For most, a Houston Texans-Indianapolis Colts Monday night game seems pretty lacklustre and I would fully understand someone thinking, "You know, this might be a good night to take the wife out, especially with the Sens playing the Leafs tomorrow night..."
I get what those people are saying, but to me, there's a ton of storylines heading into this game tonight that makes me want to be in front of my TV with the Team 1200 audio in the background.
It seems like ages ago since the Texans were able to beat the Colts on opening weekend. Arian Foster had an enormous day running for 231 yards and the Texans were being hailed by some as the team to watch, much like the Saints were last year in winning the Super Bowl. Since that game, both teams have had their ups and downs, but there's a quiet constant about the makeup of these two teams.
For the Colts, the major theme has been about injuries. They're without their Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark, who's out for the season, their top two running backs in Joseph Addai and Donald Brown, and wide receiver Austin Collie. And yet, there's no thoughts of whether this team can get the job done. As long as they have Peyton Manning, they have a great chance to win. Can you think of any other team in the NFL that could withstand losing this much talent on offence and still win?
On the other side, the Texans started out strong, but have since come back down to earth and the same questions are being asked of them as in past years. Is this team good enough to finally make the playoffs or are they going to be just a little bit short? My guess would be on the latter.
Arian Foster was a nice story in Week 1 and had a couple of 100 yard games after opening day, but much like the franchise that he plays for, he needs to step up and show that he's not just a one-start wonder. A telling stat that might suggest that he'll be a flash-in-the-pan: After his opening day start with 33 carries and 231 yards, he's been limited to only 19 carries or less in every other start.
The defence also has to find a way to step up. Considering how many former first round picks are in the starting 11, it's disgraceful that the Texans would find themselves as the worst defence in the NFL. Giving up 410 yards of offence a game is not going to allow a team to win many ball games.
It would be a huge win for the Texans to win on the road in Indy and take both regular-season meetings against a team that has dominated the AFC South for so long, but I just can't see the Colts allowing this team to do that. Much like Big Brother always getting the best of Little Brother in the backyard fight, the Colts will come out on top tonight.
You can catch all the action on Team 1200 tonight with the pre-game at 8 and the kickoff at 8:30 or so.