I was looking at Driver last night, at age 36, and thinking that Dre could definitely be productive until 38 or so...his build, work ethic, etc...he's going to be around for quite some time.
Don't blame them, those are freakin wars, sure to pull ratings. Probably my favorite non-Texan matchup.
Not to go all CBS announcer, but my keys to the game: 1. Texans attacking front 5 (Line + OLBs) need to churn up the Colts "duct tape" O-Line as expected and become a nightmare for Collins and any carry attempts between the tackles. 2. Texans can not rest on their laurels based on (1). Our secondary is still unproven as a unit, Joseph and Manning are not Asomugha and Weddle, and the Colts still feature a dangerous corps of receivers. In particular, the D has to be ready for Clark and Addai out of the backfield, especially screen passes. 3. Balanced offense. Collins simply is not Manning and you don't have to be as panicked about keeping him off the field (in fact, Watt would love extra time to get to know him). There's no need to force Ward and Tate, let alone Foster, when you can let the boot/playaction offense feed off both the ground and aerial attack. Johnson enjoys a mismatch against anyone in that secondary, especially if Bullitt comes into the box. 4. For the Colts to win this game, they'll need turnovers and big special teams play. We know how bad our ST are, so it's critical to win the TO battle. All in all, if the Texans come to play with the same spirit they did a week ago, there's no excuse for them not to seal the win before the 4th quarter. I was there for the Pittsburgh season opener that led to the roofing rules, I am happy that I'll never have to experience that again.....
I may end up having to eat my words, but there is lots of people hear talking rout. I love the Texans, but honestly how many times in the history of the franchise have they put a beat down on any team? 2 maybe 3 games? I'm still taking the Texans to win the game I just hope our players have a different mindset than many of the kool-aid drinkers here have
They did it to the Colts, Jags, and Titans at home last year, despite the Hall of Fail defense. I've been as harsh as anyone about this team, I expected the losing season last year when folks were arguing 10 or 11 wins, but there's no excuse for them not to romp on Sunday. No excuse not to take the division crown. Zero.
Well, there was the, you know, Colt game last year... Come on - the Texans have absolutely had some decisive victories in their history. Hell, they had 4 alone last year and only won 6 games.
This thread is scaring me. If the mentality in the Texan's locker room is anywhere near this foolishly cocky, we are in for a BIG TIME reality check. Get real people, these Colts are all professional athletes and we have a myriad of brand new components to this team. This isn't college where you can just go Juggernaut status in one off-season. Be excited, be confident, but for goodness sakes be real.
Yes, probably, likely - but... I'm anxious to see how the Colts shake-out. This idea that Peyton Manning alone is worth 10-12 victories a season is being completely overblown, IMO. It would not shock me, even if they lose him for the year, for that team to win 9 games. And if they don't, it wouldn't shock me if Collins keeps them .500-ish until Manning rides in and runs off 5 straight season-ending victories. Meanwhile, Tennessee always has a fighting chance with CJohnson and Jacksonville has historically given us trouble. And you simply can't predict division games. Those 3 teams are too much of a mystery for me to just hand the historically underachieving Texans a division crown. They'll probably win it......... but (ducks under a table)
Well being a fan of this team the last decade has kinda wharped my mind and always thinking of the worst outcome. I still think they win but I think these Texans by 20 point plus is crazy talk. The Colts are just going to lie down because Manning is out.
If Colts+Peyton win 10 games and Colts+Collins win 9, then Peyton Manning is the most overpaid player in professional sports history and NFL teams need to completely rethink the value they place on quarterbacks.
The Texans have really never, ever won when there were expectations. They've seemingly always shrunk from the challenge. I'm anxious to see how they respond to this. If they roll the Colts, I mean just beat 'em up, I think they'll streak to my predicted 11 wins. But if they come out flat, cocky, distracted..... I'm going to develop a very uneasy feeling.
Peyton Manning is their offensive coordinator. If anything, I think people under estimate how bad they might be without him. Their defense is average at best, bordering on bad. Their line sucks and what doesn't suck about it is totally new. They can't run the ball. Their receivers are great, but Collins is not a timing passer and an absolute liability in the pocket. It will be like putting a V6 engine in a Corvette. Their schedule is pretty easy, but if they end up with a winning record, I will be absolutely shocked.
The Texans have had arguably the worst 10 year start off out of any team ever. They are not going to take anybody lightly. And of course we should feel comfortable. We beat the colts last year with Peyton Manning. They did little to improve the team(colts) in the offseason. There run defense is still awful, we added a top 10 cb and a quality safety to arguably the worst seconday ever, and added JJ Watt who has shown he is more than adequate. How can you not feel confident?
Lets be as real about is as we can be. 1. We handily beat em last year around this time. 2. New components? Sure, but could it possibly be worse than last year's defense? Nope. 3. The Colts are worse at QB. 4. Collins has never beaten Wade. They don't have to be juggernauts to take care of business on Sunday.
Even if they do roll the Colts, we should maintain a humble mindset. Do not lose focus until the season is OVER. Look at the 2007 Patriots. They rolled for the entire season, and expectations couldn't have been any higher. But we all remember what happened when Superbowl came around.
As long as Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are there, Im not writing them off... Those are our yearly Texans Killers....I think they have the cast to do something we forget how to do .....Mange the game .....I still think Texans win but it be closer than what the score says ....Texans 29-12!!!
bad comparison....You could use the Chargers instead....Patriots fooled 99% of America....We havent fooled 50% of Houston yet
The last line of my post was be excited, be confident.... I AM confident. Extremely confident. I am not however, comfortable. Confident hits it hard at practice. Comfortable goes to the club. Confident watches hours of game tape. Comfortable says "I got this." See what I'm saying?
