized but extremely quick and athletic; they combined for 23 sacks last season. For Houston, they need to mix up the playcalling to avoid obvious passing situations. If Mathis and Freeney know the pass is coming, it could spell disaster. Considering Schaub usually throws his INTs to Colts linebackers, he needs to read the zone blitz and not be afraid to check the ball down to Foster. Johnson shouldn’t struggle getting in a rhythm, but either Walter or Daniels will need to step up over the middle.

Indy’s Running Game vs. Houston’s Run D: If the Colts have one area that they need to improve on, it’s their running game. Joseph Addai’s stats have slowly gone downhill although he is good at finding the end zone when the Colts get into the red zone. He’s spent too much time dancing around instead of hitting the hole with authority. Donald Brown is the other RB who will see time and he didn’t have the rookie season many were expecting. He starred at UConn, but failed to average over 4 YPC last season. He’s still learning the offense so it’s unseen if he will be a major factor week 1. The biggest blow to the Colts running game is the loss of Jeff Saturday to injury. He won’t make or break the Colts offensive line, but he’s definitely the heart and soul of it and he is potentially going to miss week 1. Not only that, but Charlie Johnson might also be out week 1. This shouldn’t prevent Indy from trying their outside runs and sweeps like they normally run. For Houston, this should be the easy part. The Colts last season easily preferred the air attack against Houston over running the ball. They averaged right at 4 YPC. The best plan for Houston will be to make the running game non-existent. If they can do this, they can focus more on the passing game and keep Indy in 3rd and long.

Indy’s Passing Game vs. Houston’s Pass D: We’re all fully aware of the Colts passing game as is the rest of the NFL. Peyton Manning is amazing and makes defenses pay whether it be on a short 5 yard screen or a deep post route. Not only do the Colts have more experience now with their young WRs, but they also get Anthony Gonzalez back from injury (not like they needed him). It all starts with Reggie Wayne, who has been Manning’s go to WR for years. Equally as important is Dallas Clark who is a mismatch for just about any defensive player. He constantly beat Brian Cushing last season and will look to do the same against Diles/Adibi. Next in line at WR is Pierre Garcon followed by Austin Collie. Garcon proved to be a consistent deep threat while Collie was deadly over the middle filling in for Anthony Gonzalez. This all of course isn’t including Addai who they always will dump the ball off to if in trouble. The bad news is there really isn’t a set way on how to stop the Colts passing attack; the best you can hope for is to slow them down or keep their offense off the field completely. For Houston, the best bet will be to get in Manning’s face and make them throw the ball quickly. A rookie will be on Wayne and Diles, Adibi, or Pollard will face up against Clark (neither matchup favors us). To offset our inexperience in the second, Houston must get pressure every passing down. If not, Manning will expose them.


POSITION BATTLE
QB Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
RB Advantage: PUSH
WR Advantage: PUSH
TE Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
OL Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
DL Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
LB Advantage: PUSH
CB Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
S Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
K/P Advantage: INDIANAPOLIS
RET Advantage: HOUSTON


X-FACTOR: Arian Foster, RB
I’m taking this one from the 2006 win over the Colts in which Ron Dayne carried the load for our team. We know Peyton Manning and the Colts offense is going to score points. However, if we can get a lead and have Foster wear down the Colts defense much like Dayne did, we can keep Manning off the field and hopefully lower the odds of turning the ball over. Foster has looked great in preseason and always seems to get as many yards as possible by finishing off his runs. Schaub had to throw over 40 times against the Colts last season so our ability to keep it on the ground and potentially pound out a win will be critical.


KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Get pressure on Peyton Manning. For as long as we play the Colts, this will be on here. Manning rarely gets pressured and because of this he always gets the opportunity to gash every defense he plays. When he does get sacked and pressured, he does get out of rhythm and he will make mistakes from time to time. It takes a lot to rattle Manning though so it’s something that Houston needs to stick with. At the very least, pressuring him gives him less time to try and go deep on our young secondary.

2) Keep the Colts offense off the field. This was the blueprint to the Texans victory from 2006 which has stuck in my mind all this time. The Texans had long, lengthy drives that lasted almost half of a quarter and in turn, Peyton could do nothing. If Houston lets him in the game, he will make them pay. If he’s on the sidelines, he can’t score points and there’s also an outside chance he could go cold. It also can’t hurt to wear down the Colts in case the game comes down to the end.

3) Avoid turnovers. To put it simply, the Texans are great at turning the ball over at the most inopportune times. There really is no perfect time to turn over the ball, but considering the Rosencopter turnover in 2008 and Moats fumbling on the 1 in 2009, we’ve found ways to make them costly. In order to beat the Colts, the Texans have to win the turnover battle and make smart plays. If they don’t we could witness another late Colts rally.
 

Carr Bombed

Hall of Fame
I got the Texans winning by two scores.........and a whole lot of running by Arian Foster as we control the T.O.P. (Basically how we beat them in our lone victory with Ron Dayne running all over them)
 

Carr Bombed

Hall of Fame
LOL, people call me a "negative nancy"......I'm the only one who thinks this team will win by alot (which against that team is two scores).

I think the Texans are either going to win this game by multiple scores or not win at all... It's not good at all to have a game hanging in the balance late when you're playing against Peyton Manning.
 

TexCanada

All Pro
My confidence is somewhat low in our ability to beat the Colts. That being said, I am glad that we are starting off the year against the Colts because I know that we will come out and be ready to play, unlike last year against the Jets.
 

buddyboy

Rookie
LOL, people call me a "negative nancy"......I'm the only one who thinks this team will win by alot (which against that team is two scores).

I think the Texans are either going to win this game by multiple scores or not win at all... It's not good at all to have a game hanging in the balance late when you're playing against Peyton Manning.
I have the Texans losing a close one, but bolded is so true. If we're going to win this game, we can't leave it up to a small margin lead with Peyton leading the comeback, because the Texans will find a way to lose that lead.

If we get the jump on the Colts, and step on their necks while they're down, we'll win. If we try to just keep up with them or just stay afloat, we will have problems.
 

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
RUN TEH BALL RUN TEH BALL RUN TEH BALL short paass to either slaton OD or Anderson 1st down run the ball run teh ball run teh ball shot pass to Slaton OD or ANderson rinse and repet get into the red zone throw the ball to AJ 4 times TD :texflag:
 

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I have the Texans losing a close one, but bolded is so true. If we're going to win this game, we can't leave it up to a small margin lead with Peyton leading the comeback, because the Texans will find a way to lose that lead.

If we get the jump on the Colts, and step on their necks while they're down, we'll win. If we try to just keep up with them or just stay afloat, we will have problems.
when have we ever stepped on a elite teams Neck when it matterd LOL .....
 

Norg

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
if we get like a 21 point lead we just need to onside kick it every time we cant let have peyton have the ball ever :texflag: and go for it alot of 4th and shorts we dont need to punt the ball ever either LOL
 

Texan_Bill

Hall of Fame
LOL, people call me a "negative nancy"......I'm the only one who thinks this team will win by alot (which against that team is two scores).

I think the Texans are either going to win this game by multiple scores or not win at all... It's not good at all to have a game hanging in the balance late when you're playing against Peyton Manning.
I'm actually with you on this one.. I think the Texans jump out early, but with newly found running game they're able to control the clock better than they have in the past.
 

HJam72

Hall of Fame
We win the first half, as is so often the case anyway. Second half belongs to Foster, as the Colts speedy DEs learn to sit and watch...

Battle cry for the game:

Sit the *&(% down! :texflag:
 

buddyboy

Rookie
when have we ever stepped on a elite teams Neck when it matterd LOL .....
never. What I was saying though, is that the Texans need to do that if they want to win, and if they want to get into the playoffs (finally)
 

The Pencil Neck

Hall of Fame
I'm picking us to come out fast and hard and surprise the hell out of everyone. And then when we get the lead, Foster is going to pound it down their throats and finish them off.

I'm picking us to win this one big.
 

drs23

Veteran
I'm picking us to come out fast and hard and surprise the hell out of everyone. And then when we get the lead, Foster is going to pound it down their throats and finish them off.

I'm picking us to win this one big.
We know they can start fast. Is that what will surprise everyone or that the offense should have a broader playlist than before? Something we haven't seen before?
 

False Start

On # 69


Hope and Change.
Kiefer Sutherland is our HC? Just joking.

I think the Texans will play a tough game, but come up short. Until the Texans prove they can come out and play consistent football for 4 quarters, its going to tough to hang with the Peyton's. :(

I sure as hell hope I'm wrong. :texflag:
 

Texas T

Veteran
I'm going with Texans by alot.
I think the team is tired of being whooped by the Forehead and will step it up...at least for this game.

Here's to the big win!!

:texflag:
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I think it will be a defensive battle, a low scoring affair, no toughdowns. I've got the Texans winning 12-9.
 

LORK 88

Wreck'em Ŧech!
never. What I was saying though, is that the Texans need to do that if they want to win, and if they want to get into the playoffs (finally)
Agreed, complacency has killed us in the past. We get too comfortable with a lead and relax while Manning goes into his 2 minute offense. If/when we get a lead we need to not let off the gas pedal until the clock strikes 00:00 in the 4th quarter.
 

LORK 88

Wreck'em Ŧech!
Per Rotoworld:
The Indianapolis Star expects LT Charlie Johnson (foot) and LG Tony Ugoh (toe) to both sit out Week 1 against Houston.
Undrafted rookie Jeff Linkenbach would be forced into action on Peyton Manning's blind side. Manning is a must-start every week, but the Colts' front five threatens to be problematic all season. Linkenbach couldn't beat out Kyle DeVan or Jamey Richard to start at guard. Now, he's playing left tackle.
Let's chalk up a big fat checkmark next to the #1 key to the game . . .
 

rmartin65

Phil Kessel: Nice Guy. Tries Hard.
I would like to see a couple sacks then. Or at least some very good pressure from that spot. A UDFA should not stand a chance against the Texans DLine.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I would like to see a couple sacks then. Or at least some very good pressure from that spot. A UDFA should not stand a chance against the Texans DLine.
We sacked Manning twice Nov 8 vs Indy, and twice Nov 12 vs Indy...

If Mario is who he says he is, & Antonio is who we thought he was, we should see 4 maybe 5 (Connor Barwin) sacks on the 4head.

He should be on the ground several times regardless though.

We also picked him off once in both games. We should see a couple of them as well.
 
Bob Sanders still plays? Really?

Hey Peyton, you don't have to come and confess, we lookin for you, WE GON' FIIIND YOU WE GON' FIIND YOU!!!!
 

BigBull17

Hall of Fame
I think 10. The Texans wont win if the difference is one score, sadly.

I think it will be a defensive battle, a low scoring affair, no toughdowns. I've got the Texans winning 12-9.
You have two of the most potent passing offenses in a field goal battle? Interesting...
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I think 10. The Texans wont win if the difference is one score, sadly.



You have two of the most potent passing offenses in a field goal battle? Interesting...
I think both defenses will show up for the game, & the offenses will be out of sync.

Kinda like N.O. (another potent offense) only scoring 14 in their win over the Vikings 9 (who weren't too shabby putting points on the board as well).
 
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