SB Nation - Kris Brown

BRB's Comcastic Red Zone Review: Seahawks v. Texans

Tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:45:09 -0000

Brought to you by Comcast's Red Zone Channel, a quick look at how your Houston Texans fared in the red zone last Sunday in the beatdown of the Seahawks:

Trips to Red Zone: 5
Scores in Red Zone: 4 (2 FGs by Kris Brown, TD by Ryan Moats, TD by Andre Johnson)
Red Zone Efficiency: 80%

Seahawks vs Texans coverage

Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Pants Seahawks

Tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:36:27 -0000

Didn't know your Houston Texans had it in 'em. Predictable complaints about "taking the foot off the gas" in the second half aside, that was as one-sided a game as I've seen the Texans play since Week One. This experience was far more enjoyable, however, seeing as how this one unfolded with the Texans kicking the arse instead of being on the receiving end. If it wasn't the most dominating performance by the Texans in franchise history, it's at least in the discussion.

The burn, of course, is that the win puts the Texans at 6-7 and is therefore almost surely irrelevant in terms of postseason impact. Watching my team fire on all cylinders like that inevitably causes me to wonder, "Where has that been all season?" I don't have the answer to that question, and Gary Kubiak doesn't either. The inclination may well be to cite the opponent as the primary reason for the outcome, but Seattle had the same record the Texans did going into Sunday's game (though you'd never have known that in watching the game). I guess what I'm saying is that I have no idea why the Texans play the way they do when they do. That's probably the most infuriating thing about this team--the fact that you can never really feel good or bad about what they'll do on a given Sunday. Compared to the dog days of the Capers/Casserly Era, when you knew the Texans were being led to slaughter every week, that's a pretty profound improvement. On to the specifics:

1. If 10 out of the first 15 scripted plays each game had Andre Johnson as the first option, how many points would the Texans average a game? I'm going with 64, because...

2. Surely Kris Brown would miss 6 PATs. I don't know what has happened to the kicker we once dubbed "Mr. Automatic" (stop cackling, Pittsburgh fans). It's frightening. If the Texans were truly in the wild card mix, there would be kickers auditioning this week. If Smithiak doesn't bring in a kicker or two to compete with K. Brown in training camp, they're certifiable.

3. Matt Schaub has progressed to a point as the Texans' quarterback that I'm honestly surprised when he misses a WR. Well, the one interception each game notwithstanding, anyway. The Schaub is very, very good in this offense, and how he'd handle another scheme and/or head coach should be a sizable part of the decision-making process when it comes to Kubiak's future here.

4. Now that Steve Slaton's done for the season, the collective bargaining agreement mandates that another Houston RB start fumbling immediately. Ryan Moats is a company man.

5. Arian Foster: The New Wali Lundy? Foster's a bit bigger, yes. Still, it's going to take a handful of solid games before I jump on the bandwagon. The good news for Foster is that he should be given plenty of opportunities over the last three weeks to make a statement. Kubes knows what he has in Chris Brown and Moats, and neither is consistenly productive enough to warrant taking carries away from the unknown quantity when it's going to take several other teams completely falling apart for a realistic playoff scenario to materialize. Play the kid.

6. Zero sacks of Schaub by the Seahawks. That's particularly noteworthy in light of Schaub's physical condition. Kudos to the offensive line in that respect.

7. The Houston defense played its best game of the season. Seattle convered one out of fourteen (14!) third downs and only one out of five fourth downs. Wow.

8. DeMeco Ryans was all over the field. We take him for granted. Smithiak had better not.

9. Glover Quin is the best cornerback on the roster. He's a rookie, so that's exciting. He's also not stealing from Bob McNair, unlike a certain franchised corner, so that's solid too. I'm rather interested to see if the Texans try to transition Quin to free safety this offseason. I think he's got the chops for it, but the situation at corner is dire enough that I'm not sure you have the luxury of moving him right now.

10. Rumor has it that Mike Kerns got "Pollard Forever!" tattooed in his bikini zone immediately after the game. I'm impressed with what Bernard Pollard has brought to the table, too; I just think it's a bit early to start erecting shrines to the guy. As much as it appears he likes being here, Smithiak shouldn't be breaking the bank for the guy come March.

11. Mario Williams has not looked like Mario Williams all season, yet he's still likely to finish with double-digit sacks. When your bad years are that productive, you're doing something right.

12. If Brian Cushing isn't Defensive Rookie of the Year, there should be an investigation. I told you he'd be ~~terrible~~ awesome.

13. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--DeMeco Ryans; Special Teams--Andre Davis.

Up to St. Louis for another winnable game against a team the Texans should handle with relative ease. Which probably means it'll be a nail-biter. Houston Texans Football: Flip That Coin!

Seahawks vs Texans coverage

BRB's Comcastic Red Zone Review: Texans v. Jaguars

Tim — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:24:59 -0000

Brought to you by Comcast's Red Zone Channel, a quick look at how your Houston Texans fared in the red zone last Sunday in the latest punch to the gut (courtesy of the Jaguars):

Trips to Red Zone: 4
Scores in Red Zone: 3 (TD by Chris Brown, FG by Kris Brown, TD by Andre Johnson)
Red Zone Efficiency: 75%

Anyone care to guess what the halfback pass efficiency rate was?

Texans vs Jaguars coverage

BRB's Comcastic Red Zone Review: Colts v. Texans

Tim — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:15:52 -0000

Brought to you by Comcast's Red Zone Channel, a quick look at how your Houston Texans fared in the red zone last Sunday in the latest loss to the Colts:

Trips to Red Zone: 5
Scores in Red Zone: 5 (TD by Vonta Leach, TD by Chris Brown, 2 FGs by Kris Brown, TD by Jacoby Jones)
Red Zone Efficiency: 100%

The good news is that there doesn't seem to be much of a problem producing in the red zone. The bad news is that the Texans are allergic to the red zone after halftime.

Colts vs Texans coverage

Post-Game Breakdown: Colts 15, Texans 1

Tim — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:00:19 -0000

I don't have the slightest bit of positivity in this introduction to the PGB this week. How could I? Your Houston Texans were up 17-0, lost 35-27, and no Houston fan was even remotely surprised.

Think about it: Was there a single moment where you honestly thought the Texans had the game put away? Granted, some of that uneasiness is due to Peyton Manning being the guy on the other sideline, but a great deal of it is simple history. No matter what kind of lead the Texans have, it's never safe. Never. It can be 28 points; it can be 10 points; it can be a single point. No lead is too large for the Texans to blow.

If you're looking for silver linings, I suppose you can celebrate the fact that this latest affront had offenders on the offense, the defense, and the coaching staff. That's teamwork! Let's continue cutting ourselves so we can feel alive, shall we?

1. I wonder whether Rick Smith feels a perverted sense of satisfaction with every pass thrown at or tackle blown by Dunta Robinson. Dunta essentially negotiates against himself every snap. On the increasingly rare occasions Dunta does make a nice play, he still manages to hurt himself and the team. For proof of the accuracy of that last statement, scroll down to the bottom of this post by Lance Zierlein.

2. A text I never thought I'd send out during a Texans game, but one I sent out repeatedly yesterday: "Dunta Faggins."

3. Final Dunta-related blast, I promise. We've reached a point where you can basically call a completion to Dunta's man before it happens whenever a safety is not rolled over to his side. Virtually automatic.

4. I want to like John Busing. Really, I do. It's easy to root for the last guy to make the roster. It is not easy to root for players who seem to be so totally outclassed by no fault of their own. It's nauseating to think that Frank Bush and/or David Gibbs looked at their available safeties after Eugene Wilson went down and said, "Yup, Busing's the best of the lot."

5. Absurd pass interference penalty aside, Jacques Reeves played his worst game of the season yesterday. Back when Petey Faggins was turning me into a candidate for psychiatric confinement every Sunday from August to January, I used to have nightmares that the Texans featured a secondary comprised of nothing but Petey Faggins. Petey at CB, Petey at SS, Petey at FS. It was horrifying. Yesterday, it felt like that nightmare became reality. It truly was a Houston secondary full of Peteys.

6. I'll break up the depression with a positive. Kris Brown did not miss a field goal. Huzzah!

7. One more bit of happiness before I drain the fun out of the internet again. Brian Cushing continues to find new ways to make me look like an idiot. While his interception was awesome, I was even more impressed with his return after the pick.

8. Cushing's amazing return was, of course, negated by Antonio Smith's penalty for unnecessary roughness. There it is...the familiar stench of reality.

9. You knew Matt Schaub would have to atone for his turnover-less performance on Monday Night Football. And he did, in grand fashion. I'm not sure which was more horrid--the pick-six or the fumble. Oh, who can choose?

10. More words I never thought I'd be typing: Chris Brown played a really good football game. For the Texans, even.

11. Not sure if it was due more to the run-blocking or the cuts of Brown and Steve Slaton, but I think the Texans had, all things considered, their best rushing effort of the season.

12. In light of the aforementioned point, I will never understand why Kyle Shanahan called a pass on third and one from the IND 15 with slightly more than a minute to go in the first half. Why do you not run there? If the Colts stuff you, you're getting the same three points you would've had anyway, probably with the luxury of forcing the Colts to burn a timeout. If the Colts don't stuff you, you get a fresh set of downs and another couple of shots at the end zone. What's the rationale for passing there? Seems to me like a classic case of trying to outsmart the opposition when there's absolutely no need for it.

13. Despite leaving a potential four points on the board thanks to his playcalling, K. Shanahan should buy Brice McCain a bottle of Dom for bailing him out with that pick on the final Colts drive of the first half. That had potential to be a disaster. You know, like the second half.

14. Once the Colts took the lead 21-20 with more than eight minutes left, do you know how many running plays the Texans ran during the remainder of the game? ZERO. Not a one. Instead, the offense reeled off twenty-one (21!) consecutive passing plays. Balance, thy name is not Kyle Shanahan (or Gary Kubiak, because [clears throat] "it starts with [him]").

15. Seriously...21 straight passing plays, occurring as the deficit fluctuates between one point and fifteen points. If that's not calling a game with one's hands firmly around one's neck, I don't know what is.

Want to know the most disgusting part? I have every confidence that the Texans are going to do something ridiculous like reel off wins in their next four games, just to suck us all back in. Sure, we're all ready to drink antifreeze now, but it's nothing a few wins in a row can't cure. And then, after imbuing us with new hope, your Houston Texans will poke us in the eye, knee us in the groin, and leave us in a heap on the pavement. You can make book on it.

Colts vs Texans coverage
Texans vs Jaguars coverage

BRB's Comcastic Red Zone Review: Titans v. Texans

Tim — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:30:12 -0000

Brought to you by Comcast's Red Zone Channel, a quick look at how your Houston Texans fared in the red zone on Monday night in the soul-crushing loss to Tennessee:

Trips to Red Zone: 3
Scores in Red Zone: 3 (TD by Steve Slaton, TD by Andre Johnson, FG by Kris Brown)
Red Zone Efficiency: 100%

How can a team go 3-3 in the red zone and still lose? Oh...Kris Brown. That's right. Forgot.

Titans vs Texans recap

Post-Game Breakdown: Texans Lose In Soul-Crushing Fashion To Titans On Monday Night

Tim — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:10:02 -0000

/takes deep breath
/rubs eyes
/does shot of Bushmills

Okay...let's do this. Let's start with a quick inventory of where your Houston Texans are at the moment. You know it well; it's called .500. At this point, some might think it's probably time we stopped renting space in the Land of Mediocrity and put down some roots. Buy a house, raise a family, join the PTA, and so forth. The honest truth, however, is that the season isn't over yet. Going into Monday night's game against Bud Adams' minions, an objective analysis of the Texans' schedule showed the Texans had to win two of their next three games--Titans, Colts, at Jaguars--to stay in the playoff hunt. That would put Houston at 7-5 going into games at home against Seattle and on the road against St. Louis.

Now, in the wake of Monday night's loss? There is no margin for error. To stay in the playoff hunt, your Houston Texans have to hand the Colts (led by an angry Peyton Manning, coming off what was probably his worst game of the season in Baltimore) their first loss of the season. It's a must-win game in every tired sense of the phrase if the Texans are to remain in the wild card chase. Lose on Sunday and realistically the Texans are an also-ran. Win on Sunday and Monday night's loss becomes a bump in the road, rather than the six-foot deep pothole it is right now. Seeing as how it's only Wednesday, the loss at home to Tennessee remains a pothole until further notice. Let's take stock of the painful specifics of the loss:

1. When your play results in a FanPost that features a title suggesting you should fornicate yourself, things are bleak, Kris Brown. In the last PGB, I noted that Brown had already missed as many FGs halfway through 2009 as he did in all of 2008. Thanks to the two (2) he yakked on Monday night, the situation has progressed from troubling to critical. But cutting the guy now? I can't get behind it. Kris Brown has been one of the, if not the, most consistent player(s) on the entire roster during his tenure in Houston. I mean, there's a reason he's been with the team since its inception, and there's a reason his extension with the organization back in June was met with applause. The guy is paid to be money when it counts the most, and he's let the team down the last two weeks. My guess is that for the first time in years the Texans bring in a challenger for the kicking job in the offseason. Absent him misfiring on another kick to tie or win a game, Brown's not getting cut mid-season. He's been too good for too long, and that counts for a whole lot, even in the face of back-to-back piles of excrement.

2. Remember when you felt like any kick inside 50 yards was going to split the uprights? Now every kick, whether it's a 20 yarder or a 54 yarder, is going to be fraught with tension. Such is our existence in this frightening new era with Kris Brown as your kicker. Across the country, Pittsburgh fans nod knowingly.

3. One more kicking-related note--despite Brown yipping in Indianapolis and missing an earlier, near-identical kick on Monday night, there's no question in my mind that Kubes did the right thing going to K. Brown when he did on Monday night. The data shows that Kris Brown usually nails that kick. You have to play the odds.

4. If you want to take exception with how Kubes handled his timeouts the last two minutes of the game, you'll get no argument from me. What I fail to understand is why people are suddenly calling for Kubes' head now. This is not a new development. Gary Kubiak has always been glaringly poor at two things--challenging rulings on the field and clock management. Always. He might be slightly better at it now than he used to be, but he's still well below average. If you want Kubes canned for his fourth quarter coaching now, you should've wanted him canned for it weeks, if not years, ago. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and Kubes (or the people he has in charge of clock management) is/are woeful at in-game adjustments and/or management late in a game. It's science.

5. Should the Texans lay an egg on Sunday, you're going to be hearing and reading a whole lot of stuff about firing Kubes. As the Texans' record has defined mediocrity the last two and a half seasons, it's a fair issue to raise. I would caution that I think jettisoning Kubes could be hugely detrimental to the passing game. Would it be worth it? I don't know, but I don't think so at this point. Ask me at the end of the season.

6. Preceding paragraph aside, if anyone can tell me why Chris Brown got more than twice as many carries as Steve Slaton and 11 more carries than Ryan Moats on Monday night, I'm all ears. The only thing I can think of is that Kubiak lost a bet. To Chris Brown himself. Because no one who had the Texans' best interests at heart would've ever suggested, even jokingly, that Chris Brown should have been the featured back. Nothing, and I truly mean NOTHING, logically explains that decision. What's more, I'm not sure I want to live in a world where Chris Brown is the Texans' primary RB. My blood will be on Kubes' hands if Chris Brown gets the majority of the carries on Sunday. Remember me fondly.

7. For all the heat Kubes and Frank Bush get on a week-to-week basis, I am stunned at how Alex Gibbs remains totally off the blame radar. The guru of offensive line coaching is presiding over a horrific rushing attack and an offensive line that cannot block for a running back to save its life. Losing Chester Pitts and Mike Brisiel for the season hurts, but the absence of those two guys alone does not explain the completely anemic running game, particularly considering how potent it was last year. Teams don't even have to pretend to respect the Texans' running game. One first down running the ball on Monday night. One!

8. I'm baffled as to why the Texans' front four cannot formulate a consistent pass rush. Vince Young typically had as much time as he wanted. Yet, at various times, you see good play from each individual on the line--Super Mario, Amobi, Antonio Smith, Shaun Cody--on a given play. Why can't they put it together every snap?

9. Speaking of Vince Young...hate him all you want, but the guy did what he needed to do, especially in terms of converting third downs. I would hope that Frank Bush commits a spy to him next year.

10. The Texans did a pretty good job holding Chris Johnson in check. He needed 29 carries to accumulate 151 yards, which was more than a yard below his YPC average going into Monday night. Johnson really only had one big run, and the Texans kept him out of the end zone. Houston bottled him up well enough to win the game.

11. While the officiating on Monday night left much to be desired, it didn't cost the Texans the game. The play that infuriated me the most was at the end of the first half, when the Titans laid on top of Steve Slaton, waiting for the clock to expire. Smart play by the Titans' defenders; even though I would've liked to see a flag, I knew it wasn't coming.

12. Some free advice for Dunta Robinson: Fire your agent. Every time I watch him play, I grow even more bewildered that he purportedly turned down $23,000,000.00 in guaranteed money from the Houston Texans. Dunta might as well have had "Faggins" across the back of jersey on Monday night with the way he got targeted and abused. By a rookie wide receiver. And a QB who's not exactly trumpeted for his passing acumen. And lest we forget, said QB also made Dunta look extremely foolish on a completely whiffed tackle. At the rate he's going, Dunta Robinson is challenging Latrell Sprewell for the title of "Worst Self-Evaluation By An Athlete At Contract Time."

13. As much as I like the guy, David Anderson should not be leading this team in receptions.

14. Man, I am struggling for positives this week. But there were some:

a. Matt Schaub--despite being under pressure for much of the evening, he played extremely well. And that last drive to get the Texans into field goal range was reminiscent of what he did last year against Miami, albeit with a different result this time around. Although he did make a horrible throw or two, Schaub didn't throw any picks. How many QBs would you take over him right now? It's a very short list.
b. James Casey--showed enough on Monday night that I'm geeked to see what he does the rest of the season, especially if the Texans continue playing him as much as they did two days ago.

There. Let us never speak of this again. Colts will be here before we know it, and the Texans' playoff hopes are on life support. Time to turn the page. At least that's what my therapist tells me.

Titans vs Texans coverage

Titans 20 Texans 17 Recap: Vince Young Reclaims Houston

Jimmy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:48:35 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Money! (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Browse more photos »

That was a really fun game. The transformation this team has made since the Boston Massacre is really astounding. They are playing with a fire that they really didn't in weeks 4-6. I am not sure how much of that can be attributed to Vince Young, but it is safe to say that his enthusiastic style of play is rubbing off on the guys around him. It is fun to watch.

The Titans came out of the gate hot last night forcing Houston to go three and out on the first series. The third down play was especially sweet as the front four collapsed the pocket around Matt Schaub before Tony Brown brought him down for a sack. Chatt Town Tony Brown has made himself a lot of money this year playing so well outside the shadow of #92. It is amazing that the Titans brought him in basically off the street- another in a long line of success stories under Jim Washburn.

The Titans went three and out as well on their first possession after a Lavelle Hawkins! sighting would have given them a first down but was negated because of an illegal shift. Anyone else curious why we never see Hawk returning anything. I am pretty sure he returned at least kicks in college, and if he is going to be active the might as well find a way to use him. The third down call- screen to Bo Scaife- was horrendous.

The Texans would get the first score of the game after a terrible 34 yard punt from Brett Kern gave them great field position. The play that set up the score was a Schaub 15 yard completion to Andre Johnson with our secondary chasing him Reynaldo Hill style. The touchdown came on a little underhanded toss to Slaton.

After both teams traded punts the Titans would put together a 9 play 80 yard drive that was capped off by a 13 yard pass from VY to Kenny Britt. The play was a really good read by Vince because he had Chris Johnson short but waited for Britt to come open in the end zone. Britt also had a 16 yard catch on that drive. Britt is easily the best rookie receiver the Titans have ever had, and should stay on the field even when Justin Gage comes back from his injury, but of course we know that it is impossible for a player to lose their starting job to injury, unless they are named Vince Young.

The next score came from the Texans when AJ ran right past Nick Harper (SHOCKING!) for a 12-yard TD catch. That prompted a whole host of jokes involving Harper, a vacuum, and Andre's last name in the game thread. Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in the open game thread. I don't get to be in those nearly as much as I would like, and I had an absolute blast being there last night.

The Titans would answer once again with another long drive- 75 yards this time. That drive included another catch by Britt, a 36 yard run from CJ and the first of two plays on the night that made me run around my living room in celebration when VY faked the pitched to CJ and took the ball to the one. He had been setting that up for a couple of week now and executed it to perfection. The nearly forgotten LenDale White punched it in on the next play to tie the game.

The Titans had a nice drive going coming out of the half that was halted when, in the words of gramsey, Vince went Kerry Collins and fumbled running by himself. The Texans made a couple of big plays off the fumble but were unable to capitalize when Kris Brown missed a 49 yard field goal wide right. That was a huge play in the game because the Texans get a lot of momentum if he is able to hit that kick.

The Titans came back and got a field from Rob Bironas that was set up by a 12 yard run by Vince Young. I can't remember if that was the option read or not, but the option read they ran was a thing of beauty. The Texans defensive end crashed on the fake to CJ, Vince kept the ball and got a big gain. Again, it is amazing how well he is running this offense. He is obviously putting in the time to really understand what Dinger is wanting to do, and it is paying off.

The Texans got a field goal of their own after both safeties decided to watch Johnson run by himself. Maybe Johnson has really good running form and the guys in our secondary are just trying to learn from it. That play went for 49 yards to the Titans' 8 yard line, and to the defenses credit, they were able to hold forcing the field goal.

Bironas missed a 49 yard field goal on the Titans ensuing drive, and things didn't look good for the Titans. The Texans had been hitting big plays and had good field position, but the defense stepped up. Tony Brown got another sack that forced a third and long and AJ dropped a pass going across the middle. He was being defended by Keith Bulluck on that play, and as much as we all love Bulluck, that is a HUGE mismatch. That prompted Hal to ask me why we kept having linebackers covering Johnson. Excellent question.

After trading punts again the Titans had the ball at the Texans 6 with 2:52 to play. The first play was CJ for 3 yards, but the Titans got the phantom horse collar call. Yes, it was a bad call, but they owed us one from the non-call when Vince was tripped. We all know how it played out. My only problem with the last drive was we had 1st and 10 at the Texans 40 with 1:09 left- I understand they wanted to get closer, but they should have run the ball at least once. Best case scenario CJ breaks another one to get us even closer, and worst case scenario it gets stuffed and they are forced to use one of their timeouts. I love that there was never any doubt about the Bironas field goal from the moment it left his foot.

The same cannot be said for Kris Brown's field goal that never had a shot. I was scared when we gave the ball back to the Texans after the horrible pooch kick. They had good field position, :44 seconds and two timeouts. The announcers were quick to tell us that K. Brown had been hitting them from 80 in warm-ups. I have never understood how that is relevant. The Texans hit plays of 16 and 11 before attempting the kick. I probably would have taken one more shot had I been them to try and get it closer. They didn't, K. Brown kicked it a mile to the left and I once again ran around my living room.

Winning is so much more fun. That one was especially fun with all of the crap leading up to the game. Now on to Arizona.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:20 -0000

Happy Tuesday, friends. It's a short week, with another game on Thursday night, so there's no time to mope or feel sorry for ourselves. In their scheduling wisdom, the NFL took away our right to do so - and I, for one, am glad. The Giants can be beaten, with sound play, but we'll get to that eventually. For now we'll put this week to bed and move on quickly. Ready.... BEGIN!!!!

1. I am approaching one full year as a staff contributor to MHR, having joined at the beginning of December 2008. It's been quite an interesting year, and my relationship to the team has kind of changed in an unexpected way during that time.

I first discovered MHR in April 2008, right before the draft. It, and SBNation, have come a long way since then, but the basics were the same; MHR is a respectful, knowledgeable community which discussed all things about their team. I was inspired to join such a community, and I started posting some FanPosts (which were still called Diaries only a year and a half ago).

Unlike a lot of staff members, I wasn't asked to fill a specific role, so I had to figure out what mine would be. I had always done some around the league stuff, but I wanted to find a delivery formula that would work well on a Broncos site. I debuted ST&NO on January 12, 2009, with the following opening:

As we enter the re-loading season, I felt like I needed to establish a fun new recurring feature. HT has MHR University, and Broncobear has the always excellent Tales from the Sunny Side. Styg is heading up some great draft coverage, which has a fun name, which you'll be hearing about very soon. Nick has some statistical analysis pieces which will be coming, and Zappa will continue to be Zappa, intermittently unleashing jolts of Broncos fan brilliance. And the Guru, when we form like Voltron, the Guru is the head.

So where does that leave me? Well, I was thinking a couple days ago, as I listened to Enter The Wu-Tang and shoveled a foot of snow, that two things I can consistently provide are shallow thoughts, and nearsighted observations. Since this is a Broncos blog, I'll focus on our team, but I'll also include some league-wide thoughts, for keeping-up-with- the-Jones purposes. Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. What else could be needed on top of that? Maybe just some more cowbell.... Did anybody bring a cowbell?

Well, ST&NO has grown, and I have too. As I was sitting on my couch Sunday, watching the debacle against the Chargers, I realized that I wasn't yelling and cursing as much as normal. I didn't get that excited, and I have to say, upon some reflection, that I have been less excitable about the Broncos this season than ever. For the first 6 games, I had a hard time finding new ways to express my pleasure with the situation, and for the last 4, I have had trouble doing the opposite thing.

All I can figure is that my role in writing for this site has subtly and gradually forced me to become more of an objective analyst, and less of a passionate fan. I think the change largely has to do with my relationship with and attitude toward reporters.

I like to beat up on NFL reporters, because I think that most of them only have a surface-level knowledge of what is going on in a football game. The Broncos have a couple of good reporters, in Lindsay Jones and Jeff Legwold, and I never take any shots at them. I actually have tended toward staying away from taking deserved shots at the Denver-area Woody Paige bloviator class, because I don't want to spend the site's goodwill with the Denver media; it's John's to spend, not mine, after all. (Woody going after Kyle at BroncoTalk made me briefly lift my moratorium in the comments section of Horse Tracks the other day.)

Here's a summary of my general attitude toward football reporting. I think there is relatively little value in the reporting of news, at the national level. When Lindsay Jones reports on what happened at the facility every day, there is value in that. When Chris Mortensen hears 10 minutes before Jay Glazer that Chris Simms will start, who cares? Everybody was going to find out soon enough anyway, so what's the difference who had it first?

The real value, to me, is in the analysis, which is why I devote my time and effort to being a good analyst. While I am not a journalist, I do admire the journalistic principle of objectivity, and I think that in reconciling my criticism of national NFL reporters with my long-held policy of non-hypocrisy, I have become more objective. If I am going to beat them up for not knowing the technical aspects of the game as well as me, I can't be less objective than them. Something like that.

I remember last spring sitting in a bar with some co-workers for a happy hour, and seeing Woody's face come on Around The Horn. I told this girl I work with, Trudy, that I competed with him in the marketplace of ideas, and that I kicked his butt, on the merits. Well, I really don't think of Woody as my competition anymore, for a lot of obvious reasons. (Like, for example, he can't compete with me.) Due to the established nature of my content, I feel like I am competing with national guys, like Peter King and Gregg Easterbrook, even if this platform is Broncos-specific.

So, the point of this is that I was struggling with what to say in a general way about Sunday's game, when I don't have the deep feelings that most of you do, and that I would have had a year ago. I feel like I imagine Tom Jackson to feel; I'm very disappointed at the result for my affiliated team, but at the end of the day, I have the rest of the football landscape to worry about, too, and I have to get on with the business of being an objective analyst. I am still coming to grips with this change, and I am not really sure what the ancillary implications are for me. This may be one of these existential crises like we're seeing with Team Edward or Team Jacob. (I have a lot of 20-something women among my Facebook friends, so, trust me, I know.) See here for a funny breakdown of that Twilight sitch-ee-ation.

(Big up my man Justin Dazet for finding that. Justin writes a blog that gets into gaming and other stuff, and a San Diego area column on Geek Culture. Check him out if you're into that sort of thing.)

Momentarily, I will get back to the business of breaking down the game details, like I always do, but I thought I should at least explain why there was no impassioned, emotional screed today about the Broncos.

2. Information From My Eyes - Chargers at Broncos

a. First things first. I am going to tell you why Kyle Orton didn't start the game. He couldn't take snaps from under center and drop back effectively. It's that simple. The injury that he has prevented it. If you can only play in the shotgun, your running game is severely limited, from the perspective of the direction you can run. Josh McDaniels said this without really getting detailed, but this is what he meant.

Orton took a few snaps under center, but he really labored with his footwork, and it hindered the timing of the running game, and the Broncos could only really run to the A and B gaps. When the QB is playing slow, it makes the whole offense play slow, unfortunately.

b. The Broncos came out running the ball like they meant business. They could do that with Chris Simms under center, but Simms obviously never held his end of the bargain as a passer. When Orton came into the game, it wasn't conducive to running the ball, and neither was Orton's ability to retreat from center.

c. Knowshon Moreno scored a Touchdown, and ~~Ron~~ Nuclear Winter's crew blew the call. When I saw who the referee was, right after kickoff, I tweeted;

I am sure Moreno's play was a TD by virtue of relative positioning. To wit, Russ Hochstein's knee was across the goal line, and if his knee caused the fumble, which it clearly did, then the ball had to be across the goal line. That play was an absolute killer, because with a TD at the end of the half, the Broncos are right back in the game at 13-7. The energy of the game had momentarily shifted to the Broncos, and just like that, it was gone.

d. I was very disappointed with the defensive scheme, as I have been the last several weeks. The Broncos have really changed from an aggressive defense to one which is reading and reacting, and I don't like it at all. In the game at San Diego, the Broncos had great success pressuring the A gaps, and I saw very little effort to do that Sunday. They also got Elvis Dumervil in favorable matchups against the terrible Jeromey Clary, and again, there was none of that. Clary was even injured, and they didn't seem like they wanted to go after him. The Broncos need to get back to what made them tough on defense.

e. A little noticed good thing about Sunday was kickoff and punt coverage. The Broncos never let Darren Sproles hurt them in the return game, and both Josh Barrett and David Bruton made outstanding plays in downfield coverage.

f. The Chargers defensive backs got away with playing through the bodies of Denver receivers several times. The Broncos were a lot sloppier than San Diego, but not to the point where the penalty disparity should have been as wide as it was. It seems to me that teams which have "physical" labels like San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore get away with mugging a lot of WRs, and not just with crappy officiating crews like Nuclear Winter. It's like how you might call a foul playing an indoor basketball game at the Y, but you wouldn't call the same thing playing streetball.

g. Speaking of penalties, I want to know what the unsportsmanlike conduct was against Marcus Thomas and Ronald Fields on those two kicking plays. It seemed to me that they just hit the long snapper, though it was hard to tell from the TV angles on the recorded Short Cut. Those seemed like Nuclear Winter ticky-tack calls.

h. Andre' Goodman had a hard time dealing with the size of Malcolm Floyd on Sunday. Chris Chambers has done very well in Kansas City, but Floyd is a much tougher matchup for a guy like Goodman.

i. I put a great deal of the Broncos' recent offensive struggles on the absence of Ryan Harris. They haven't been able to protect nearly as well as they did in the first six games. That's not exactly meant to be an indictment of Tyler Polumbus, who is fine as a backup OT and special teams player. It's just recognizing the fact that Harris is one of the best RTs in the game. The timing of the offensive struggles aren't coincidental. It looks like Harris is still hurt, but let's hope he can play on the other side of the Giants game.

j. Again, the gap discipline took a vacation in the second half of the football game. Peter King thinks the defense of the first six games was a mirage, which is dramatically oversimplifying the case. They have still been quick and active for big stretches during the losing streak. It's just been less common to see them sustain it for 60 minutes lately. D.J. Williams (again) and Andra Davis both had pretty bad days in the gap discipline department.

k. I was fine with the onsides kick call, even if it didn't work. It was a good situation for it, because the Broncos were going to lose anyway without a big play.

3. Information From My Eyes - Other Games

a. Again, Thursday seems like it was a long time ago. I was very impressed with the play of Ricky Williams in the absence of Ronnie Brown. I haven't liked the play of Williams so much, maybe ever. The Dolphins didn't do much of their Wild Cute Marine Mammal stuff, but they ran very well from traditional formations, against a Carolina defense which is usually stout against the run. The direct snap stuff is good because of Brown, who has a rare instinctiveness for the options it provides. The Dolphins were smart to go back to the handoff game with Williams.

b. I still don't like Chad Henne's tattoo, but he had a very steady game. He's improving as a player every week, and I give the Dolphins a lot of credit for taking it slow with him, and developing him in an intelligent way. Tony Sparano doesn't receive a lot of acclaim, but I have been very impressed with the coaching job his staff has done for two years now.

c. The Dolphins have started ST&NO Favorite Sean Smith at RCB all season, and are now starting Vontae Davis at LCB. They have done a great job, and they really more than held their own against Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith last Thursday. Both guys are very talented, but again, it's a testament to the coaching they are getting from Todd Bowles, the Dolphins Assistant Head Coach and Secondary coach. I fully expect Bowles to get a head coaching job this offseason, even though nobody in the reporter-o-sphere is talking about him.

d. I criticized Joey Porter's play last week, but the benching seems to have motivated him. He was dominant, with two sacks and two other tackles for losses. It helped that Jordan Gross was hurt, but Porter looked much better than I have seen him this season, regardless of the matchup.

e. I watched a great deal of the Green Bay-San Francisco game, and I came away thinking that Aaron Rodgers has it better than Alex Smith from a protection standpoint, which isn't saying much at all, obviously. San Francisco has a pretty good LT in Joe Staley, but he's been hurt for a few weeks now. Smith couldn't do anything at all for most of the game Sunday, because he was getting hit the second he got to the top of his drops.

In the second half, with the score getting lopsided, the Niners smartened up and just put Smith in the shotgun, where he is most comfortable. He responded with 3 TD passes and made the game look like it was closer than it was. I continue to think that Smith is more than good enough to win with, if he gets protection. When you evaluate what he does in a vacuum, he's doing the right things way more often than not.

f. I have heard a lot of criticism of Aaron Rodgers lately, but he continues to look like a top-notch passer to me. He is gaining 8.2 yards per pass attempt, with 19 TDs and 5 INTs this season. He has also run for more yards than any QB in the NFL, and 3 TDs. I also tend to think you have to evaluate Rodgers in a vacuum, and other than holding the ball a little too long sometimes, he doesn't do much wrong. The last couple weeks, he's been getting the ball out quicker, too.

g. The loss of Al Harris is really going to hurt the Packers badly. It severely limits their ability to use Charles Woodson in the wide variety of roles that they liked to use him in. Woodson has often covered TEs and is a great blitzer. He's played as well as any defensive player in the NFL this season, and now the Packers may need to use him more on the outside.

I actually think the loss of Aaron Kampman is pretty negligible for them, despite his big name. He hasn't adjusted well to playing OLB, and his tallness has hurt him. By coming from a standup position, Kampman hasn't gotten the leverage he used to play with. He needs to move on to a 4-3 team where he can play on the strongside again. He's about the best in the NFL at that, after Mario Williams.

h. I can't believe the Jaguars are 6-4, but they are. When they win, they have been getting good play from David Garrard and Mike Sims-Walker, which they did on Sunday against Buffalo. Garrard is an interesting guy, because he seems young, but he isn't. He's actually 31, and he's probably reached the prime of his career. He's good enough to take a team to the playoffs, obviously, but do you build around him? I kind of feel the same way about Garrard as I did about Jake Plummer at the end of 2005, though I think Garrard is a little better player than Plummer was.

i. A guy who has been an outstanding player for a few years, without getting any credit, is Kyle Williams for the Bills. He was dominant on Sunday. Williams is kind of a short, stout DT, who does a great job getting penetration from a 3-technique position. He's never been a big sack guy, but his ability to shoot gaps has disrupted a lot of running games.

j. It's funny how many ST&NO favorites become really good players in the NFL. Percy Harvin hasn't gotten a lot of credit, because the media is busy loving on Brett Favre, but he's become a good NFL receiver quickly. A lot of Mel Kiper's said Harvin didn't run a lot of routes at Florida, but he was always open when he did. It was clear to me that he'd be able to separate with quickness as he learned NFL technique. His technique is improving quickly, and he's a handful. Along with Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian, he's part of a really dangerous receiving corps. I can't think of a lot of groups I'd take over them, actually.

k. Joseph Addai has never been a favorite of mine, but he's playing better than ever lately. I still think that Donald Brown is going to be the better player, but Addai seems to have found some confidence and toughness that I never perceived in him.

l. The AFC has had a lot of outstanding safety play this season, but if I had to pick two starters for the Pro Bowl, they'd be Melvin Bullitt and Bernard Pollard. Bullitt got some notice for stopping the 4th and 2 last week, but he has been terrific in replacing Bob Sanders. Tampa 2-teams need a quick safety who can get from a cover-2 shell to the box very quickly, and Bullitt has done it as well as Sanders ever did.

Pollard was cut by Kansas City, and I just didn't get it. Maybe Scott Pioli was paying him back for last season's hit on Tom Brady? Pollard has been spectacular at times for the Texans, and has really been the star on the back end that they've never had. (No, Dunta Robinson is not a star; he's only paid like one.)

Brian Dawkins, Ed Reed, Jairus Byrd, Antoine Bethea, Kerry Rhodes, Brandon Meriweather, and Reggie Nelson would be battling it out for the last Pro Bowl spot, but I am sure about the top 2, as of today.

m. Laurence Maroney is doing a decent job of re-establishing his reputation as a solid RB. He has had the knock of not being particularly tough, kind of like Addai, but Maroney has been picking up a lot of tough yards lately. Take away the goal-line fumble against he Colts, and he's been really good.

n. Mark Sanchez looked confused almost the whole game on Sunday, against a New England team that knows how to confuse a QB. Sanchez is a classic example of what happens when teams get some film on you and know what you're going to do. I don't think it's time to bench him, like the average Peter King is calling for, but it would definitely behoove the Jets to figure out what Sanchez is comfortable doing, and sticking to only that stuff.

o. I can tell you right now, the Lions had a fantastic draft in 2009. Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, and Louis Delmas all look like future Pro Bowlers. MHR favorite Sammie Lee Hill has been a solid starter at DT, and DeAndre Levy has been solid starting at WLB, since Ernie Sims as lost for the season, too. The guy I might like best, actually, is sixth-rounder Aaron Brown, a RB from TCU. He caught a TD pass on Sunday, but where he looked really dangerous was on kickoff returns. He's very explosive looking. I think Derrick Williams will eventually be a useful player too, and that makes 7 hits in one draft class. It's exactly the kind of performance that their opponents from Sunday (the Browns) need.

p. Speaking of he Browns, I have some thoughts. It sucks to lose like that, on an untimed down, but if I was a Browns fan, I would feel a lot better than I did a week ago. Brady Quinn had his best day as a pro, with 4 TD passes, and a 5th one dropped. Sure, he wasn't pressured a lot, when Detroit didn't blitz, but he looked like he was in command, and the offensive game plan looked like Brian Daboll trusted Quinn, finally. Mohamed Massaquoi and Chansi Stuckey did a very nice job making plays down the field.

I mentioned that the Browns need a good draft; they have 11 picks as of right now, and they need to hit on the majority of them. If I were their new football czar, I wouldn't draft a QB in the first round. I would give Quinn a full year with better talent (and coaching), and see what I have. My target would be Russell Okung, an OT from Oklahoma State, who I'd play on the right side. The Browns' current right side is flat-out awful. I'd be bringing in 2 good RBs, since they have zero right now. They need a Correll Buckhalter-type of free agent, and a second-round pick like a Jonathan Dwyer from Georgia Tech. One of their 3rd-round picks would go for a TE who can catch, like Ed Dickson from Oregon. With 2 new RBs, a TE, and a RT, all of a sudden, you have a solid group of players on offense.

Offense has to be the priority, because their 5 TDs on Sunday matched their previous total in 9 games. They aren't really that far away from being league-average, and I only used 3 of 11 picks in this hypothetical situation. The Browns could be 8-8 or 9-7 next season, if they make the most of their offseason opportunities. I can see it now; Todd Bowles wins coach of the year for them, after going from 2-14 to 9-7.

q. The Texans just continue to lose heartbreakers. Matt Schaub made plays, again, and gave his team a chance to win, again. And then Kris Brown blew it, again. I feel really bad for guys like Schaub, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams, who bring it every week. I'd hate to see these circumstances cost Gary Kubiak his job, but they just might.

r. I was going to talk about how everybody needs to slow down on the Vince Young hype train, but he justified the hype Monday night. Repeatedly, he picked up 3rd downs with his legs, and his throwing was pretty good too. He particularly threw a pretty ball that Nate Washington didn't come down with. He looked like he did at the University of Texas. You heard it here first; the Titans are going to beat San Diego by 2 TDs in a few weeks.

s. Trent Dilfer is a really terrible analyst, and I don't get the Steve Levy and Matt Winer combination with him. Usually, there's one anchor type to serve up softballs to the analyst. It's a weird setup. Back to Dilfer, I think the guy is just about always wrong.

t. Right after I typed that, ESPN went back to the Stuart Scott-Matt Millen-Steve Young set, and they proceeded to blame Matt Schaub for Kris Brown's missed field goal. Epic FAIL. All the guy could do was what he did. He moved his team down the field in 45 seconds, and set them up with a shot at a makeable kick. How in the world does that fall on the QB that they lost the game? That is just too idiotic for words

4. As promised, here is the rationale for why the Broncos can win on Thursday night. The Giants are extremely susceptible to getting beaten down the field, since they lost their starting Free Safety, Kenny Phillips. They are getting Aaron Ross back into the swing of things at CB, but he hadn't played all season, prior to this past Sunday.

With their shakiness on the back end, the Giants have blitzed a bit less than in past years, particularly in the A gaps. Tyler Polumbus will need some help on Justin Tuck, when they're matched up, but I expect the Broncos to be able to protect Kyle Orton reasonably well.

The Giants, meanwhile, aren't getting much from their running game lately. I also believe that their WRs don't pose a huge threat against Champ Bailey and Andre' Goodman. David Diehl will almost certainly struggle against Elvis Dumervil, because he's a natural LG playing LT. I feel pretty good about the defensive matchup, really.

This game is no lock, obviously, but it's one which the Broncos can win if they execute, stop taking bad penalties, and take care of the football. John Bena had it exactly right Sunday night. The Broncos can't beat good teams if they make mistakes, and the Giants are a good team. A victory is very plausible, though, if they do what they need to do.

5. I have cited several reasons lately for cutting ST&NO a little short, and I have another one. I got a bit sidetracked from writing, because of some big news in my family, which led to some calling, texting, and emailing, but not much writing.

On Monday night, my brother Chris911's wife Ana gave birth to their first child, Elizabeth Danielle Bartlett, at 7:36 Pacific Time, in Los Angeles, CA. Elizabeth weighed 5 pounds, 12.5 ounces, and was 17 1/4 inches long. Mother and baby are doing well. It occurred to me that I was in a good position to write the first birth announcement. Please join me in congratulating Chris and Ana on the birth of the newest little Broncos fan.

Since I am decidedly not in the having kids business, I took some time to live vicariously through them, and try to feel their excitement. Now, I am going to get back to living vicariously though myself, though. Y'all know how I do...

6. I am hitting the road for Connecticut on Tuesday, right after this story posts, to go eat some turkey, take a hellified tryptophan nap, and find a bar with NFL Network. My main reason for going, though, is to play in the 38th Annual Erb-Orsini Bowl in my hometown of Norwich, CT. I am only 32, so it predates me, but I have played in a number of them over the years. I said I would try to go back east for it last year, but it was snowing all across Pennsylvania, and I decided at the last minute to stay in Cleveland. I wasn't feeling 600 miles of driving in snow. This year, I wanted to show up and play, and the weather is cooperative. I have too much work to do to take the time, but I am going to work on Wednesday from a Tim Horton's restaurant.

The Erb-Orsini Bowl is a touch game, but it's been pretty physical and competitive in the past. The picture below is from the 2004 game. I am on the left. On the right is my brother John. He laid out for a pass early in the game, and was shaken up. His shoulder hurt, and he said that he didn't want to catch any more passes, and that he'd just stay in and pass-block, so he did just that. Thirty-six hours later, after not saying anything more about the topic, he decided to go to the hospital. Turned out, he had broken his shoulder. It's kind of the Bartlett way to suffer in silence, really, which is owed to being half Irish.

The keeper of the flame is the guy in the midde, my long-time friend Tony Orsini. Tony, as it happens, is a huge Giants fan. He's such a huge fan, actually, that he and his dad spent thousands of dollars to go to Arizona and get tickets for Super Bowl XLII against the mighty Patriots. Against that 16-0 team, i would have never spent that kind of coin, but he did, and he was rewarded. (To me, when I heard about it, it sounded like that time in 7th grade when I bet Pete Lacombe 5 bucks that Denver would beat San Francisco, straight-up, in Super Bowl XXIV, even though my allowance was $2 per week at that time. That was an all-time dumb call.)

On Thursday morning, I am hoping for a good Erb-Orsini Bowl, where I make some big plays, and on Thursday night, for our Broncos to beat Tony's Giants. Do any of y'all have good Turkey Bowls to play in? Let's hear some tangential Thanksgiving football stories. You might as well get with me on this meandering, because you never know where we might end up when the carousel stops.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. The Buffalo coaching search is interesting. We know they've reached out to Mike Shanahan, and word materialized Monday night/Tuesday morning that Bill Cowher was contacted, and that he declined to be considered. Ralph Wilson is 91, and he wants to win now. Unfortunately for Buffalo, he is relatively cash-poor, and the team probably doesn't stay in his family when he dies, due to estate taxation. If it leaves his family, it almost certainly leaves Buffalo, which is a rapidly declining city.

If I were a coach looking for work, I would consider Buffalo unattractive for those reasons, as well as for the fact that they don't have a QB or any real quality on the O-Line. They have 2 good RBs, the fantastic Lee Evans, some good CBs and a good young safety in Jairus Byrd and pass rusher in Aaron Maybin. Paul Posluszny is solid, and Kyle Williams is very good, as I mentioned. The cupboard is not totally empty talent-wise, but it's a serious personnel challenge in a boring, economically depressed cold-weather town. The only thing they have on Cleveland, in terms of attracting free agents, is marginally better-looking uniforms. I expect that the Bills end up hiring a first time Head Coach, after being spurned by Shanahan and others.

That's all I have for this week, friends. I am off to get on the road for the East Coast. I won't see any comments until 10 or 11 hours from now, but I will check them out when I get where I am going, and will answer the ones that need answering. Have a great week, a great holiday, and a great Football Thursday. Go Broncos!

Week 9: Inside the Numbers

mgrex03 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:09:14 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Schaub knows what's coming next. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Browse more photos »

Two weeks in a row now the Colts have taken a lead down to the wire, coming out victorious. This week, a missed field goal by Kris Brown sent the Colts to 8-0, giving them a commanding 3.5 game lead in the AFC South. The game started out great for the Colts, but slowly started to slip away when Peyton Manning threw an INT late in the first half. The defense then struggled to get the Texans off the field until the 4th quarter, when they stepped up when they were needed.

A few notes from the game:

Manning threw 40 passes in the first half, the highest number of passes in the first half since Rich Gannon threw 41 in 2002 against the Steelers. It was also a career high for Manning in the first half. (Elias)
The Colts have been great in close game as of late. From Ned Macey of Football Outsiders:

The Colts ability to win close games is uncanny, except that it seems to disappear in the playoffs. They've won 15 of their last 16 meaningful regular season games decided by one touchdown or less but are 0-2 in the playoffs in games by one touchdown or less in that same streak. Actually, counting the playoffs, three of their last four losses by less than one touchdown are to San Diego.

It didn't take long for Dwight Freeney to extend his streak of consecutive games with a sack to 9, sacking Matt Schaub on the very first play of the game. That means he had sacks on consecutive plays, as he sacked Alex Smith on the 49ers' last offensive play last week.
Dallas Clark set the franchise record for catches in a game by a TE with 14. This was third highest reception total for a TE in NFL history (~~can't find the record or who owns it~~) Thanks to skywalker, the record is held by Jason Witten and Kellen Winslow, Sr with 15. I'm guessing we won't see Brian Cushing trying to cover him at the end of the month.
Seventeen games and counting...

Overall, it didn't look like one of the Colts' best games this season, but what do the numbers say? Find out after the jump...

Here are the stats for Week 9:

Statistic	Offense	Rank	Defense	Rank	Off/Def Above	Off/Def Below	Record
DSR	78.4%	2	72.7%	16	N	N	4-1
ANPY/A	4.453	18	5.133	11	N	N	6-1
Turnovers	2	14	3	3	N	N	4-1
Yds/Drive	37.80	4	34.73	19	N	N	4-0
ToP/Drive	2:32.7	17	3:08.5	21	N	Y	4-3
Yds/Play	5.324	14	5.380	15	N	N	4-1
First Downs/Drive	2.70	1	2.00	18	N	N	4-1
3rd/4th Down	46.2%	9	64.7%	26	N	N	6-2
Avg Start Pos	31.7	9	24.0	5	Y	N	7-1
3 and Outs	2	5	5	3	Y	N	2-3
RZ Eff	71.4%	13	66.7%	8	N	N	1-2
Plays/Drive	7.100	2	6.455	21	N	N	4-2
Penalty Yds / Play	0.563	13	1.451	3	Y	N	5-2
RB Success	47.1%	15	41.7%	4	Y	N	7-4
Yds/Carry	4.00	15	3.12	4	N	N	1-3
Net Punts Yds/Game	32.67	25	41.50	16	N	Y	4-3
Ranking - Week (26)	6		11		8
Ranking - Season (258)	79		142		97

Some Thoughts:

I was wrong about the Colts shredding the Texans pass defense, as the Colts had their worst ANPY/A showing of the season, finishing 18th this week. I didn't think I'd see a game this year where the Colts' opponent would be better in this category, but it happened this week. This is a good candidate for why the Colts had to fight tooth and nail to win.
The Texans defense came into the game best in the league in First Downs/Drive and Three & Outs/Game, but that didn't matter this week, as the Colts offense had quite a few long, sustaining drives.
The Colts defense was worst in the league this week in Third/Fourth Down Conversions, as the Texans converted almost 65% of them. They flashed a stat at one point that the Texans were converting 3rd and 10+ yards at 20% this year...the Texans converted the next 2 of 10+ yards. Unacceptable.
The Run defense was fantastic once again. Top 5 in both rushing categories. Great job by the D-Line and LBs.
Overall it was a run of the mill, above average game for the Colts, both for the week and for the season.

Colts Season Totals through Week 9:

Statistic	Offense	Rank	Best	Defense	Rank	Best	Record	Win %
DSR	78.4%	1	Colts	67.2%	10	Jets	56-5	0.918
ANPY/A	8.043	2	Saints	3.890	3	Bills	68-5	0.932
Turnovers	1.00	3	Chiefs	1.88	8	Saints	57-13	0.814
Yds/Drive	40.04	1	Colts	28.55	16	Giants	60-7	0.896
ToP/Drive	2:54.5	6	Steelers	2:54.6	25	Saints	57-18	0.760
Yds/Play	6.343	3	Cowboys	4.676	4	Jets	58-11	0.841
First Downs/Drive	2.19	2	Patriots	1.69	22	Cardinals	49-11	0.817
3rd/4th Down	50.5%	2	Dolphins	44.5%	30	Cardinals	48-10	0.828
Avg Start Pos	28.7	21	Bears	26.1	3	Cowboys	63-13	0.829
3 and Outs	2.38	2	Cowboys	3.75	19	Texans	41-15	0.732
RZ Eff	68.5%	12	49ers	60.5%	10	Saints	36-21	0.632
Plays/Drive	6.313	2	Patriots	6.106	29	Giants	45-20	0.692
Penalty Yds / Play	0.655	4	Jaguars	0.846	14	Seahawks	67-45	0.598
RB Success	47.5%	11	Dolphins	47.9%	20	Eagles	47-20	0.701
Yds/Carry	3.73	27	Titans	4.30	17	49ers	27-32	0.458
Net Punts Yds/Game	40.66	11	Raiders	42.21	27	Browns	31-27	0.534
Overall	2		Patriots	14		Saints

A few thoughts here:

The stats in the Top 6 continue to be there, and I don't think that will change soon.
Red Zone Efficiency is lower than it should be. The Colts absolutely cannot settle for FGs going forward. I'm guessing they'll be working on that a lot this week.
The YPC is low, but the Success Rate is high. Getting Brown back healthy should help.
Defensively it is still getting opposing offenses off the field. The stats relating to that (ToP/Drive, First Downs/Drive, 3rd/4th Down Conversions, Plays/Drive) are all bad. I know it is a bend but don't break defense, but a few more stops will go a long way to helping this team keep winning.
ANPY/A still has the best record when you're above average on both sides of the ball, only losing 5 times (Giants losing to SD this week the latest). Still a good sign for the Colts.