Another close loss that never felt as close as it was. Yeah, the Texans hung tough with the Colts in a game pretty much everyone expected them to get blown out in. But so what. Are you excited that we didn’t get run out of the building? Yeah, neither am I.

From the files of Same Sh*t Different Day
-Sage Rosenfels didn’t play horrible, but when it counted, he crashed and burned again.
-The defense played well in the first half, and like total garbage in the second.
-Andre Johnson was taken out of the game, and was used more effectively as a decoy, even though he was going up against a bench player.
-ZERO turnovers forced by the defense.
-All of the defensive backs played terribly. Should have been worse, but the Colts backs and receivers dropped a lot of passes.
-Horrible clock management, burning two times out in a close game because of mistakes/ill-preparedness. You think those would have come in handy?

Defense
The defense did its typical disappearing act in the second half, after playing WAY over its head in the first. The Colts have the worst rushing offense in the NFL, but do you think that matters? No, it doesn’t. The Texans often play garbage defense in the second half, and this was no exception.

The Colts ran 80 plays on offense. The Texans forced ZERO turnovers.
80. ZERO. By my math, 80+0 = LOSS

Xavier Adibi might be the game’s lone bright spot. Filling in for Morlon Greenwood, Adibi went off with 13 solo tackles despite his weight issues. Then again, when the Colts offense is on the field as much as it was, your linebackers are going to get a lot of tackles.

Offense
The Texans stuck with the run game today. I know, I know – that’s insane and couldn’t possibly work – but, it kind of did. Not for a win, though. I mean, let’s not get crazy.

Sage Rosenfels once again turned the ball over, but this one’s not on him. He’s a backup quarterback. I think he did about as well as you can expect for a backup quarterback in this situation… mainly because they didn’t ask him to do too much. The run game was clicking, and the Texans stuck with it. But yeah, when you needed Sage to make a play – he did… for the wrong team (again).

Mario Williams was absolutely caving Tony Ugoh’s head in – but then the brilliant Richard Smith had him lining up on the opposite side of the line. Why? The answer lies somewhere between the reason why Richard Smith still has a job, and the Lost City of Atlantis.

Time outs are overrated it seems. We sure don’t place a lot of value on them. I mean, what could two more times out have done for us in a close game like this? One was lost when Sage didn’t like the play call, or didn’t know how to fix it… one was lost when Richard Smith didn’t get his defensive substitutions on the field in time…. um – after the Colts had gone to the no-huddle several times. Hint – Richard… sigh. Only you can SIMULTANEOUSLY screw up the defense AND the clock management.

Oh, I forgot, Steve Slaton would be another bright spot. What an incredible run by Stevie Wonder. That breakaway speed is something we’ve never seen in a Texans running back. His 71-yard run was the longest rush in team history. He finished the day with 156 yards on the ground on 14 carries, and continued his streak of losing his helmet at least once in every game.

Andre Johnson is so good, that he sucks. You know, numbers-wise. I don’t understand how he continues to disappear in games – specifically road games. I don’t get it. All teams key on the big superstar wide receivers, but that doesn’t stop said receivers from posting big numbers.

Another road game next week, at Cleveland. This is one of the more winnable games left on the schedule, but hey – road game… also – the game doesn’t end after the first half, despite what Richard Smith teaches the defense.

Bob McNair and/or Gary Kubiak needs to wake up. It’s great that they’re loyal – but once again, it’s beyond time to kick Richard Smith to the curb. Will his replacement make a huge difference? No. But this team has got to send a message that this won’t be tolerated. Right now – it’s being tolerated to the point where players are starting to take quiet (and not so quiet) shots at the coaches.

Give Frank Bush the reigns, and see if the players respond better to him… if they do, great. If they don’t – go outside the organization in the off-season to hire the next guy… but give the fans SOME indication that you’re angry about this. Like – really angry. Not “article in the newspaper saying you’re angry,” but firing someone’s ass “angry.”