Last Thursday, I dubbed Sunday's game against the Colts "the biggest game the Texans will play all season." Given the epic collapse that ensued, it's only natural to wonder how or if your Houston Texans can bounce back in less than a week to rally against a surprising Miami squad.

Honestly, I'm not optimistic. The effects of a loss like the one that was suffered last Sunday do not vanish, and certainly not inside a week. For all of Kubes' talk about the players being "very strong," I have a hard time believing the Texans are going to be able to put what has to be the most painful loss of most, if not all, of their professional careers behind them in time to bring the type of focused effort that'll be required to notch the first victory of the season on Sunday. Instead, I'm more inclined to think the Texans may well take the field with a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop mentality that sees them crack at the first sign of adversity. That's not an indictment of the players or coaches; after having to stomach such an improbable loss, I think it's natural to wonder what else can possibly go wrong, instead of steeling oneself to overcome whatever obstacles present themselves in the next contest.

As I see it, the chief goal of the coaching staff this week should be to inoculate the team to withstand the inevitable mental issues that will surface the first time something--a fumble, an interception, a missed tackle, a Dolphin touchdown--goes wrong. The best prescription for the damaged team psyche, of course, would be a big scoring play for the offense or a quick three-and-out for the defense on the first drive of the game. The Texans need to see a positive result as soon as possible come kickoff on Sunday; otherwise, the 0-4 start could snowball into an abyss that destroys the 2008 season.

A day later, I really don't feel any different than I did last night. I still maintain that Sage Rosenfels gave Indianapolis the game. I still maintain that the coaches and/or playcalling were not responsible for the loss, though I appreciate the solid back-and-forth that the two camps had going in the Comments to the previous post.

Regardless of how much affinity we have for the Texans, we will always remember yesterday for the last four (4) minutes in the fourth quarter. And that's a huge shame, because there were so many standout performances from other Texans. Although it's surely no consolation to Sage, I also think one Texan in particular should send Sage a cash basket in appreciation for keeping the suck spotlight off of him. Let's get to it:

1. The reason the Texans looked like a complete football team for the first time this season was due entirely to the appearance of an element that's been absent nearly the entire season. That magical component? A pass rush. Your Houston Texans, and specifically their front four, got consistent pressure on Peyton Manning and knocked him on his rear throughout the game. Super Mario notched two (2) sacks and was in Peyton's kitchen all afternoon, disrupting the flow of the Indy offense. We've come to expect that from Mario, so that's not a big surprise. But you know who did show up for the first time this season?

2. Amobi Okoye! He got more penetration than we've seen all season; he was getting to and knocking down Peyton consistently in the second half. Could yesterday have been Amobi's arrival as a force to be reckoned with, like Super Mario did against Kansas City last year?

3. Linebacking play was far better than it's been all season, too. While DeMeco is always going to be a stalwart, I was impressed with how well Zac Diles and (gasp!) Morlon Greenwood played. Greenwood in particular made some nice tackles at the line of scrimmage and slightly behind it.

4. That brings me to another crucial point: The tackling was infinitely better yesterday than it's been all season. The Texans wrapped up and generally didn't let the opposition squirm away, unlike their efforts the previous three (3) games.

5. Was it just me, or did anyone else think we got better safety play from the "reserves" than we have from Brown and Demps?

6. Fred Bennett had a couple of very nice plays, though I'm not sure that each one called for a celebration akin to having won the Super Bowl. Hopefully, like Amobi, this is the start of something big.

7. The worst player on the field whenever the Colts had the ball was easily Jacques Reeves. If not for Sage monopolizing the fanbase's scorn, Reeves' insistence on continuing to play CB as if he has no arms and wearing a neck brace would be the overriding negative of the game. He's simply awful, and he's clearly the weakest link in a weak secondary. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that I'd rather have Dunta Robinson hobbling around on crutches out there instead of Reeves at 100%.

8. In the rare event that Pepe Le Pew has any defenders, please do not point to the pass he "knocked away" in the end zone in the first half. Marvin Harrison had Reeves beat; Peyton simply underthrew that ball. Frenchy wouldn't have been able to lay a hand on it if he'd actually been in good position. That's not good corner play. But congratulations, Jacques Reeves. You've done the impossible. You've made me long for Petey Faggins to get more snaps. Do you know how dirty that makes me feel?

9. Seriously...I'd rather have Petey Faggins, who I thought was the worst DB in the league, get more playing time than a free agent acquisition inked to a multi-year deal mere months ago. Chew on that for a bit, and then try not to vomit.

10. The offensive line, both in run and pass blocking, was superb. Duane Brown in particular did an admirable job holding off Dwight Freeney. Freeney beat him a couple of times, but I thought the rookie acquitted himself in tremendous fashion. And did you see how Brown was sprinting after Gary Brackett after Sage's first fumble? Talk about heart.

11. The next decent snap Bryan Pittman makes will be the first I've seen in a month. How has he not been cut yet?

12. Steve Slaton continues to look like he was the steal of the draft. I honestly could not be any happier with him.

13. Was that Ahman Green I saw running hard between the tackles? And not pulling up lame? I must have been drunk.

14. 'Dre--Nine (9) catches for 131 yards and a TD. He's back.

15. Quick: Name five (5) current tight ends you'd rather have than Owen Daniels. Can you do it? Because I can't.

16. As a whole, the offense looked like a well-oiled machine. Well, at least until the unpleasantness at the end, that is.

17. Fake Game Balls: Offense--Andre Johnson; Defense--Mario Williams; Special Teams--Kris Brown (with a special nod to Kevin Bentley, whose special teams play is becoming a consistent rave every week).

18. I'll leave you with an observation from my buddy Jay. You remember Jay; he become a bit of a legend around these parts after his conduct in Nashville last year. When we met up after the game, Jay attempted to express his feelings on the loss. I can assure you I am only barely paraphrasing here when I report that he uttered the following line:

If today's game was a hurricane, I feel like my house got blown away. And then I was raped by looters.

Ahhhh, Texans fandom. Bring on the Dolphins, I guess.

Forgive me for what you're about to read; putting how I feel into words right now is a bit difficult. Perhaps more than ever, the stats don't tell the tale of this game. Your Houston Texans blew a seventeen (17!) point lead with slightly more than eight (8) minutes remaining today. Hell, if you want to get technical about it, the Colts remained down by 17 until Peyton Manning threw a TD pass with a little more than four (4) minutes left.

Growing up, playing sports, we're bombarded by the old adage--"Win as a team, lose as a team." In football, perhaps more than any other team game, it's damn near impossible for a single player to win or lose a game by himself. We occasionally have the kicker who splits the uprights to win a game, but football really is the epitome of a team sport. As a general rule, one otherworldly player doesn't equate to victory; if one guy was all it took, the Lions would have won multiple Super Bowls with Barry Sanders in the backfield. No, it takes a team to win. And 99% of the time, it takes a team to lose.

Not today.

The Texans lost this afternoon because of one player, and one player alone. After playing efficient, winning football for approximately fifty-six (56) minutes, Sage Rosenfels singlehandedly cost his team the win. No one else, and I mean NO ONE--no other player(s) and no coach(es)--lost this game. Sage lost it. By himself. In absolutely historical fashion. I'm sure he knows it, and we certainly know it.

The most painful part of it, I think, was that the three (3) turnovers he committed in record-breaking time were completely preventable and thus inexcusable. The first fumble does not happen if he slides instead of attempting to charge into three (3) much bigger defenders. The second fumble does not happen if he exhibits an ounce of pocket presence. The final, kick-to-the-nuts interception looked to have been thrown while his target (in this case, Andre Johnson) was on the ground. Three (3) plays. If any one of those plays doesn't go down like it did, the Texans win. It took three (3) separate, horrifying mistakes by Sage for the Colts to win.

I'm not taking anything away from the Colts; they revealed some serious character by battling until the end. Still...no sane observer can say that Sage didn't deliver that game on a silver platter to them. Indy was the beneficiary of one player's epic collapse. Good for them, and as usual, awful for the Texans and their fans.

I would hope this goes without saying, yet I'll say it anyway: Don't give me the "Well, Sage put us in position to win it; Schaub wouldn't have done that." That is complete and utter garbage. The Schaub ran the Houston offense as well as it could be run last week in Jacksonville. You're really telling me that Schaub wouldn't have completed slightly less than two-thirds of his passes for 246 yards and a TD today? Against THAT defense? Please. And for the critics who say that Schaub is fragile...in my estimation, that perceived fragility would have been a real bonus today, because there's no way Schaub would've been so freaking stupid as to try to take on three (3) defenders. He would've slid; the clock would've kept running; and the Texans would've won.

I hate to judge a player on one game, and I won't do it here. I will, however, say this: There is no QB controversy. And the next time any of us starts complaining about Schaub, remember today.

I'll be back with my thoughts on the rest of the players/game later tonight. The vein throbbing on my forehead is telling me it's time to drown this bubbling rage with more whiskey.

As I type this at 8:53 a.m., I have no idea what the mood will be when this thread posts at 1:30 p.m. Celebratory? Joyful? Optimistic? Or will it be mournful? Full of dread? Questioning the existence of a kind and benevolent Creator?

If you haven't already swilled a gallon of bleach, continue to post your Comments about the game here. GO TEXANS!

Biggest. Game. Of. The. Year. May. Your. God. Of. Choice. Have. Mercy. On. Our. Souls.

Overly dramatic? Perhaps. Regardless of your take on the season thus far, however, I think you'd have to agree that they don't get much bigger than today's game in terms of the season's outlook from here on out. Win, and hope remains. Lose, and the refrain will be something to the effect of "Here we go again..."

The solution? Win a damn game, Texans! A second game day thread will post to the front page at 1:30 p.m., so be sure to move the party there then so the Comments keep flowing. Until then, grace us with your pre-game, in-game, and post-game thoughts, foibles, and prayer chains in the Comments below. GO TEXANS!

For a team allegedly wracked by injuries, the Colts' list of wounded sure is short today. On the other hand, your Houston Texans' list is rather long. That does not fill me with confidence on this otherwise sunny day:

INDIANAPOLIS
D. Federekiel--out (bolshephobia)
R. Hall--out (cryptorchidism)
B. Sanders--out (bogyphobia)

HOUSTON
M. Bruener--out (hamstring)
C. Taylor--out (quadricep)
W. Demps--doubtful (hamstring)
X. Adibi--questionable (illness) Ed. Note: Really? Like a cold? Has X-Factor been healthy for six (6) consecutive minutes since he was drafted?
K. Bentley--questionable (ankle)
D. Ryans--probable (ankle)
B. Harrison--probable (shoulder)
E. Salaam--probable (knee)
E. Winston--probable (ankle)

I'm beginning to feel a bit better about the Texans' chances on Sunday, notwithstanding the fact that the Colts aren't nearly as ravaged by injuries as I originally thought. The Houston offense looked great in Jacksonville, and the defense has played a solid half of football in each of the past two (2) games. The pessimist (realist?) in me says that the preceding statement means the defense has been pathetic for the equivalent of 50% of the past two (2) games (and about 80% of the game in Pittsburgh), yet I'm going to stay positive. With that newfound lease on life in mind, here are three (3) things that shall occur on Sunday in the home opener of your Houston Texans:

1. Matt Schaub's going to have another good game, and Andre Johnson is going to be a big part of that reality. I see 260 yards passing and 2 TDs for The Schaub, 102 yards and 1 TD of which are going to be courtesy of 'Dre.

2. Here's a bold one for you: The Colts will do a yeoman job keeping Super Mario in check. That superb effort, however, will be somewhat diminished by the fact that Earl Cochran is going to register a sack of Peyton Manning.

3. I'd love nothing more than to predict a great game by someone in the Houston secondary. I just can't. Peyton Manning is going to throw for 290 yards, and I'm going to curse the mothers of Jacques Reeves and Will Demps on at least one occasion each.

PUT YOUR NAME ON IT: Fact is, if the Texans lose this game, it's going to be a loooooooong season in Space City. That also translates to a looooooong and depressing season here at BRB, and I'm going to fight that with every last ounce of my prognosticating skills. Call it Colts 27, Texans 30 via a winning FG by Kris Brown. Let us pray.

The fanbase of your Houston Texans generally thought this was going to be the year. The year of what, you might ask? Some people (this humble/moronic blogger included) thought this would be the year the Texans finished with a winning record. Others thought this'd be the year the Texans finally snagged a wild card spot. No one, and I mean NO ONE (that I remember, anyway) thought there was a chance that this season could rival the horror of 2005. Of course, no one counted on a hurricane shuffling the team's 2008 schedule, either.

Now, I'm not saying we're headed for a two (2) win season. This team, flawed as it may be, has far too much talent for that. I will, however, say this: Sunday's tilt hosting the Colts is quite simply the biggest game the Texans will play all season. Win, and the Texans are 1-3, with another three (3) home games in a row against teams that are probably not playoff contenders. The Texans have never won three (3) games in a row, so it's a gigantic leap of faith to call for them to take the next four (4) consecutive games. But taking three out of those four? I do not believe that's altogether crazy. Blurred by battle red glasses, perhaps, but not outside the realm of possibility.

Lose on Sunday though, and that's 25% of the season gone with nary a single win. I'm no mathematician, but that would mean a winless Texans team would have to go 9-3 the rest of the season to post a winning record. Fandom and optimism aside, that's a very remote possibility. The most realistic, best-case scenario after starting 0-4, I'd think, would be .500 the rest of the way. And that would mean a final record of 6-10, which would be tough, if not damn near impossible, to call anything but a failure of a season.

Thus, here we are. Three (3) days away from the tipping point of the 2008 Texans season. Win, and the majority of the fanbase is likely still guzzling the Kool-Aid and chalking up the 1-3 start to quality opponents and/or bad luck. Lose, and...well, I don't even want to think about it, but rest assured that the bloom will be completely off the rose at Reliant Park.

Howdy, Stampede Bluers; it's Tim from Battle Red Blog here. Seeing as how our respective squads are set to tangle on Sunday afternoon in our state-of-the-art retractable open-air stadium, I figure you might have some queries about your beloved Colts' opponent.

As such, hit me with any and all questions you have about my Houston Texans. Want to know how 0-3 tastes? I'll tell you. Care to know whether I blame God and his forces of nature for mandating the Texans open the first three (3) games of the season on the road? I will answer. Curious about whether I think the Texans will rebound or whether we're headed for a pick in the first hour of the 2009 NFL Draft? I'll opine.

So have at it, folks. I'm here to field your questions. At least until I break down and start weeping about how the Texans' season is on the brink and it's not even mid-October yet.

Pardon the blatant abuse of Bon Jovi in the title to this post, if you will. As I was debating how to recap yesterday's game, I was struck by the duality of your Houston Texans after their loss to the Jaguars of Jacksonville. On one hand, the passing game looked terrific. On the other hand, the running game continued to look like it has since the franchise's inception. Which is to say, inconsistent at best, and nonexistent at worst. Still, that middling effort was far better than what we saw out of the defense, particularly in the second half. And no matter what kind of spin we try to put on it, the fact remains that your Houston Texans have lost three (3) in a row, two (2) of which were within the division. Dress it up all you want, but that burns.

The breaking dawn on the horizon, of course, is that the good guys don't have to leave their new open-air stadium for the next month. And while I'd certainly rather be catching the Colts with a semblance of momentum and/or not coming off their bye week, they haven't looked like the Colts we've grown accustomed to crushing our collective will to live playing, and they've got some real injury issues of their own. After Indy, the Texans host Miami, Detroit, and Cincinnati. While it's admittedly unreasonable to think the hometown team is going to rattle off four (4) wins in a row, it's not entirely insane to hope that they take three (3) of the next four.

So how does this tie in to yesterday afternoon's loss? Before yesterday, the Texans had not given us a reason to think they were capable of winning three (3) games all season, much less three of their next four. Now? We can at least hope. As I've realized that being a Texans fan is the sporting equivalent of being Andy Dufresne, all I can say is that hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies. Unless your secondary murders it. Segue, baby!

1. I really have nothing good to say about any of the Houston defensive backs. They can't tackle, and they can't cover. I'm no expert, but I think the chronic failure to do both of those things bodes very poorly for them (and by extension, us) for the rest of the season.

2. Staying on the secondary, C.C. Brown broke his arm and is out for the season. Normally, it'd be a huge blow to lose your starting strong safety. And hell, maybe it will be in C.C.'s case. But I believe there's an excellent chance that whoever takes over the starting gig (Dominique Barber? Nick Ferguson?) cannot be any worse. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

3. Jacques Reeves can stay stride for stride with any WR in the league. Unfortunately for us, playing CB requires the occasional movement of one's arms and/or turning of one's head. Both of those qualities seem to be beyond Pepe Le Pew's skill set.

4. Fred Bennett just makes me sad. Remember how good he was last year?

5. DeMeco made some unreal plays yesterday, but he also missed what might have been the biggest tackle of his professional career in overtime (ended up setting up the winning FG for Scobee). Scobee would've probably hit anything closer than 55 yards out, so in the final analysis, it's not like it was catastrophic, but still...I expect more from the leader of the defense.

6. When did Quincy Monk steal Morlon Greenwood's identity and roster spot?

7. The pass rush is still mostly a figment of my imagination, but the Texans did put David Garrard on his back quite a few times, albeit not for sacks. Super Mario might as well have had a saddle on his back throughout most of the game, yet he still managed to be disruptive. I also really liked what I saw from Earl Cochran; he was about 758 times more active than Anthony Weaver's corpse usually is.

8. At DT, Amobi Okoye continues to be a complete non-factor. What the hell's the deal? Is he too small/light to penetrate and/or tie up blockers? Does he need a planetoid like Frank Okam playing next to him to allow him to contribute? Whatever the hold-up is, Richard Smith had better figure out how to take advantage of Okoye's talent. I hesitate to put too much of Okoye's struggles on Okoye himself, purely because I remember how effective he looked early in his rookie season. Plus, the thought of the Texans whiffing on two (2) first-round defensive tackles in a three (3) year period makes me want to jam a pair of scissors in my eye.

9. Travis Johnson was healthy enough to play, yet he didn't get the start. Jeff Zgonina ain't Warren Sapp, but at least he's not a headcase liable to pick up a personal foul or two, all the while running his mouth at a rate approximately 235 times faster than he moves in the trenches.

10. In the time it's taken you to read this far, David Garrard could have completed fifteen (15) consecutive slants without Richard Smith making a single adjustment. On a related note, perhaps our venerable defensive coordinator has used the thirty (30) hours since the game ended to figure out that maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea to spy David Garrard instead of letting him singlehandedly scramble down the middle of the field what seemed like eight (8) straight times.

11. Kris Brown continues to be the most consistent player on the entire roster.

12. What does it say about Jacoby Jones that I would have rather had him not touch the ball, allowing it to be downed at the one-yard line, instead of picking it up and trying to return it? I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown every time he fields a punt and/or catches a pass.

13. Final word on special teams: I'm no professional football player or coach, but I believe a timeout might be warranted when you notice Jacksonville's "punt team" does not actually feature anyone lining up to punt the ball. And as bad as that was, the abhorrent tackling featured after the snap actually took the cake. Bravo, Petey Faggins.

14. The Schaub was, in a word, brilliant. He made the right reads, went through his progressions, protected the ball, and all in all looked absolutely nothing like the fraud we saw in the first two games of the season. It was undeniably the biggest game of his professional career, and Matt Schaub played his position about as well as it can be played. Kudos to Kubes as well for scripting the first several plays to feature short passes that would allow Schaub to get into a rhythm and build his confidence. Simply a superlative performance, and I have no doubt The Schaub would have led the Texans to victory if we hadn't lost the coin flip at the beginning of overtime.

15. Owen Daniels showed why he is one of the, if not the, best young TE(s) in the NFL--made some tough catches and picked up yards after the catch.

16. I know it's stupid, but I'm worried about Andre Johnson. Tremendous catch in the middle of the field late in the fourth quarter aside, he just doesn't look like the 'Dre we all know and love. He's more decoy than No. 1 WR right now. What gives?

17. Thankfully, Kevin Walter was there to pick up his slack (and/or vulture his TDs, if you're a 'Dre fantasy owner). He seemed to pick up that crucial last yard to cross the marker whenever the situation called for it, and he flashed the skills that shocked everyone not named Gary Kubiak last season. More, please.

18. Stupendous job in pass protection by the OL. The Schaub was clean all day, and we were all reminded of how effective the passing game can be if he's given time to throw. I was particularly impressed with the interior of the line, especially after the beating(s) they took in the first two games.

19. It's a really, really good thing that we hardly ever hear an announcer utter Duane Brown's name.

20. There weren't a ton of holes created for Steve Slaton to get through, but I loved the way he looked between the tackles. Factor in the additional facet the offense picks up by featuring him as a legitimate option out of the backfield, and Slaton could be a poor man's version of Brian Westbrook.

21. Is anyone else tickled that Ahman Green has lost out on $400,000.00 since the season opener? Given Slaton's emergence, at what point do you just send Green to the injured reserve?

22. Fake Game Balls: Offense--The Schaub; Defense--Super Mario; Special Teams--Kris Brown.

23. Did I really compare being a Texans fan to being wrongfully convicted, imprisoned, and brutalized at the beginning of this post? Hmmmmmm....so I did. And I stand by it. At least until the first win of '08.