Following a theme that has prevailed throughout their eight-
year history, the Houston Texans simply refuse to do things the easy way.
On a day in which they gutted out a 31-10 road victory over a hard-nosed
Buffalo Bills team to finish the first half of a season above .500 for the
first time ever, the Texans (5-3) had their enthusiasm tempered by a couple of
disconcerting elements.
The first was the continued plague befalling Steve Slaton. The Texans had made
Slaton's fumbling issues a point of emphasis for several weeks, after the
second-year back out of West Virginia coughed the ball up six times (four lost)
during the team's first seven contests.
But, despite a lot of hope that Slaton was finally ready to put those problems
behind him, the running back was stripped by linebacker Paul Posluzsny on just
his third touch of the game, and was benched for the remainder of the contest.
And though the Texans didn't know it yet, the worst had already come, even
before Slaton put the ball on the ground.
Following the team's second possession of the game, tight end Owen Daniels had
left the contest after catching his foot in the Ralph Wilson Stadium turf. On
Monday, the grim news was confirmed that the Pro Bowl tight end had suffered a
torn right ACL, and would be lost for the season.
Daniels entered Week 8 Buffalo leading all NFL tight ends in receiving yards,
and was second at his position in receptions and touchdowns.
On a team that will always have its biggest challenges on the defensive side of
the football, the potential of having two fewer bullets in the chamber on
offense is disconcerting indeed for Kubiak and company, especially as they
prepare to head to Indianapolis for what the team still hopes can be a
statement-making effort against the unbeaten Colts.
Slaton figures to be back in the lineup in some capacity, though whether he
gets his starting job back remains to be seen. It stands to reason that Ryan
Moats, who replaced Slaton and had a career-day with 126 yards and three
touchdowns on 23 carries, has earned himself another start.
But Moats is a career backup who had 118 career carries in five NFL seasons for
a reason, and the fact that the Bills were and remain last in NFL rushing
defense (174.1 yards per game) does not exactly speak to Moats' potential for
continued excellence in a primary position. The Texans are going to need Slaton
to play a major role during the second half, which is why Kubiak was puffing
his sophomore rusher up, even after pulling him on Sunday.
"I told Steve in the locker room to get his chin up," said Kubiak. "This team
needs him playing well and making plays and I'm expecting him to come right
back next week and help us."
The Daniels situation is trickier, since there is no natural replacement for
the blossoming fourth-year-pro on the roster. Fifth-round draft pick James
Casey (Rice) also injured his knee against the Bills after filling in for
Daniels on Sunday, leaving blocking specialist Joel Dreessen (25 career
receptions) and fourth-round project Anthony Hill (North Carolina State) as the
team's only current options at the position. Hill has been inactive for every
game this season, a situation almost certain to change on Sunday.
"He's a very young player and obviously we haven't had the luxury of suiting
four guys," said Kubiak of Hill. "We have been impressed with his work. He's a
physical player. Is he ready to go? I don't know. We'll see, but it's time for
him to go. This is a tough spot for him to get started, down in Indy, in this
football game, this crowd noise, but hey, that's part of the game. That's what
we drafted him for."
Kubiak stressed that this was no time for his team to start making excuses.
"If you're going to grow up in this league and you want to be a good football
team and play with those top teams in the league, you have to understand you're
going to go through adversity," said the head coach. "Through adversity, teams
get stronger or they can go the other way.
"We've been digging our way out of this thing. We've had some issues as a team.
We've lost two starting guards, we lost a tight end [Sunday], but the team is
getting strong. We've got some confidence and we've got a long, long way to go.
At the halfway mark, we've worked real hard and have ourselves in the best
position this franchise has been in. But it's about long haul, so we've got to
keep going and keep it in perspective."
COLTS: The mark of a good team is the ability to win a game in which you didn't
play your best. The Indianapolis Colts proved they were a good team on Sunday
against the San Francisco 49ers. But you already knew that.
The Colts put up their fewest points since Week 1 in the 18-14 victory, and had
consistent trouble finishing off drives. Four Matt Stover field goals accounted
for all of Indianapolis' points over the game's first three quarters, and Jim
Caldwell's crew found itself behind, 14-12, as the final frame began.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, a 22-yard trick-play touchdown pass
from Joseph Addai to Reggie Wayne put Indianapolis ahead to stay, as an
underrated defense flexed its muscles and finished off a second-half shutout.
Not that the Indy defense had a perfect day, as a 64-yard rushing touchdown
allowed to Frank Gore early in the game put the Colts in an early hole, and a
seven-play, 89-yard touchdown drive later in the half was contrary to the
defense's usual ability to keep teams out of the end zone.
Still, it was the defense that propped up Indianapolis in the long run, a
factor that allowed the Colts offense to avoid criticism of its red-zone woes.
"It was one of those days," said Peyton Manning, who was 31-of-48 for 347
yards but did not throw a touchdown pass. "We kind of call it a grinder, where
you keep kind of grinding it out, and fortunately our defense kept them from
scoring a lot. We were able to keep the game close.
"There wasn't a whole lot of offensive rhythm out there. It was just kind of a
grind."
"Our defense sort of rose to the occasion when we needed it most," said
Caldwell, who became the first rookie head coach in NFL history to start 7-0.
"Mike Singletary certainly had his team ready to play...they played hard and
played well. They had a good plan against us. It was a tight, tough game, but
you find a way to win it. Our guys hung in there, came through and made some
big plays. They certainly performed well down the stretch."
On Monday, Caldwell noted that a sharp performance would be needed this week,
as the Colts try to expand their lead in the AFC South to what would be a
cavernous four games in the loss column.
"Houston is hot right now," said Caldwell. "They are 5-3. It's the best record
at this juncture that they have had. They have won three games in a row. They
have been playing extremely well. We are concerned with them. We have to get
focused on them come Wednesday and be prepared for a real tough game. All of
our games have been very close over the last few years. I wouldn't expect this
to be any different."
JAGUARS: The Jacksonville Jaguars found themselves at a 3-3 crossroads for the
second straight year. And, for the second straight year, Jack Del Rio's team
chose the darker path.
Last season, it was a home loss to the woeful Cleveland Browns that
precipitated the Jags' descent to an eventual last-place finish. On Sunday,
Jacksonville went to Tennessee and handed the Titans their first win of the
year, 30-13, in a game that saw Del Rio and company fall apart soon after a 79-
yard touchdown by Maurice Jones-Drew tied the game at 13-13 early in the fourth
quarter.
The Jags defense had precious little clue against Tennessee running back Chris
Johnson, who rushed for a franchise-record 228 yards on just 24 carries.
Johnson provided both of the Titans' big second-half blows, scoring on
touchdown dashes of 52 and 89 yards to help send Jacksonville to defeat.
But David Garrard and the offense did its part to deflate the Jags' chances as
well.
Jacksonville had five possessions following Jones-Drew's third-quarter
touchdown. Four resulted in punts, the other a Garrard interception after the
Jaguars had driven to the Tennessee 25-yard-line early in the fourth quarter.
At that juncture, with the Titans already down, 30-13, Jacksonville simply
wasn't getting off the mat.
"Ultimately the responsibility to have this football team prepared to play well
falls on me," said Del Rio. "I have to do a better job. I've got to do a better
job with the coaches, I've got to do a better job with the players. I thought
we had a pretty solid, in fact not solid, very good week of practice leading up
to this game. [Sunday's] effort completely catches me off guard. They didn't do
things that we didn't anticipate or prepare for. We just simply didn't execute,
tackle, or play very well."
With seven games in the books, Del Rio sounds like a man that still isn't quite
sure what makes his team tick.
"Somehow between the time we leave the practice field on Friday afternoon when
we feel pretty good about the preparation, to when we show up Sunday for the
ball game, somehow we are not bringing the energy, the tempo, the intent that
we're showing in practice that makes us all feel good about the preparation,"
said Del Rio. "We're not consistently showing up with that on Sundays. That is
something we have to have to have a chance."
TITANS: Although from a historical perspective, the key element of the Titans'
long-awaited first win of the 2009 season was the record-setting performance of
Chris Johnson, the biggest deal in regard to the current state of the Tennessee
union was the play of quarterback Vince Young.
Young was the center of media attention in the two weeks leading up to his
first start in over a year, as it had been suggested that his insertion into
the starting lineup had come at the behest of team owner Bud Adams, and against
the wishes of head coach Jeff Fisher.
Fisher denied that the decision was out of his hands in the days leading up to
the Jacksonville contest, and his public show of support for Young - whether
sincere or not - seemed to be a credit to the ever-fragile psyche of the former
No. 3 overall draft choice.
Young looked comfortable in the game-manager role that Kerry Collins had filled
so effectively for most of last season, completing 15-of-18 passes for 125
yards and a touchdown without a sack absorbed or a turnover. Young didn't
complete a pass for longer than 18 yards, though all but one of his 15
completions went to a wide receiver or tight end.
At the very least, the effort was a building block.
"He managed the game well," said Fisher of Young. "The guys did a great job
protecting for him. I thought [offensive coordinator] Mike [Heimerdinger]
had...the plan was good. You run the football then things happen. He made some
great throws...I said that all along that he has stayed focused, prepared
himself. He had fun tonight and it was good to see."
Young's 114.1 passer rating was his best in a start since Christmas Eve 2006 at
Buffalo, and his 83.3 completion percentage was also his best for a game in
which he threw more than one pass. Now 19-11 as an NFL starter, Young felt the
outing was one to grow on.
"The preparation all week is what let me get in my rhythm," said Young. "Let
the game come to me. Don't try to force things. That is basically what Coach
Heimerdinger did. He did a great job of giving me the different throws and
things to make it happen.
"The year off has helped me a whole lot. I put myself in different scenarios at
night time. If I go out there and make a bad play and [the fans] start to boo
me and anything that is going to happen, put it in the past and don't worry
about that. If we go out there and score a couple touchdowns and things like
that, don't worry about that and continue to make plays and show your
humbleness and maturity."
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