FanHouse MattTurk

To get you ready for week 3, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans preview. And to prepare you for this epic battle, I strongly suggest watching the mashedup YouTube of two of the greatest battles in recent cinema.


2007 Record:
Indianapolis Colts: 2-0 (T-1st in AFC South, 1-0 in division)
Houston Texans: 2-0 (T-1st in AFC South)

Last Week:
Colts 22 , Titans 20
Texans 34 , Panthers 21

Last Meeting:
December 24, 2006: Texans 27, Colts 24. With the absence of Colts safety Bob Sanders, Texans running back Ron Dayne rushed for a career high 153 yards. David Carr did not fumble, throw an interception or get sacked--mostly because by that time of the season, the Texans had pretty much shut down the passing game.

The fourth preseason game is all about making roster cuts, making money for the owners, hoping nobody gets injured and then making more money for the owners. With three minutes left in the game, the Bucs beat the Texans 31-23 with a touchdown by their preseason leading receiver, Paris Warren. Unfortunately, after Warren was hit at the goal line, he momentarily lost consciousness and the TV coverage cut away from him because of how awful his leg looked. He regained consciousness, his leg was put in an aircast, and he was carted off the field to a standing ovation. After the game, John Gruden said that this injury was a "terrible dislocated ankle."

Here's a few observations I have about the game for Texan fans, especially for those who didn't watch it:

Result: Don't worry too much about the result of this game. Sage Rosenfels looked good in the limited time he was in, and then it was Jared Zabransky for most of the game. He looked like a rookie, with a few flashes, but it made it difficult to evaluate receivers and running backs.

Jacoby Jones: In limited minutes, he ended up catching three passes for 34 yards and scoring yet another touchdown with a leaping grab in the corner of the endzone. He did not score any touchdowns on punt returns because he didn't return punts during this game. After the draft, one of the Texans staff who is usually pretty critical of players told me that he thought that Jones could be a player, but I had no idea.

The Star-Telegram has a nice article on Jones, saying that his best ever 40 time was 4.24 (he ran a 4.5 at the combine). They offer this amazing stat:

Jared Zabransky, third string Texans quarterback and EA Sports NCAA Football coverboy is having his NFL debut tonight in Tampa Bay. He will be playing three quarters and Gary Kubiak says:

"Sage won't play very long. I think you'll see him for a couple of series, a quarter at the most. I want to look at Zabransky and see if he has a future with this team....I put some pressure on him, but that's good. That's the only way you find out about guys like this, giving them an opportunity. He's going against a good defensive team, a (defensive coordinator) Monte Kiffin defense, in a visiting stadium.

I'm interested to see how he handles himself. Our decision is simple: Do we think he has a chance someday to be a player in this league? And if he does, we have to find a way to keep him on this team."

Check out the above YouTube to see an interview about Zabransky and why the Texans were interested in him.

The Texans and Cowboys have faced each other six times in both preseason and regular season games, and the home teams have won each time. Big pregame tailgates that never run out of beer, ran out of beer, and in this Saturday night game, there was more trash talking in the stands than on the field. I heard reports of arrests, mostly involving instigating, publicly intoxicated Cowboy fans. Don't mess with the Texans or the HPD.

Cowboy fans talked big junk pregame and on sports talk radio this week, but by the second quarter, they started jabbering about how this was only a preseason game. Funny how Jacoby Jones' 91 yard punt return for a touchdown (he's had two in the preseason, and almost a third one) got Cowboy fans to simmer down some. They didn't completely shut up because well, they are Cowboy fans and have a certain reputation to uphold.

There should be panic in the streets in Big D, as the Texans held the Cowboy rushing game to 57 yards and the Cowboys allowed 142 yards rushing by the Texans. So much for the Dallas lines dominating in the trenches theory.