1. Anthony Gonzalez: With advantageous matchups in the secondary, facing
a fairly pedestrian Texans pass defense, there should be plenty of opportunities
for the receivers on Sunday.
Marvin Harrison's role in the offense is
starting to fade and Gonzalez proved last year that he is capable of handling an
expanded role. The game against Houston is his chance to prove it further.
Gonzalez needs to show that he can go over the middle and take the big hit, as well as
gain yards after the catch when the opportunity presents itself. As the
game wears on and the Texans defense attempts to stop the bleeding, he will have
his fair share of chances to burn them deep and needs to take full advantage of
those chances. His blend of speed, agility, and awareness gives him the
advantage over every defensive back that will be assigned to cover him.
With Reggie Wayne hobbled by an ankle injury, an even greater share of
responsibility falls to Gonzalez to help the Colts move the ball through the
air. He needs to take on that responsibility and deliver.
A healthy Joseph Addai will be looking to get the Colts running game back on track
AP Photo/Michael Conroy
|
2. Joseph Addai: The Texans struggle to stop the run.
The Colts struggle to run the ball. Something has to give in this equation
and, for the Indianapolis offense to continue to grow, they need to be able to
move the ball on the ground.
With a healthy and stable interior offensive
line and a no longer gimpy Peyton Manning, Indianapolis should be able to run
the stretch and slant plays that have made them so effective over the years.
Addai is a critical component of that attack and must be able to see the crease
and hit it with authority. Once he gets to the second level, he must make
middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans miss and push the ball past the linebackers,
gaining serious ground.
His success will open things up in the play-action
passing game, catching the aggressive Texans safeties flatfooted. His
failure will take that aspect of the passing game away, which will make things
unnecessarily difficult for the Colts offense.
3. Gary Brackett: During Bob Sanders' absence, Brackett stepped up and
took charge of the defense. He seemed to be in on every tackle and has
helped to rejuvenate an anemic Indianapolis run defense.
Now that Sanders
has returned and defensive tackles Eric Foster and Keyunta Dawson have improved
their gap assignments and ability to penetrate, will his intensity wane?
The Colts cannot afford for that to happen, facing the versatile Steve Slaton,
so he must bring the same energy and focus to Sunday's game. In addition,
the Texans will attack the middle of the field with receivers Kevin Walter and
Andre Johnson, and especially with tight end Owen Daniels. For the Colts
to be successful, Brackett needs to continue to be the same exceptional two-way
defender he has been thus far.
4. Keiwan Ratliff: This young man has filled in admirably for the departed
Marlin Jackson and, with Kelvin Hayden's return still in question, he needs to
grow and develop in the defense against a talented and athletic receiving corps.
His ability to jam the larger Walter at the line and stay with him in the short
area of the zone will be critical to the effectiveness of the rest of the
defense, particularly the linebackers and Brackett.
He also may not have
much assistance over the top, as Antoine Bethea has been held out of practice
all week with an ankle injury. He also needs to come in strong in run
support, so he is certainly not short on responsibilities.
5. Robert Mathis: The highly favorable matchup that awaits Dwight Freeney against the combination of Duane Brown and Ephraim Salaam has already
been covered in explicit detail by Greg Talmage, but Mathis also holds a fairly
significant advantage — especially in terms of speed and explosiveness — over
Eric Winston.
Mathis played a critical role in the Week 5 victory over
Houston and, with the Texans likely favoring Freeney's side of the field in
light of the matchup, he will probably be left one-on-one against Winston for
the bulk of the game.
The Colts pass rush has been sluggish at best and
ineffective at worst so far this season, so this seems like an ideal
opportunity for Mathis to have a breakout game.
He has been shut out since
a three-sack effort against the Ravens in Week 6, so it is high time for Mathis
to have another multi-sack game against the Texans. It would be a big step
forward for Mathis, as well as the defense as a whole.