FanHouse PeytonManning

The Colts have beaten the Texans every single time they've played except for once. In their upcoming matchup in Houston against the Texans on Sunday, Indianapolis is favored by 3.5. In their recent matchup in Indy, the Colts were fortunate to win by 3 as Texans kicker Kris Brown missed a field goal to send it into overtime.

In five of their last six meetings, the Colts-Texans games have been decided by six points or less. Unlike their previous matchup, the Texans will be missing a key member of their secondary: safety Eugene Wilson broke two toes in his game against the Titans and has been placed on IR. His absence after a preseason injury caused by a Brett Favre-fined low block contributed to the Texan defense's bottom of the league slow start. In general, it is not a good thing to be missing a starting safety when your team is facing Peyton Manning.

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday. It has returned from a playoffs-induced hiatus.

Though I'll admit I was rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series last week, a part of me was sad that Alex Rodriguez would get a World Series ring. No, I don't hate A-Rod, nor do I wish anything bad on him. I'm not one of those "haters."

This was selfish. My friends and I had now lost a main component of a storied -- and heated, at times -- bar debate. If you were starting a major league team and had the choice between the two, would you rather have A-Rod or Derek Jeter?

PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Westbrook did not practice with the Eagles on Wednesday, nor did he talk about why. His coach, Andy Reid, said Westbrook would practice Thursday and that the reason he was held out Wednesday was his ankle, and not the concussion he suffered in the team's Oct. 26 victory over the Redskins. But if you buy that, I've got a South Philly bridge to sell you, too.

The ankle is a red herring. Westbrook's ankle is a chronic problem, for which he's had surgery, and his ankle probably hurts every day. They can put him on the injury report with an ankle problem anytime they want, and nobody's going to bat an eye. This thing with Westbrook is a case of a player, concerned about his own personal future, taking it slow amid a culture that's only starting to embrace the danger and seriousness of concussions.

INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for Peyton Manning and his band of merry, pass-happy men this was a little bit nuts. Indy ran nine plays -- eight of them passes -- in the first two minutes of the game, averaging one every 14 seconds, completely disregarding the play clock and leaving their star offensive players more than a little bit tuckered out.

"I wouldn't call it fun," said tight end Dallas Clark, who caught 11 passes in the first half and 14 -- for 119 yards -- in the game. "When you run 60 plays in the first half, you're going to feel that on Wednesday and Thursday. But the win makes it feel a lot better."

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This weekend's AFC South showdown appeared, at the beginning of the week, to be one of those strength vs. strength matchups. The Colts have the NFL's seventh-ranked pass defense and they have only allowed three passing touchdowns all season (making them the stingiest in the NFL). The Houston Texans are the NFL's third-best passing team and have thrown 16 touchdown passes in eight games.

Things this week, have, uh, changed a bit.

Much has been made about the Indianapolis Colts and their 7-0 start. As I pointed out in the power rankings, they are actually 82-21 in the regular season since the beginning of 2003. They are an absolute juggernaut. Thus far this season, we've heard lots of talk about how Peyton Manning looks better than ever and the Colts are firing on all cylinders. This week, we're bound to hear a lot about how the Colts are the biggest test yet for a Houston Texans team looking to visit the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The funny thing is, in a movement worthy of Bizarro-World status, the Texans are actually the first big test for the Colts.

If you write about the Houston Texans, the No. 1 question you get from fans and fantasy football types is what's up with Steve Slaton? In the last game against the atrocious run defense of the Buffalo Bills, Slaton was benched after only one catch and carry because he fumbled the ball. Yet again. Slaton has a league-high seven fumbles for the year.

Coach Gary Kubiak was up front about the benching, talking about it to Slaton and the team: "I told Steve in the locker room to get his chin up. This team needs him playing well and making plays and I'm expecting him to come right back next week and help us."

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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This is what Brian Billick had in mind when he traded back into the first round of the 2003 draft to take Kyle Boller: the next Peyton Manning.

Of course, Manning never winged a football through goal posts from midfield while on one knee, which I imagine made Boller an even more attractive prospect in Billick's mind. Whatever, neither Boller nor Billick worked out in Baltimore and now one is the backup quarterback for the Rams and the other is an in-booth NFL analyst for Fox.

St. Louis will face Manning and the Colts this week, and Boller, for the first time in his career, looks like a Pro Bowl quarterback. Via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Some Titans fans weren't amused when coach Jeff Fisher wore a Peyton Manning jersey at a Nashville fundraiser, and he joked "I just wanted to feel like a winner today." Fisher seemed surprised anybody would be angry about this, even after his 0-6 team just got humilated by the Patriots 59-0.

He gave the "apology to those I've offended" non-apology, saying he wore the jersey in honor of former Colts coach Tony Dungy who he was introducing, it was all in fun, and even with what he knows now, he would do it again. Really?

How about if he knew some Bud Adams-hating Houston Texan fans got pictures of him in the jersey and decided to do their own Photoshop fun? The video of the result is after the jump. I have to give a Celine Dion warning, and tell you that the video starts off a little slow but then gets very wrong, which means it gets very funny.