November 16, 2008
Another EPIC RosINT-FAIL!!!1!!one!1
by Keith Weiland
Keith@IntheBullseye.com

You can't help but laugh, right? I mean, assuming your name isn't Kubiak or Rosenfels or anything else listed on Bob McNair's payroll, then the finish to the Texans 33-27 loss to the Colts is nothing if not off the charts on the unintentional humor scale.

Given yet another opportunity to beat the Colts, Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels threw an interception at the Indy 35-yard line with about a half minute left on the game clock. Rosenfels, of course, is the one who single-handedly blew the last game versus the Colts, turning the ball over three times in the final minutes to lose. And yeah, his four interceptions last week against the Ravens kinda sucked, too, so this is something of a trend for him.

In spite of Rosenfels' predictable assclownery, the real problem for the Texans in this game was the play of the defense. They came up with a stop late in the fourth quarter to give the offense a chance to steal this game, but the fact is that the Colts had their way against this squad on just about every possession they had.

The Colts rang up a total of 474 yards of offense and were effective both on the ground and through the air. Running backs Joe Addai and Dominic Rhodes combined for 153 rushing yards and a score while quarterback Peyton Manning carved up the Texans secondary for 320 yards and two touchdowns.

Offensively, the Texans did quite well before the interception. Head coach Gary Kubiak limited Rosenfels to just 18 pass attempts, instead relying on running backs Steve Slaton and Ahman Green to move the ball. Slaton finished with 156 yards on 14 carries, including one in which he busted out for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Key Play

The bottom line is that Rosenfels' interception ended the game. He had two receivers, Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter, in the general vicinity of his pass attempt, but the ball appeared to sail on him en route to Daniels.

It is so painfully obvious that Rosenfels desperately wants to be a winner. And as easy as it is for me to laugh at the inevitability of what happened, you can't help but feel for the type of hell that has become the 2008 season for Rosenfels.

Game Balls

Following a game against the Ravens in which Slaton was essentially rested by Kubiak for having tired legs (uhm... what?!?), the rookie running back roared back with a terrific effort punctuated by that electrifying 71-yard TD run. Extra kudos to right tackle Eric Winston who sealed the key block on the play.

Another rookie, linebacker Xavier Adibi, also had an active afternoon in leading the defense with 13 tackles. Adibi, a fourth round pick, was given the start today in place of an injured Morlon Greenwood. So, uh... Greenwood... you've just been Wally Pipp'ed.

Key Stat

474

As much as Rosenfels' untimely interception blew the game, it is really hard for a team to win when the defense is as pathetic as this one. Giving up this kind of yardage on a regular basis is grounds for immediate dismissal. I realize the Colts have a good offense, but Sunday's level of production is more than 150 yards over the Colts' season average, so it seems other teams have at least figured out a way to slow them down.

McNair and Kubiak are loathe to overturn the apple cart midseason, but how much worse can the defense get with new leadership? Coordinator Richard Smith is squandering talent, and while I realize there are some deficiencies in that department, there is enough money and draft picks already invested here for this to be such a dismal unit.

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