Last week, yours truly correctly predicted that (1) Jacques Reeves would have an interception and (2) Matt Schaub's streak of turnover-less football would end. Pretty good, right? Kindly ignore the misplaced faith in Steve Slaton's hands, Owen Daniels' health, Schaub's ability to limit his turnovers to one, and/or Kevin Walter's reincorporation into the offense. Nothing to see there, friends. Don't let the misfirings get in the way of admiring my brilliance.
My crystal ball (which may or may not be an empty can of Coors Light) reveals that the following shall come to pass on Sunday in Indianapolis:
1. Ryan Moats will get the start and finish with 13 carries for 57 yards, as well as 3 receptions for 27 yards. Steve Slaton will finish with 9 carries for 64 yards and 4 receptions for 36 yards. Slaton will find the end zone, but he will also put the ball on the carpet again. And then we will be treated to two (2) weeks of chatter about whether Slaton should start on Monday Night Football against Bud Adams' Army of Darkness. Yippee.
2. If the Colts get the ball to start the game, I can't shake the feeling that Peyton Manning's going to have them up 14-0 before we know what happened. If the Texans get the ball to start the game, there will not be a two TD lead at any point all afternoon by either team. Needless to say, I'm going to be paying close attention to the coin toss. Personally, I'd go with tails.
3. The Colts are ravaged with injuries to their secondary, and Matt Schaub's going to take full advantage of it when Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis aren't in his grill. Schaub finishes with 284 yards passing, complete with 3 TDs and 1 INT. He'll also be dropped a total of three (3) times by the Indy defense. Owen Daniels is gone, but Joel Dreessen and Kevin Walter will pick up his slack. Between the two of them, they will account for 122 receiving yards and a TD.
PUT YOUR NAME ON IT: All hyperbole about this being the biggest game in franchise history aside, your Houston Texans are playing with house money on Sunday. No one expects them to beat the mighty Colts on the road. And with good reason--the Texans have never done it before. Unfortunately, I think this is the week that the Texans secondary gets exposed. I mean, it's Peyton Manning; he's the best QB in the league, and the Texans have yet to face a QB in the same zip code of excellence as the one in which Peyton resides. He's going to be the difference, though I think the Texans are going to make it tough on him, particularly in shutting down the Colts' running attack. Texans 24, Colts 30.
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