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Playoffs...Wild Card Round...Indianapolis Colts!

JamTex

Hall Of Fame Texans Fan!
On Saturday January 5th at 3:35 PM CST, The Texans will host the Indianapolis Colts in Houston at NRG Stadium for the AFC Wild Card game. The Game will be aired nationally on TV on ESPN and locally on ABC 13, and on radio on SportsRadio 610.

We all know the stakes. It's the playoffs. It's either win or go home. We all know the 2 teams so we can skip that part.

The key is simple. Stop TY Hilton at any cost. Romeo needs to keep at least 2 secondary defenders on him at all times. A corner underneath and a safety over the top. He can not be allowed to run free in the secondary as he did in the last game.
The defensive line has got to find a way to get to Luck and they have to keep him in the pocket in doing so. They can not allow him to hurt the defense with his legs. As far as Ebron is concerned, get a linebacker on him off the line every time and keep a safety over the top of him. The Texans must limit his catches. This has been a sore spot for the Texans defense against good tight ends.
The Texans will stop the Colts running game. It's that dangerous passing attack of the Colts the Texans defense has got to slow down and they can not forget Mack and Hines out of the backfield.
On offense, the Texans need Miller and Blue to get the ground game going. Control the game on the ground and keep the ball out of Luck's hands. Use short, quick passes to avoid the rush and open up bigger plays down field. Watson needs to show up big. He'll need the help of every offensive weapon at his disposal, especially D Hop.
This is when the lights are the brightest and it's Watson's first playoff game in the NFL. All eyes will be on the Texans and Watson this Saturday. Let's hope Watson rises to the occasion and shines brighter then the Saturday evening Wild Card Bright Lights.

Go Texans!
Get This Win!
 
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Rich Schmidt

Myopicone
Put Clowney on Hilton, shove his ass to the ground every play.
If Clowney "shoved" correctly, maybe he would only have to cover him one play and get his usual 15 yard roughness out of the way early. Good thought TT.

Seriously, Luck is balling out, we need the interior push this game and get him rattled, tipped balls, and score ourselves in red zone. Probably need the A game from the offense. Looking forward to the game, asses better be in their seats early. We have had late arriving crowds and low energy a few games this year and both the team and fans need to be going from jump street
 

paycheck71

Hall of Fame
The game we won, before Luck was all the way back yet, we scored 2 TD's off turnovers - one strip sack, fumble recovery in the end zone, the other strip sack fumble recovery at their 5 or so that lead to a quick TD. And that game went to overtime and needed a bone headed decision by their coach to give us a chance. I expect this game to go about the same way this Titans game went last night, maybe w/o the 2 late TD's.
 

Seegara

Guitar Picker, Dog Lover, Woodworker
The Dolts got good too late to win the division, but have become one of the toughest outs in the NFL. With the likes of Shareese Wright trying to cover receivers like Hilton, the Toros can't even pray to get far in the playoffs. Except for possibly New England, this is the most daunting opponent we could have faced in round 1. I will be pulling for Indy to lose every game they play from here on. Jackasses 27, Texans 17.
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
I have no faith in crennel or BoB making an adjustment to limit TY Hilton’s productivity.
How about not giving Hilton a free release off the LOS? The guy gets a 10 yard start at the CB, then jukes and is wide open. Pressing at the LOS would interrupt Luck's timing and make him hold the ball longer. The longer Luck holds the ball, the better the chances are for the Texans. Not rocket science here.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
How about not giving Hilton a free release off the LOS? The guy gets a 10 yard start at the CB, then jukes and is wide open. Pressing at the LOS would interrupt Luck's timing and make him hold the ball longer. The longer Luck holds the ball, the better the chances are for the Texans. Not rocket science here.
Do the Texans have ANY db's good enough at jam technique to hold him up for even 1 sec?
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Playoffs are a different animal but this will be a close game like all the others this year have been. All hands will be on deck so i expect Coutee & Foreman to play and be major factors in the pass game for DW4.

The question will be what Crennel decides to do on defense to hold Luck in check long enough to thwart those 4th qtr comebacks he's known for.

Texans 27
Colts 24
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Playoffs are a different animal but this will be a close game like all the others this year have been. All hands will be on deck so i expect Coutee & Foreman to play and be major factors in the pass game for DW4.

The question will be what Crennel decides to do on defense to hold Luck in check long enough to thwart those 4th qtr comebacks he's known for.

Texans 27
Colts 24
Need middle of defense to have big games... interior DL and ILB's and Safeties
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Honestly we were stopping them at the beginning of the game but we didn't do anything on offense. If we can get that same production defense from first half and offense comes out scoring we can take this.
In OB and RAC I trust... if it doesn't work out I'm reading books until Spring Training... not gonna stress it
 

jshabang

Quality Backup!
Welp ....... the fun didn’t last long...... Colts and Luck coming Saturday..... we won’t even get our customary one home playoff wild card win this year......... and it’s not the team of talent...... but OB will get out coached is the issue and make dumb bone headed decisions
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Welp ....... the fun didn’t last long...... Colts and Luck coming Saturday..... we won’t even get our customary one home playoff wild card win this year......... and it’s not the team of talent...... but OB will get out coached is the issue and make dumb bone headed decisions
well that was enlightening
 

jshabang

Quality Backup!
Ebron & Hilton were something stupid like 80% of their offense last time. Don't treat them like JAGs. Do something different to limit them and make Luck go elsewhere or hesitate.

As long as Luck has been healthy...... I’ve never seen ya MAKE HIM do anything..... we beat up on him with injuries..... but now that he back healthy....... we haven’t MADE HIM OR TY do anything
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Need middle of defense to have big games... interior DL and ILB's and Safeties
ILB's particular. They're going to have to come up big considering that it has been a staple of the opposing offenses gameplan against us for months to force Cunningham & co. to vacate the middle of the defense quickly so as to cover those little scat backs in the flats.
 

Texansphan

Football connoisseur
On Saturday January 5th at 3:35 PM CST, The Texans will host the Indianapolis Colts in Houston at NRG Stadium for the AFC Wild Card game. The Game will be aired nationally on TV on ESPN and locally on ABC 13, and on radio on SportsRadio 610.

We all know the stakes. It's the playoffs. It's either win or go home. We all know the 2 teams so we can skip that part.

The key is simple. Stop TY Hilton at any cost. Romeo needs to keep at least 2 secondary defenders on him at all times. A corner underneath and a safety over the top. He can not be allowed to run free in the secondary as he did in the last game.
The defensive line has got to find a way to get to Luck and they have to keep him in the pocket in doing so. They can not allow him to hurt the defense with his legs. As far as Ebron is concerned, get a linebacker on him off the line every time and keep a safety over the top of him. The Texans must limit his catches. This has been a sore spot for the Texans defense against good tight ends.
The Texans will stop the Colts running game. It's that dangerous passing attack of the Colts the Texans defense has got to slow down and they can not forget Mack and Hines out of the backfield.
On offense, the Texans need Miller and Blue to get the ground game going. Control the game on the ground and keep the ball out of Luck's hands. Use short, quick passes to avoid the rush and open up bigger plays down field. Watson needs to show up big. He'll need the help of every offensive weapon at his disposal, especially D Hop.
This is when the lights are the brightest and it's Watson's first playoff game in the NFL. All eyes will be on the Texans and Watson this Saturday. Let's hope Watson rises to the occasion and shines brighter then the Saturday evening Wild Card Bright Lights.

Go Texans!
Get This Win!
Luck likes to step up in the pocket too, so I wonder if flushing him out might be the way to go? Seems he is deadly accurate if allowed to stand and deliver so get him running and force him to throw on the run might upset his apple cart a bit.
Somehow the Texans O has to find a way to run the ball effectively. If they don't, we are going to be very predictable.
I also like that OB gave the Colts DC a new wrinkle to ponder with Watson running a little more. Its dangerous, but Watson seems okay so you go with what you can.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Luck likes to step up in the pocket too, so I wonder if flushing him out might be the way to go? Seems he is deadly accurate if allowed to stand and deliver so get him running and force him to throw on the run might upset his apple cart a bit.
Somehow the Texans O has to find a way to run the ball effectively. If they don't, we are going to be very predictable.
I also like that OB gave the Colts DC a new wrinkle to ponder with Watson running a little more. Its dangerous, but Watson seems okay so you go with what you can.
If you're going to fry to flush him out of the pocket, you'd better have a spy on him, and not many can do that job
 

Texansphan

Football connoisseur
If you're going to fry to flush him out of the pocket, you'd better have a spy on him, and not many can do that job
Yeah thought about a spy - Mercilus has been used as spy before on Wilson iirc.
From watching Luck in action last night, we cannot let him sit comfortably in the pocket - have to find a way to get pressure on him.
 

Porky

Hall of Fame
Frankly, I see the Colts winning this game. They are the hottest team in football, and it's a "real" hot, not the fake let's hope the FG kicker misses a makable FG hot or eaking out OT wins hot that the Texans relied on. At this point in time, The Colts are the superior team. The colts are a very impressive 9-1 after a poor start.

Looking at it from a Texans defensive viewpoint, they have a plus TE in Ebron and the Texans have yet to have anyone that can cover a TE in the existence of the team. Most importantly, they have the Texans Kryptonite, aka TY Hilton. He's the most notorious Texans killer in the league. How do y'all think they are going to stop or at least slow him dramatically, when they haven't done it yet in numerous tries. They do the same old crap each and every time and each and every time he lights them up like a Christmas tree. Do y'all seriously think that suddenly some magical potion that was never considered before will be employed. I mean they give him free releases and let him run all over the field each and every time. I expect the same sad show this Saturday.

As far as getting to Luck...well good luck! The Colts actually decided to invest in their most important asset, unlike the Texans, and have built one of the best olines in the league and they can both run and pass block like mother truckers. He can probably sit in a rocking chair, smoke a cigar and read a Christmas story while waiting for our vaunted rush to get there. And if you blitz, he'll just burn it for big splash plays. Damned if you do, damned if you don't because if you drop 7, it doesn't matter when the 7 you have can't cover grandma's from the little sisters of the poor.

The only chance is if DW and Hop put on a show and can keep pace. I realize it's partially due to injury, but at this point in time, we only have two play-makers on offense that we can rely on week in, week out.

As exceptional as they are, with a crappy offensive line that gets no push and can't protect Watson, I don't see it. I'm hoping OB gets his head out of his ass, but that's probably asking too much.

Lastly, the game within the game. In his first year, Frank Reich is a far superior HC to the guy that after 5 years is still feeling his way around and has a lousy OC to deal with - himself. If it's a fairly close game, the difference will be the coaching. Reich is better, we all know he is better and it's not even close. The offseason can wait until Saturday evening, but someone on Kirby better read the riot act to OB and force him to get a well regarded OC.

My head tells me its 41 - 17 blowout, but somehow I think Watson has enough magic in him to make it a nail biter, so I'll revise it to 34 - 31 Colts.
 

TexansBull

Hall of Fame
The top 4 yardage games of T.Y. Hilton's career;

4) 175 yards vs. HOUSTON @ NRG
3) 177 yards vs. 49ers
2) 199 yards vs. HOUSTON @ NRG
1) 223 yards vs. HOUSTON @ NRG

Career vs. Houston;
14 G, 76 rec, 1,445 yards, 9 TD, 19 Y/R, 103 Y/G
The Texans beat the Colts with Brock Osweiler too.
 

JamTex

Hall Of Fame Texans Fan!
Luck likes to step up in the pocket too, so I wonder if flushing him out might be the way to go? Seems he is deadly accurate if allowed to stand and deliver so get him running and force him to throw on the run might upset his apple cart a bit.
Somehow the Texans O has to find a way to run the ball effectively. If they don't, we are going to be very predictable.
I also like that OB gave the Colts DC a new wrinkle to ponder with Watson running a little more. Its dangerous, but Watson seems okay so you go with what you can.
If you're going to fry to flush him out of the pocket, you'd better have a spy on him, and not many can do that job
It's Andrew Luck. He will have to be slowed down. That means having the defensive backs do their job in coverage and allow the pass rush enough time to get to him. Double Hilton and Ebron, keep a spy on the backs out of the backfield and go after Luck. It's safer to keep him in the pocket and go after him then it is to allow him to scramble and buy time or take off and run. Any way you go about it, Luck will get his plays, they just have to be limited. The Texans defense will have to play with extreme, sticky urgency. Romeo needs to pull out all the stops and turn his defense loose. Abandon the bend don't break philosophy and just get after Luck every single play with exotic blitzes and stunts. They can't allow Luck time to just stand in the pocket, survey the defense and pick them apart.
The best thing the Texans can do is keep the ball out of Luck's hands by controlling the ball with long drives and scoring touchdowns, not field goals, on as many of those drives as possible.
 
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Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Frankly, I see the Colts winning this game. They are the hottest team in football, and it's a "real" hot, not the fake let's hope the FG kicker misses a makable FG hot or eaking out OT wins hot that the Texans relied on. At this point in time, The Colts are the superior team. The colts are a very impressive 9-1 after a poor start.

Looking at it from a Texans defensive viewpoint, they have a plus TE in Ebron and the Texans have yet to have anyone that can cover a TE in the existence of the team. Most importantly, they have the Texans Kryptonite, aka TY Hilton. He's the most notorious Texans killer in the league. How do y'all think they are going to stop or at least slow him dramatically, when they haven't done it yet in numerous tries. They do the same old crap each and every time and each and every time he lights them up like a Christmas tree. Do y'all seriously think that suddenly some magical potion that was never considered before will be employed. I mean they give him free releases and let him run all over the field each and every time. I expect the same sad show this Saturday.

As far as getting to Luck...well good luck! The Colts actually decided to invest in their most important asset, unlike the Texans, and have built one of the best olines in the league and they can both run and pass block like mother truckers. He can probably sit in a rocking chair, smoke a cigar and read a Christmas story while waiting for our vaunted rush to get there. And if you blitz, he'll just burn it for big splash plays. Damned if you do, damned if you don't because if you drop 7, it doesn't matter when the 7 you have can't cover grandma's from the little sisters of the poor.

The only chance is if DW and Hop put on a show and can keep pace. I realize it's partially due to injury, but at this point in time, we only have two play-makers on offense that we can rely on week in, week out.

As exceptional as they are, with a crappy offensive line that gets no push and can't protect Watson, I don't see it. I'm hoping OB gets his head out of his ass, but that's probably asking too much.

Lastly, the game within the game. In his first year, Frank Reich is a far superior HC to the guy that after 5 years is still feeling his way around and has a lousy OC to deal with - himself. If it's a fairly close game, the difference will be the coaching. Reich is better, we all know he is better and it's not even close. The offseason can wait until Saturday evening, but someone on Kirby better read the riot act to OB and force him to get a well regarded OC.

My head tells me its 41 - 17 blowout, but somehow I think Watson has enough magic in him to make it a nail biter, so I'll revise it to 34 - 31 Colts.
This is how i know alot of you guys simply don't watch any other football.

The Colts have had an equal number of games that they got lucky & squeaked by in their 9-1 run to make them the "hottest" team in the NFL. Miami....Giants..1st jags game came down to a late fumble by a jags WR when they were well inside of FG range to tie it up & had plenty of time to score the go-ahead TD (1 min 30 seconds). hell they were lucky & sqeaked by us against us the last time we played them.

In this same time span Reich was also universally thought to be a moron by the entire NFL in week 4 for doing what he did against us late in that 1st game......& then sat in the corner with the dunce hat again for being overly aggressive in wk 13 when he did the same **** against the jags that resulted in his offense getting blanked.......now, all of a sudden he's far superior HC to a guy who not only won the division but won more games than him?
 

Double Barrel

Texans Talk Admin
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I'm nervous about this game, but I do think the Texans are capable of winning the game, especially at NRG.

Belichick is known to take out the opposing team's number 1 weapon. It has been his trademark for years. I do wonder why two of his disciples don't follow that example. TY Hilton should be a non-factor in this game. Maybe the other Colts WRs will step up in his place, but at least make them work for it instead of letting Hilton run free (much less an 83 yard bomb!).

The Texans running game is the key to this game. Ball control, keep it out of Luck's hands, wear down the Colts defense, keep it at least close for the 4th. If its a one-score game in the 4th, the Texans have a chance. They will not wilt, and Deshaun is the kind of QB that will rise to the occasion.

Of course, the last thing they need is to give Luck the ball back with 2 minutes and a one-score game, so coaching will certainly play a factor. That's probably what has me the most nervous. I'm not an O'Brien hater, but I don't have a lot of confidence in his basic HC decisions. Part of just being distracted as an acting OC and calling plays. His mind can't be everywhere.

I'm nervous, but that's the fun part of being a fan. It's certainly better than already looking at a long-ass off-season on December 31st.
 

TexansBull

Hall of Fame
Luck, Ebron and Hilton vs Watson and Hopkins.

I like the odds. We just need one person to step up.

Coutee? Akins? Thomas? Miller? Foreman?
 

chicagotexan2

Easterby = Little Finger/Cal = Fredo Corleone
How about not giving Hilton a free release off the LOS? The guy gets a 10 yard start at the CB, then jukes and is wide open. Pressing at the LOS would interrupt Luck's timing and make him hold the ball longer. The longer Luck holds the ball, the better the chances are for the Texans. Not rocket science here.
I guess Not pressing Hilton is like the defensive equivalent of running to the right on first down.
 

jshabang

Quality Backup!
Frankly, I see the Colts winning this game. They are the hottest team in football, and it's a "real" hot, not the fake let's hope the FG kicker misses a makable FG hot or eaking out OT wins hot that the Texans relied on. At this point in time, The Colts are the superior team. The colts are a very impressive 9-1 after a poor start.

Looking at it from a Texans defensive viewpoint, they have a plus TE in Ebron and the Texans have yet to have anyone that can cover a TE in the existence of the team. Most importantly, they have the Texans Kryptonite, aka TY Hilton. He's the most notorious Texans killer in the league. How do y'all think they are going to stop or at least slow him dramatically, when they haven't done it yet in numerous tries. They do the same old crap each and every time and each and every time he lights them up like a Christmas tree. Do y'all seriously think that suddenly some magical potion that was never considered before will be employed. I mean they give him free releases and let him run all over the field each and every time. I expect the same sad show this Saturday.

As far as getting to Luck...well good luck! The Colts actually decided to invest in their most important asset, unlike the Texans, and have built one of the best olines in the league and they can both run and pass block like mother truckers. He can probably sit in a rocking chair, smoke a cigar and read a Christmas story while waiting for our vaunted rush to get there. And if you blitz, he'll just burn it for big splash plays. Damned if you do, damned if you don't because if you drop 7, it doesn't matter when the 7 you have can't cover grandma's from the little sisters of the poor.

The only chance is if DW and Hop put on a show and can keep pace. I realize it's partially due to injury, but at this point in time, we only have two play-makers on offense that we can rely on week in, week out.

As exceptional as they are, with a crappy offensive line that gets no push and can't protect Watson, I don't see it. I'm hoping OB gets his head out of his ass, but that's probably asking too much.

Lastly, the game within the game. In his first year, Frank Reich is a far superior HC to the guy that after 5 years is still feeling his way around and has a lousy OC to deal with - himself. If it's a fairly close game, the difference will be the coaching. Reich is better, we all know he is better and it's not even close. The offseason can wait until Saturday evening, but someone on Kirby better read the riot act to OB and force him to get a well regarded OC.

My head tells me its 41 - 17 blowout, but somehow I think Watson has enough magic in him to make it a nail biter, so I'll revise it to 34 - 31 Colts.

Couldn’t of said it any better........ this is the worse match up we could have got..... Luck is gonna fillet that secondary who is notorious for giving up BIG CHUNK PLAYS smh
 

markn

All Pro
I've seen the game. We're ahead in the 3rd and have a chance to kill it off but O'Brien goes conservative. Then through a combination of poor clock management and conservative play-calling we give Luck and Hilton exactly the right amount of time, our pass rush is gassed and they dissect our secondary to score the go ahead TD. There's time left on the clock, but not enough and Watson is left to rue the timeout BOB wasted earlier when he challenged a play where he was literally the only person in the stadium who thought it had been wrongly called.
 

paycheck71

Hall of Fame
I've seen the game. We're ahead in the 3rd and have a chance to kill it off but O'Brien goes conservative. Then through a combination of poor clock management and conservative play-calling we give Luck and Hilton exactly the right amount of time, our pass rush is gassed and they dissect our secondary to score the go ahead TD. There's time left on the clock, but not enough and Watson is left to rue the timeout BOB wasted earlier when he challenged a play where he was literally the only person in the stadium who thought it had been wrongly called.
The story of every game they lose. Really the story of every game, except sometimes the talent on the field is enough to overcome the boneheaded clock management and challenge decisions. The timeouts with 4:30 left in the Philly game still infuriate me to this moment. If he doesn't call those, we score that TD with under 2 min left, possibly with Philly having called another TO. Yes, the defense sh!t their pants, but they didn't have to if he knew basic NFL clock management.
 
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