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30	September 2019

the game running for his life, and while he w

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) � Frank Reich made it perfectly clear to everyone he would be aggressive when the Indianapolis Colts hired him in February.On Sunday J.J. Watt Jersey , his boldness proved costly.Instead of punting on fourth-and-4 from his own 43-yard line and settling for a tie, Reich called for a short, seemingly safe pass from Andrew Luck to Chester Rogers. But Luck�s pass bounced short, the Texans got a 24-yard completion on the next play and Ka�imi Fairbairn made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Houston Texans a 37-34 overtime victory.Nobody in the Colts� locker room was second-guessing the decision, though.�I loved it,� Luck said. �We had a discussion before the play and I agreed, so it had my stamp of approval. We did not execute well enough. I did not get the ball to Chester to make the play and I�m sick about it. After all the mistakes we made, we still had a chance to make the play and we didn�t get it done.�The Colts (1-3) certainly had chances all afternoon.After a mostly dismal first half, Luck couldn�t convert on a 2-point conversion attempt with 7:41 left in regulation, on the Hail Mary attempt on the final play of regulation or on a third-down play that forced Indy to settle for a go-ahead field with 6 minutes left in overtime.The defense couldn�t prevent the Texans from setting up a 40-yard field goal with 2:58 left in regulation, a 59-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of regulation, a 29-yard field goal to tie the score at 34 with 1:50 left in overtime or, of course, the winning kick as time expired.Yes, Reich would have changed one thing if he had to do it over again � he wouldn�t have asked Luck to line up and attempt to draw the Texans (1-3) offside before calling a timeout. He would have gone for it right away.But the failed fourth-down call wasn�t the only problem Sunday.Houston�s first score came on Jadeveon Clowney�s fumble recovery in the end zone when center Ryan Kelly appeared to think Luck was under center rather than in the shotgun, and Fairbairn actually missed the first attempt at the winning kick � but right after Reich called timeout.The Texans (1-3) took advantage of it. But Reich gained the respect of players on both sides for his unconventional move.�I respect their decision to go for the win, not a tie,� Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. �You play to win, you don�t play to tie.�Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri concurred.After becoming the league�s career leader on a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the first half and giving Indy a 34-31 lead with a 44-yarder in overtime for No. 567, he wanted one more shot to win the milestone game. He never got another chance after the incompletion, spoiling the celebration.�I love the call,� Vinatieri said. �I love the fourth-down call to go for the win, I really do � I love it. We just have to make the play. The teams that win games make those plays.�This season, the Colts have not made those plays.They lost to Cincinnati in the season opener when Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle fumbled as the Colts were driving for a go-ahead score with less than 2 minutes left. They lost last week at Super Bowl champion Philadelphia when Luck was sacked on fourth-and-goal in the final 2 minutes. On Sunday, with their top receiver T.Y. Hilton on the sideline with an injured hamstring DeAndre Hopkins Jersey , Reich made the call and came up short when the defense allowed Houston to move into scoring position on its fourth consecutive series.But the confidence Reich showed in both his offense and by defense by going for it just might produce some long-term wins.�We are not going to be shy, we aren�t going to be afraid to go for it,� Kelly said. �I think it just goes to show you he has the trust in the playmakers on this team, and no matter who is in there they need to do their job. I got to give it to him.� I didn�t do this. Brett did. This is what happened when he talked with Chris Blystone at Stampede Blue.1. How does Andrew Luck look in his first few weeks back on the field? Has his arm strength or accuracy looked noticeably different?Andrew Luck has looked much like he always has. His pocket movement and awareness are stellar. His accuracy is very good. Even his arm strength looks pretty good, though he has admitted that it is still progressing to reach where it was before. The biggest differences have come in terms of decision making and some rust that is somewhat to be expected.Luck has always had a tendency to try to force the ball in some tight windows. That has had mixed results over his career, but a few factors are making that a bit more problematic this season. First, the weapons Luck is throwing to are less than ideal.The injury to Anthony Castonzo has altered how the offense needs to play. Jack Doyle was used a lot in blocking situations and taken out of the equation on a lot of passing downs, which is a big blow to the passing game. Essentially, that makes T.Y. Hilton the only target with which Andrew has a proven track record and any real chemistry and trust. Then when Doyle sustained a hip injury, it diminished the passing game even further.The lack of talent as well as players with whom Luck has trust has been evident, particularly in light of his long absence from football. GM Chris Ballard spent most of the draft capital on bolstering the offensive and defensive lines, and Deon Cain, the receiver who looked like a steal for the Colts after showing out all of camp and preseason, tore his ACL. That has left the cupboard somewhat bare in 2018 where receiving weapons are concerned.The primary emphasis of Frank Reich�s offense is the short passing game. Those who don�t watch the film and rely on the stat sheet point to the results and claim that Luck�s arm isn�t where it was. This just isn�t really accurate. There are certainly many issues with the offense, but Andrew Luck�s arm isn�t really one of them.2. Darius Leonard has absolutely balled out so far this season. Is he the defensive game changer that Colts fans have wanted the team to draft for seemingly forever?Colts fans are used to watching defensive playmakers do incredible things, we just aren�t used to seeing them in Colts jerseys. Darius Leonard has been so much fun to watch for that very reason. He is a defensive playmaker who is all over the field, disrupting the game and creating issues for opposing offenses.He isn�t a perfect player, he will need to continue to develop and grow, but all the indications, through an admittedly small sample size, are that he is a central piece to a very different Colts team than we have seen, maybe ever.Leonard has 41 tackles on the season, the next closest player has 34. He has 3 sacks, putting him 1 behind Myles Garrett and tied with the Watt brothers. He also has a forced fumble, a fumble recovery Womens Andre Hal Jersey , 2 passes defended, and 6 tackles for a loss. I know there are other players on the defense, but I�m not sure what they are doing while Leonard is hogging all the action.Whether his dominant performances will continue is hard to say, but Texans fans know what it looks like to have a dominant defensive player who completely changes the game, and that is what Leonard has the makings of. Time will tell if he is able to keep it up.3. Despite the Colts offensive line looking really good on paper before the season started, they seem to have been very inconsistent so far this season. Is Anthony Castonzo�s absence really THAT damaging to Indy�s integrity up front? Or is it something else?There was a lot to like about the Colts offense, but injuries have been a major factor and have hampered it in a very real way. The loss of Anthony Castonzo has been huge. There aren�t a lot of high quality offensive tackles just hanging around, and Castonzo is one of them. He is the Colts� best offensive lineman, and losing him has definitely changed what they are able to do.On paper before the season, the thought was that running behind the tandem of Quenton Nelson and Castonzo would be a nightmare for opposing defenses, and that the left side would be locked down in pass protection as well. Instead, the Colts have been without Castonzo all season so far. They also lost right tackle J�Marcus Webb, who was the starter in week one, to a torn hamstring.Denzelle Good, the original planned starting right tackle started the season injured and was able to make his return just last week as a backup to Joe Haeg, who, after playing left tackle for Castonzo, moved to right tackle. Of course, Haeg was then injured and will miss several weeks. Essentially, the offensive tackles as a whole have been a total mess.Add the loss of Jack Doyle with a hip injury, Marlon Mack with a hamstring strain, and rookie wideout Deon Cain with an ACL tear, and we�ve had a very inconsistent and rocky start offensively. Given Luck�s injury, priority one was to keep him from getting hit. That has made the offense rely heavily on quick throws, which has been effective at cutting the sacks allowed down dramatically.The Colts also haven�t been able to run the ball effectively Womens Kareem Jackson Jersey , and without a lot of playmakers who can get yards after the catch, the offense has struggled against their slate of really tough defenses early in the schedule. I expect things will improve as the team gets healthier, but ultimately they�ll be limited until they can upgrade at receiver and possibly right tackle.4. Who is one player on the Colts that people don�t talk about enough? Is there anyone under the radar that we should look out for this weekend?Jordan Wilkins is a name worth keeping an eye on. The rookie running back has demonstrated great vision, balance, and patience in the running game. He doesn�t have the explosive ability that someone like Marlon Mack does, and he isn�t a threat to take it to the house on any given play, but he consistently gets positive yards and squeezes the most out of every play.I don�t expect the Colts to run the ball to great effect against the Texans� defense, but I do expect them to use Quenton Nelson to run traps to the right side and try to get positive yardage. Marlon Mack seems to be improving and might play this weekend, but if he doesn�t I expect Wilkins will get a lot of carries and will make the most of them.5. What is your prediction for this Sunday? Who wins, by how much, and why?This one is a tough game the call. J.J. Watt looked last week like he was back to being a dominant force that can take over a game again. Add in the pairing of Deshaun Watson with Hopkins and Fuller and the offense has the potential to make things happen.Having said that, the Colts have hung in some pretty tough games as well, and have a young and fast defense that has been effective against some very solid offensive lines. I expect the story of this game to be told in the battle between the Colts� defensive line and the Texans� offensive line.I think Watson will spend much of the game running for his life, and while he will be largely effective at making things happen, I think safety Malik Hooker and Darius Leonard will prove capable enough of making plays on the ball in the passing game.On the offensive side, I expect that the Colts will try to do what they have done all season so far, and use guys like Eric Ebron, T.Y. Hilton, and Nyheim Hines over the middle in the short passing game to take advantage of their quickness and keep the ball moving. They have used lots of crossing routes and �pick� plays to get guys open, and I think we will see that continue.I think they can get the running game involved more than it was last week, and use the play action to set up some deep plays that have been missing in the Colts losses. I don�t expect a huge offensive performance, but I think they will do enough to scrape out a tough win at home. 21-17 Colts