The upcoming Colts game, 9/11/11

Arky · #1 09-05-2011, 08:57 PM

Texans kick off the 2011 season Sunday, Sept 11, 2011 at Reliant with the Colts coming to town. Peyton or no Peyton? Right now, he's doubtful. To the Texans, this should not make any difference. The Texans sorely need W's in this rivalry which has the Colts leading 16-2.

The point spread started off with the Texans as 2 point favorites and has ballooned all the way to 9 on some boards due to P Manning's doubtful status.

TV = CBS (Channel 11 local)
Time = 12 pm CST

Still, Walter of WalterFootball.com likes the Colts to pull off the upset here:

Quote:

The Colts are going to give 110 percent in this contest, but I can't say the same thing about Houston. The Texans have been looking forward to this game since the NFL schedule was released in April. Without Manning in the equation, Houston won't have the same fire. In fact, I think Manning being out (as opposed to playing injured) really hurts the Texans because now they're expected to win. They are not good in this role, as evidenced by what happens to them late in the year after a hot start.

I'm picking Indianapolis to stun everyone by pulling the upset. This is not a good spot for a choking Houston team.

In order to avoid this, the Texans will need to play like their hair is on fire and start to taking the long-needed steps to change the public's general negative perception. The Colts never apologize for defeating the Texans when an AJ or a Schaub is out and the Texans need to return this attitude in kind.

barrett · #2 09-05-2011, 09:01 PM

Who cares about public perception? Teams often play best when they think public perception is wrong. I hope the public continues to down them. If they believe it and play poorly we have the wrong people in here and I hope we lose until they are out. But if they play with a chip on their shoulder because of the "no respect" card, then great.

As for the game, if Manning does not play, the Colts lose. The talent difference between these teams is huge when Manning is not considered. The colts honestly look a lot like the 49ers when manning-less.

WMH · #3 09-05-2011, 09:11 PM

I laughed my ass off when I read walters write up on this game. I usually like his write ups, even when they are not in our favor, but this was the most ridiculous thing I think he has ever written.

I believe the guys are very aware of the expectations of this season, and the consequences for failing, IE new regime could equal new homes for some. To say they will come out flat, IN WEEK 1, just because thier nemesis is out is absurd.

I don't believe we will, but if we do lose to the Colts it won't be because Manning didn't play....can't believe I just typed that...it will likely be because we made some of the same dumbass moves/actions that have plauged us for the last 10 years.

However, I'll take the hometown team for the W (not saying I will take the points, that is a Vegas line if I ever saw one), but I think we will end up ahead by a TD or so.

READY FOR SUNDAY!!!!

Keith · #4 09-05-2011, 10:49 PM

Pound, pound.

The Texans need to establish the run. Foster's hamstring seems like a ticking timebomb right now. It'd be nice to establish a lead and feed Tate the rock about 15 times in this one with a 3-headed rushing attack.

Hard to believe I'm thinking this... but I am actually a little excited to see what the Texans defense has in store for this one. The Colts run a complicated offense, so I'm not sure how much of it Kerry Collins knows. But if Collins has to do a lot of thinking and reading, hopefully the front seven gets into the Colts backfield early and often. This would be a nice game for Mario to hush his naysayers.

Arky · #5 09-05-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WMH

I laughed my ass off when I read walters right up on this game. I usually like his write ups, even when they are not in our favor, but this was the most ridiculous thing I think he has ever written.

I believe the guys are very aware of the expectations of this season, and the consequences for failing, IE new regime could equal new homes for some. To say they will come out flat, IN WEEK 1, just because thier nemesis is out is absurd.

I don't believe we will, but if we do lose to the Colts it won't be because Manning didn't play....can't believe I just typed that...it will likely be because we made some of the same dumbass moves/actions that have plauged us for the last 10 years.

However, I'll take the hometown team for the W (not saying I will take the points, that is a Vegas line if I ever saw one), but I think we will end up ahead by a TD or so.

READY FOR SUNDAY!!!!

Eheh, yeah, Walter is usually pretty sound. He seems to live and breathe football and does an incredible amount of work on his website what with handicapping NFL games, draft research, etc. As a handicapper-wannabe myself, I can tell you he usually does an excellent job with his picks and he leaves this info posted on his website for the world to see. Young guy, too, late 20's/early 30's is my guesstimate - Google Image "Walter Cherepinsky" and you get a guy with a passing resemblance to a young Jerry Seinfeld....

I like to quote him sometimes in posts just for the "outside perspective".....

But yeah, I hope he's really wrong on this one. And there is no shame in that.... happens to the best of 'em... In the world of handicapping, sometimes you're either blessedly right or horribly wrong - not much room for in-between stuff...

I think the wild card in all this is the new Texan defense. Right now, I'm having visions of a rusty Kerry Collins horizontal on the ground - a lot..... Hope this is not a pipe dream.....

edit: and there's Keith posting kinda the same..

popanot · #6 09-06-2011, 07:35 AM

Man, if Manning doesn't play and the Texans come out flat and lose this game at home, there will be a lynch mob outside Reliant ready skin and string Kubiak up on the bull statue. Maybe I'm smelling a freshly changed baby's behind and drinking the syrupy Texans kool aid, but this team should (better!) dominate the AFC South this year - and it should (better!) start this weekend.

cadams · #7 09-06-2011, 09:24 AM

i think that all the talking heads have been so burned by picking the texans over the past few years, that they are swinging their opinions a bit far in the opposite direction to avoid being burned this year. and i am not sure it is a consious decisions, i just think it is a natural reaction to the circumstances of the last few years.

i think the texans win by 2 touchdowns this weekend.

NBT · #8 09-06-2011, 01:50 PM

Hmmm......me thinks maybe Walters is a closet Colts fan. The idea that we won't be motivated and ready because Peyton might be out for the game, is ludicrous in the extreme. It is a division game after all, and no matter who is the Colts QB, we will be fired up and ready to go. I am anxious to see how the defense will perform.

cadams · #9 09-06-2011, 03:06 PM

on an unrelated note, the jags just released garrard. mccowan is now their starter

angrydre · #10 09-06-2011, 06:17 PM

I'm already getting fired up for the game. This is gonna be a looooong week. I don't think Manning being out has any effect at all. If anything, this defense is salivating at the thought of getting to hit someone more prone to turnovers. "Big brother" of a division opponent, opening day, with the hype machine starting to spin, yeah, we're not gonna show up. Ridiculous.

HPF Bob · #11 09-06-2011, 06:23 PM

The only way I see us losing is if we cannot stop Addai and/or Schaub has one of his WTF games.

Hopefully, we get out to an early lead and sit some of our ailing stars.

Arky · #12 09-06-2011, 09:05 PM

Texans vs. Colts Announcers = Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf

Looks like all of Texas and most of Indiana/Illinois will get this game on CBS...

If you're in the Houston area, late game on Fox will be Giants vs. Redskins with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

cadams · #13 09-07-2011, 12:10 PM

Quote:

the Indianapolis Star. Phillip B. Watson spoke with a Los Angeles-based orthopedic surgeon about Peyton Manning’s condition, and the surgeon wasn’t very optimistic.

“The nerve was injured in some fashion, he has some weakness and now you’re waiting for that nerve to recover,” said Dr. Neel Anand, director of Orthopedic Spine Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. ”Depending on the extent of the injury, it could take six weeks, it could take two years. And there’s no guarantee it will come back.”

This adds a whole new dimension to consider. From a Texans viewpoint, the only near certainty was that Manning wouldn’t be around for this weekend’s game – and I’m not even completely sold on that just yet. But the assumption – correct me if I’m wrong – was that he’d be likely be back for the Week 16 showdown in Indy, three days before Christmas.

between this, and jacksonville's move yesterday, the texans have no excuse if they don't win the division this year.

painekiller · #14 09-07-2011, 12:32 PM

I watched the live press conference on NFLnetwork where the Colts announced that Peyton is out. So they have confirmed the news.

Nconroe · #15 09-07-2011, 05:04 PM

I suppose if our front seven gets pressure on Collins we expect, then we will do ok in this game.

Any given Sunday, however. Still cautiously optimistic.

HPF Bob · #16 09-07-2011, 10:38 PM

Someone made the point yesterday that the Texans might feast on this type of scenario this season:

2 games vs. the Colts without Manning
2 games vs. Blaine Gabbert
2 games vs. Jake Locker
1 game vs. Cam Newton
1 game vs. Andy Dalton

That's a lot of fresh meat for Wade Phillips to lick his chops over.

Keith · #17 09-07-2011, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

2 games vs. the Colts without Manning
2 games vs. Blaine Gabbert
2 games vs. Jake Locker
1 game vs. Cam Newton
1 game vs. Andy Dalton

In addition to the fresh meat, there's other meat here too...
1 game vs. Chad Henne
1 game vs. Jason Campbell
1 game vs. Colt McCoy

The nice part about Bob's list is that six of those games are in the division.

Looking at this list, the top priority this season is keeping Schaub healthy, else the Texans might find themselves on here too.

itssharif · #18 09-08-2011, 03:11 AM

Ok seriously w/o drinking the kool-aid I mean looking at the list above of QB's and seriously considering how well our defense performed in the VANILLA bases we showed am I wrong for not only expecting a Top 10 Defense but also at the VERY LEAST a 12 win season. It may sound ridiculous but I fully expect this out of THIS team barring injury, no other excuses. Our schedule, Peyton Manning's injury, Jax & Ten's Qb situation, and that pathetic list of Qb's above should be reason enough to believe just by default.

Also quick side note I also believe this game should be so easy to win that we should not risk Arian Foster's health. Plus I am looking forward to seeing Ben Tate in regular season action. I also hope Kubiak doesn't call the game like a little girl and shoves this one down the Colts throats sending them a MESSAGE loud and clear. If we don't win this game 52-0 I'm seriously going to get pissed. Lets not forget that all they had to do was play against the Jets, achieve their perfect season and we would have been IN. They've hurt us in more ways than 1. DOMINATE THEM!

painekiller · #19 09-08-2011, 08:07 AM

I am shocked that people have forgotten that Freeney and Mathis are two of the best DEs in the league, and that Indy has a playoff quality defense. They still have two of the best receivers in the league in Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. This is not a bad team.

On a side note, since when has Hasselback become a forgotten man? Granted the Titans do not have top tier WR, but Hasselback is still a top half of the NFL type QB.

barrett · #20 09-08-2011, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by painekiller

I am shocked that people have forgotten that Freeney and Mathis are two of the best DEs in the league, and that Indy has a playoff quality defense. They still have two of the best receivers in the league in Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. This is not a bad team.

On a side note, since when has Hasselback become a forgotten man? Granted the Titans do not have top tier WR, but Hasselback is still a top half of the NFL type QB.

Every piece on the Colts roster was obtained with Peyton Manning in mind. The team has been built to score points, possess the ball, put pressure on the opposing team by making them know you will need to score 30 to win, and then rushing the passer like crazy when you have to throw it to keep up.

If the Colts score 30 and you have to keep up, Freeney and company are turned loose and are among the best. If you start Collins and score 14, then Freeney gets bludgeoned with the running game and the defense is a giant liability. Manning makes the whole thing work, and pull him out and you have a bunch of spare parts. Even a guy like Dallas Clark or Collie is only good because they can work the slot and Manning can work his progressions to find those guys. Those guys aren't just lining up and beating people. This Colts team has way less talent than the Texans from 2-53, they've just had Peyton manning and a clear idea of what they wanted to do as an organization for a decade straight.