No Peyton No Points

Ind. 7 at Hou 34

         First off, we will talk positives. It is obvious that the "Son of Bum" changed this teams pass rush along with the entire outlook for the Texans season. The Texans had 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. Wade Phillips defense only gave up 236 yards from scrimmage, most of those coming in garbage time at the end of the game when the Texans were in a prevent defense and the game was well out of reach. The defense cause the Colts to punt 6 times in the 23 min and 16 sec that they had possession of the football. Collins was only 16 of 31 attempts for 197 and 1 TD late in the game. Compare that to the Texans 384 yards from scrimmage and the fact that against Rusty Smith, we gave up over 300 passing yards last year. Rusty who? Exactly! The main thing to remember here is that the Texans got a win against a division opponent, and if the Texans want to make the playoffs this year they must win most if not all of their division games. All Houston fans know that one win at the beginning of a season does not guaranty anything, not even a 4 and 2 start for that matter. if the Texans want that always evasive playoff birth they must execute in all 3 phases of the game all season and stay healthy. On that note lets talk injuries. Kevin Walters left the game with a shoulder injury. Reports coming out are saying its a broken shoulder and he could be out 10 - 12 weeks. Revision Walters has a bruised collar bone and is day to day. That is bad news to say the least. The Texans have only 4 wide receivers on the 53 man roster and the forth is a player only signed about 2 weeks ago in Bryant Johnson. The team had high hopes for Dorin Dickerson but he failed to make the team, getting cut after the 4th preseason game.
This should force the team to bring up Jeff Maehl the rookie receiver out of Oregon. Jacoby Jones with have to be the 2nd receiver and must replace the 51 receptions and 621 yards Walters gave them last season. Derrick Ward left the game with a right ankle injury but it does not appear to be serious at this time.
        Next week the Texans will face the faceless Miami Dolphins in Miami. The Fins will be playing Monday night against the Pats and we can get a good look at what they bring to the table. The Texans will get a days head start on them, and having the extra day to lick your wounds is always a plus in the "not for long" leauge. Matt Schaub must do a better job in his decision making. The 2 INT's he threw against the Colts may not be so easy to overcome against the Fins, or any team with a so-so defense. Ben Tate, though he ran for 116 against the Colts also put the ball on the ground and is all he will hear about this week from the coaches. The linebackers did not do a great job ,against the run, filling in the gaps behind the defensive line. Cushing and Ryans did a poor job sheading blockers and Connor Barwin, the favorite son of many a Texans fan this preseason, did not make a play all game, against the run or the pass. When Collins had time to pass the Texans secondary did little to keep the Colts receivers from getting open, however I will say that their form tackling was much better then in previous years. Antonio Smith is a man, and should get close to 10 sacks this year. JJ Watt will have to learn to break down at the point of attack. He over pursued many times against the run and pass in his first NFL start. If Smith see's the double teams throughout the season like he did in the first game JJ can be a force up the middle. Mario Willams got two sacks in game one and 2 forced fumbles. Not a bad start, but both of those sacks can when the Colts only blocked him with a tight end. Mind you that teams will not do this often, but this defense will make those mismatches for him. He must take advantage of them when they arise. 34 to 7 not bad Gary not bad.