Colts Gab

One thing is for certain about the Indianapolis Colts: they have seemed to be able to beat their opponents in just about every conceivable way possible – or so it seems. During Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium, that analogy was definitely put to the test. Down by 13 points at halftime, they would score 28 unanswered points, enabling Indianapolis to hold off Houston 35-27. The win would allow the Colts to clinch the AFC South.

The Texans scored on their first series for the first time this season when Schaub directed an 11-play, 79-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard pass to Vonta Leach, making it 7-0; they would march down the field again on their next possession and go up 14-0 on a 5-yard TD run by Chris Brown. A Peyton Manning interception to Texans linebacker Brian Cushing would allow for another score, a 33-yard field goal by Kris Brown, putting Houston up 17-0; they would take into their locker room a 20-7 lead at halftime. And that, oddly enough, would be the beginning of the end for the Texans.

The Texans let the Colts back into the game in the third quarter as they were called for pass interference on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, giving Indianapolis a first down on the Texans 1-yard line. Three plays later, Manning would connect on a 1-yard toss to Reggie Wayne to make it 20-14. A 4-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Clark with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter gave Indianapolis their first lead at 21-20; 15 seconds later, LB Clint Session would intercept a Matt Schaub pass and return it27 yards for a TD, putting the Colts up by 8. A 23-yard TD run by Chad Simpson would pad the Colts’ cushion to 35-20 with 2:52 remaining in the game. Wide receiver Jacoby Jones would score on a 10-yard pass from Schaub, bringing the Texans to within eight at 35-27 with just 18 ticks left on the game clock; one unsuccessful onside kick later, Manning would do the obligatory kneeldowns, icing the game for the Colts.

Manning had a decent game, going 27-of-35 for 244 yards with 3 TD’s and 2 INT’s while Schaub did nearly as well, going 31-of-42 for 284 yards with 2 TD’s and 2 INT’s. Joseph Addai led the Colts rushing effort with 15 carries for 69 yards while the Texans were led by Steve Slaton with 57 yards on 10 carries while catching 7 passes for 49 yards; Brown added 56 on 11 rushes and a TD.

Austin Collie led all Colts receivers with 4 receptions for 70 yards while Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon caught 9 and 5 passes respectively for 63 yards and a score each. Kevin Walter led the Texans receivers with 7 receptions for 70 yards while Andre Johnson caught 5 for 67 yards. Indianapolis (11-0) will play again next Sunday when they host the Tennessee Titans while Houston (5-6) makes the short commute to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars – also next Sunday.

Defensive end Dwight Freeney did not travel with the team to Houston and will not play against the Texans in week 12 with an abdomen injury, reports ESPN on Twitter. Freeney leads all Colts with 9.5 sacks. Freeney was selected by Indianapolis with the 11th selection in the 2002 NFL Draft out of Syracuse.

Colts.com says that despite all the hurts, the team is not going to cut Bob Sanders this offseason:

Colts GM Bill Polian reiterated he has no plans to cut safety Bob Sanders, even though Sanders has played in just eight games of the last two seasons since signing a five-year, $37 million contract. “There’s no way we would cut Bob Sanders unless he’s completely incapable of playing, and I don’t think that that’s the case,” Polian said on his radio show. “I think he’ll be back better than ever as the saying goes next summer. I see no situation where we would cut him. Trade? There’s an old saying, ‘Don’t ever trade anybody who can help you.’ I think Bob Sanders can help us a lot.”

Peyton Manning has returned to full practice from an injury to his backside and is probable for Sunday’s AFC South game at Houston.

Manning had seen limited work Wednesday and Thursday before participating in the full workout on Friday.

Also listed as probable are WRs Reggie Wayne (foot) and Pierre Garcon (ankle); safeties Melvin Bullitt (shoulder) and Antoine Bethea (foot); RBs Joseph Addai (knee) and Donald Brown (shoulder); TEs Tom Santi (hip) and Jacob Tamme (quadriceps); DEs Robert Mathis (neck) and Raheem Brock (neck); cornerback Jerraud Powers (knee); center Jeff Saturday (calf); and tackle Tony Ugoh (knee).

DE Dwight Freeney (abdomen), linebacker Ramon Humber (calf), tackle Charlie Johnson (foot), TE Gijon Robinson (concussion), quarterback Jim Sorgi (right shoulder), and cornerback Kelvin Hayden (knee) are questionable.

The Indy Star reports about the contract extension Bill Polian has gotten:

Owner Jim Irsay has taken a step to ensure the direction of the Indianapolis Colts remains unchanged, and remains under the direction of a Polian. The contracts of team president Bill Polian and son Chris have been extended “through the 2012 season and beyond,” Irsay said Thursday afternoon. Irsay extended the contracts to maintain continuity, similar to how he put the pieces in place as the Colts transitioned from coach Tony Dungy to Jim Caldwell. “There is no seismic shift. Nothing will change anytime soon,” Irsay said. “But continuity is important to me.”

Mike Hart has been waived by the Colts, according to Adam Caplan of Scout.com. Hart had gotten zero carries since being signed on October 5. He’ll likely end up back on Indy’s practice squad.

Typically with the Indianapolis Colts, they usually rely on quarterback Peyton Manning to get the job done, which he does with alarming regularity. But as of late, it has been the defense that has saved the day for the Colts, as evidenced by their narrow win over the New England Patriots last Sunday. The Colts would have their hands full Sunday when they went up against a pesky Baltimore Ravens squad at M&T Stadium. Curiously enough, Indianapolis’ defense once again were the heroes as they intercepted a Joe Flacco pass, allowing Indianapolis to remain undefeated, edging Baltimore 17-15.

The Colts drew first blood, going 87 yards on seven plays, capped by a 3-yard TD pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark (one-handed, no less!), giving Indianapolis an early 7-0 lead. A pair of field goals by newly-signed kicker Billy Cundiff (46 and 44 yards, respectively) narrowed the Ravens’ deficit to 7-6; a pair of field goals by Cundiff (38 and 36 yards, respectively) sandwiched around a 5-yard TD run by the Colts’ Joseph Addai, allowed Indianapolis to take a narrow 14-12 edge going into halftime.

The third quarter was 15 minutes of ball control warfare, for the most part as no scoring took place. The fourth quarter would find Baltimore tacking on another field goal by Cundiif, giving the Ravens their first lead at 15-14; just over three minutes later, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover put Indianapolis ahead 17-15 with a 25-yard FG with 7:02 remaining in the game. The Colts would ice the win when the Ravens’ Ed Reed fumbled on a punt return with 17 seconds left.

Manning put up un-Manning-like numbers as he went 22-of-31 for 299 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while Joe Flacco went 23-of-35 for 256 with an INT. Addai rushed 19 times for 74 yards and a score while Ray Rice rushed 20 times for 71 yards while catching 7 passes for 64 yards. Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 108 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 7 passes for 89 yards; tight end Tom Santi caught 6 passes for 80 yards. Derrick Mason led the Ravens receiving corps with 9 receptions for 142 yards while the aforementioned Rice caught 7 for 64 yards.

Indianapolis (10-0) looks to extend their winning streak to 20 when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday while Baltimore (5-5) remains at home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers – also next Sunday.

While it is true that the Indianapolis Colts are dangerous as it is at 9-0 without wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez in their lineup, imagine how much more dangerous they will be when he eventually returns. Nonetheless, Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star is reporting that according to Gonzalez, he is on track to rejoining the team after going arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this month.

Gonzalez adds:

“I felt like I was close the last time. So in that sense, it’s a little hard to say. I do feel the ’scope I had helped a lot. Now it’s just a matter of getting a little flexibility back and all my strength back. But I think I’m close.”

The wide receiver from Ohio State did, however, stop short of specifying a return date. While I personally will be glad when he returns to the fold, the “close to returning” mantra has been a recurring theme. For once, some specifics would be helpful as to his return to the playing field. Stay tuned to Colts Gab when more developments arise.

The Indianapolis Colts have gone from winning games with relative ease to escaping by the skin of their teeth, so to speak. As luck would have it, Indianapolis’ opponent Sunday was the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady. But an interesting thing happened at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots would seal their fate not by anything that Brady did, but by a bold – and questionable – move by head coach Bill Belichick. The screwup enabled Indianapolis to rally from 17 down to edge New England 35-34. But more on the Belichick gamble later.

The Colts drew first blood as Peyton Manning tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Addai, giving Indianapolis a 7-0 lead; the Patriots would strike back as Laurence Maroney would score on a 1-yard TD run, tying things up at 7-all. The second quarter would find New England racking up points in short order; after a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, New England would score twice in a 4-minute span, the first being a 63-yard TD pass from Brady to Randy Moss at the 11:18 mark with the second being a 9-yard Brady to Julius Edelman TD pass, which gave the Patriots a comfortable 24-7 lead with 7:19 left in the half. But Indianapolis reduced New England’s lead to ten as Manning rifled a 20-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne at the 4:17 mark, making it 24-14 which would be the halftime score.

As opposed to the previous periods, the third quarter was a battle of attrition and was scoreless, as a result. The fourth quarter found New England striking early as Brady threw a 5-yard TD pass to Moss, increasing their lead to 31-14. Sounds like lights out? Not so fast – it gets better, especially if you’re a Colts fan. With 12:14 remaining in the game, Manning tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon which narrowed the Patriots’ lead to 31-21; a 36-yard FG by Gostkowski pushed the Patriots’ advantage to 34-21.

Indianapolis would come storming back, with credit due to Manning and a little help from Belichick. Addai would score from a yard out, putting the Colts to within 34-28 with 2:23; then came the erroneous judgement by Belichick. New England had the ball but Belichick called two timeouts during the series, with the second TO setting up their foruth down play. Typically on a fourth and 2 agaisnt Indianapolis, you’d punt the ball and let Manning try and beat you. But Belichick opted to go for it on fourth down. The gamble failed, giving the Colts the ball at the New England 29-yard line with 1:57 left in the game – an eternity when Manning is in charge. Manning would run three plays before connecting with Wayne for the winning score, a 1-yard TD pass, with 13 ticks left on the game clock, icing the game for the Colts.

Manning had his usual good game, going 28-of-44 for 327 yards with 4 TD’s and 2 INT’s while Brady went 29-of-42 for 375 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Addai led the Colts’ rushers with 41 yards and a TD while catching 2 passes for 27 yards and a score; Chad Simpson added 36 yards on only 4 carries. Kevin Faulk led New England with 79 yards on 17 carries while Laurence Maroney added 31 yards on 13 carries.

Wayne led all Colts receivers with 10 receptions for 126 yards and 2 scores while Dallas Clark caught 4 passes for 65 yards; Garcon caught 3 balls for 50 yards and a TD while Austin Collie grabbed 6 for 45 yards. Moss led New England with 9 receptions for 179 yards and 2 TD’s while Wes Welker caught 9 passes for 94 yards; Ben Watson caught one pass for 36 yards. Indianapolis (9-0) plays again on Sunday when they face the Baltimore Ravens while New England (6-3) returns home to host the New York Jets – also on Sunday.

The undefeated Colts heard all week about how the upstart Texans were going to take advantage of Indy’s recent injuries to hand them their first loss of the season. Someone must have forgot to tell Peyton Manning about that. Manning led a first half Colts charge, building a 13-0 lead, then rallying with a fourth quarter TD from Joseph Addai to top Houston 20-17.

The defense sealed the deal late, as with Houston driving towards what could have been a game-tying field goal, the defense stopped the Texans at the 24, and Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired to save the win for the Colts. Indy moves to 8-0 on the season, dropping their South rivals to 5-4.

Indy had three first quarter drives of 9 plays or more, as they went 48 yards, 79 yards and 61 yards, scoring a TD and two field goals to build their lead. The Texans killed themselves with first half penalties, and they also did nothing on offense as they ran just 7 first quarter plays, and had just 7 first quarter yards. They kicked a late field goal in the second quarter to make it 13-3.

The second half was a different story, as the Texans scored touchdowns going 86 and 84 yards to give them the lead. The first drive was 12 plays and ended with a TD pass from Matt Schaub to Ryan Moats from a yard out. The second drive was also 12 plays and wrapped up with a Steve Slaton one-yard run.

After having the ball for just three plays in the third quarter, Manning and the Colts offense took over. They got the ball on their own 39, and put together a game-winning drive, going 61 yards in 8 plays, as Addai went in from two yards out to give them the lead.

Houston had two last chances, the first ending with a pick, and then the second ending in Houston heartbreak as Brown missed the field goal at the buzzer that would have tied the game.