Last nights game showed we have a chance against Indy,

Now some of you will really start chewing on me, but Indy showed they do have a big weakness and it fits into the Texans game. They have an excellent field goal kicker, but the rest of their special team game is not what the rest of the team is. Their kickoffs are short and if Mathis can play he could be a big factor in the game. Of course Indy is going to score, but if you can immediately come back against them you have a chance. Mathis is an above average returner. We have to play a perfect game, but I believe we have some mismatches that can hurt Indy. They obviously do to. Look for a close game, because they will not be as high for us as NE.

Also did you notice that Mankins was the starting LG and they are using a rookie as their starting LT. Both are doing very well and Brady move to that side when he was in trouble. Again the arguement that you could not draft anyone in this year's draft or the preceding ones just doesn't hold water. It was the Caper's priorities I believe kept us from getting help on the O-line. In fact one of their better defensive players was a 7th rounder Philly didn't have enough money left to sign. I really think overall this set of coaches are not developers of talent and can't see the trees for the forest.

I really believe if our O-line is back from injuries and we play our best game we have a chance at Indy. That comes from a pessimist, but I have watched and I still think they can be had. GO TEXANS......................

Don't forget, we still haven't figured out the Cover 2 defense...

Indy's kicker wasn't doing that last night because he sucks, he was doing it to minimize the chance of a game breaking return--i.e. kick the ball short meaning the coverage team is on top of it when it lands and doesn't give the blocking and returning time to build steam. His average kick is only a couple yards shorter than Kris Brown's.

We have played better the last two games. I do feel that if we have all of our playmakers on the field we do have a chance, although I have been ripped for saying that injuries have not been an issue for us. Having Mathis and Davis back will help.

Cover 2 has been a thorn in our side. Limited scheme, OLine or DC's maturation may be the suspect here. However, DC is getting more conformatble as Pendry builds the playbook one step at a time (I do agree with SES on this take) and believe that this could be DC's break out game this year.

The Cover 2 defense is dangerous, but easy to beat. You need a TE over and WR to find holes in the middle and the space between the CB and Safety. Crossing routes(AJ's Favorites) also work quite well against the Cover 2. The main objective is to get the dropping Middle linebacker to commit to either the TE or WR leaving the other open for the pass.

We do not have a TE and we do not like to run WR 10-15 yds in the middle of the field. Look for another close fight and then eventual blowout this sunday.

Mathis is not just above average, he is amazing.

Man, if Ibar Harry is drinking the koolaid, I might have to get a sip of that!

Like I said in another post, I always hope that the Texans win...I'll never give up hope.

But I've got to keep it real. [puts analyst hat on] If the Colts are playing their game, they'll win. The Texans have to step up and play a solid 4 quarters of football with few mistakes, and we need Indy to shoot themselves in the foot.

I'm not doggin' our team. But the Colts are arguably the best team in football right now, as evident by their 8-0 record. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the Superbowl this year.

That being said, we're a 1-7 team. We can't get around that fact. And all that really matters in the NFL is scoreboard, not how close we play this team or that team. None of that matters. Wins and losses are the ONLY thing at the end of the day.

As for the Patriots offensive line play, that was predicated on Brady's 3 step drops where he immediately got rid of the ball. There simply was no time for sacks. You need a calm cool QB to run that kind of gameplan.

As for our kickoffs, sadly, that's as far as they go, and I expect Mathis to get you guys to the 40 yard line on most returns.

Youngstown Colt said:

As for our kickoffs, sadly, that's as far as they go, and I expect Mathis to get you guys to the 40 yard line on most returns.

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Smart teams take away what can hurt them whenever possible. if Mathis does play this week then I'll bet beer they don't kick to him or they kick in such a way that the defenders surround Jerome before he can ramp his amazing speed up. Unless of course they want to just entertain their fans and play with the Texans like cat & mouse.

As far as your O-Line comments are concerned, yes I'm mystified why MaClain's call to protect David at end of last season was not taken more seriously by Casserly & Cappers. Mankins could be playing LG right now for the Texans and Pitts would be our LT :brickwall

the game will be close till halftime and then you all will make adjustments and our coaching staff will stick with the same gameplan. to say the least Colts victroy by 20+.

Double Barrel said:

I'm not doggin' our team. But the Colts are arguably the best team in football right now, as evident by their 8-0 record. I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the Superbowl this year.

That being said, we're a 1-7 team. We can't get around that fact. And all that really matters in the NFL is scoreboard, not how close we play this team or that team. None of that matters. Wins and losses are the ONLY thing at the end of the day.

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I'm not sure anyone could argue that the Colts aren't the best team in the NFL. Other than that I agree with you, I doubt we will win but that's why they play the game. The Dolphins beat the Pats late last year. Peyton could break his leg and not play.

Very true, MorKnolle. (I mentioned "arguably" due to the varying opinions on ESPN on who the "best" team is right now). I wouldn't argue against them right now, though.

But you're right, that's why they play the game. So our best chance is for Manning to break a leg? (j/k!)

We played them ok 2 weeks ago but ran out of gas. With AJ back and Indy comming off an emotional MNF game we have a chance to shock the world. And the sun shines on a lame dogs *** someday.

BigBull17 said:

We played them ok 2 weeks ago but ran out of gas. With AJ back and Indy comming off an emotional MNF game we have a chance to shock the world. And the sun shines on a lame dogs *** someday.

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It's a crying shame that we as fans can't have any more confidence in our team than we do...........Mr. McNair we should be contending for the playoffs NOT sitting in the cellar wondering IF and WHEN we will win another game.........GO TEXANS........even a blind hog will find an acorn every now and then

Is it me or did it look like Indy had a somewhat difficult time handling the bull rush on a lot of plays and alot of the the stretch play runs last night against the pats.

Indy is streaking. They are red hot, and Dungy's too good a coach to let his team forget about Houston. Plus, like we all keep mentioning, we did hang around last time. Indy does not want us hanging around this time. In fact, I'm guessing Dungy's game plan is going to have some fast strikes similar to this week's game, but going towards Coleman to exploit him. Buchanon will also be exploited. Even with Dre back, we don't have the offense to score more than two touchdowns in a game. I'm not trying to be a troll on this, and like most everyone else, I hope we win (and I'll be loving every minute of a victory), but look at the history. We've never beaten the Colts. This isn't our year. It's theirs.

cred said:

Is it me or did it look like Indy had a somewhat difficult time handling the bull rush on a lot of plays and alot of the the stretch play runs last night against the pats.

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Well... considering Edge ran for over 100 yards last night, I wouldn't say he had too tough of a time. He isn't going to get it every run... but I am estatic with how he performed last night. I will take it!!!

Coach C. said:

The Cover 2 defense is dangerous, but easy to beat. You need a TE over and WR to find holes in the middle and the space between the CB and Safety. Crossing routes(AJ's Favorites) also work quite well against the Cover 2. The main objective is to get the dropping Middle linebacker to commit to either the TE or WR leaving the other open for the pass.

We do not have a TE and we do not like to run WR 10-15 yds in the middle of the field. Look for another close fight and then eventual blowout this sunday.

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About the cover 2 being easy to beat I mean. I'm not a defensive guru by any means but the wife says I can be very offensive when I want to. Anyway, I think I read somewhere the top four rated defenses in the league are all playing cover 2. Dungy is the cover 2 genius too.


Hoosier.

But we run a cover 2 with a three man front. Our LBs aren't good enough to apply the consistent pressure that a fourth lineman would normally give.

Interesting that the top four Ds in the league run cover 2s, though. Do all of them have four linemen?

They brought their A game yesterday and won. Against us, they only need to briing a D game and still whoop our butts

Another factor some of us mentioned in the last Colt game was if your on their side of the field with 4th and 1-3 you might as well go for it and try and make it. It was interesting to see NE new it was necessary to keep Payton off of the field and likewise Indy did the same. That game was a real chess match. NE simply didn't have the defense to overcome Indy. I thought it was interesting that NE tried what were two suicidal plays and wound up giving up 6 points while they got a TD. They gained a point. When Payton has pressure on him he will force the ball and does make mistakes. If you can rattle his cage early you have a chance.

As Madden pointed out you have to set the edge against James. If you do that you can stop the run. Payton does have the ability to pick you to death, so you have to get a strip somewhere along the line and you must pressure him. When he is on though he is poetry in motion on his deliveries. Its amazing how well he judges his throws.

As most of you would say we have to place aggressive and not to loose. That is our only shot in this game. We must get a lead of more than 1 TD and keep the pressure on the Colts. You also need to change your defense a number of times in the last 8 seconds of the count. He has a tendancy to go down to the last second and had some game delays. The change has to be dramatice enough that a called play for that defense will not work with the new one. That's saying a lot, but you have to out think him. That is an exceedingly difficult task.

I was suprised to see the Patriots effectively protect that edge, but the key is they had very disciplined players keeping their contain in the middle. If you don't do that, Edge cuts it up the middle and gets his 5 yards there.

Discipline is the best way to stop the colts, plain and simple.