Colts Get Win Over Giants, Problems Continue for Arian Foster

After the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) Week 1 dismal outing against the Buffalo Bills (2-0), the team rallied and defeated the New York Giants (1-1) 20-12 on Sunday.

Andrew Luck

The Colts sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck showed no signs of a slump, throwing for 107 yards and going 9 for 13 with two touchdowns. He had a 133.7 quarterback rating and said of the game via the Associated Press, “It wasn’t perfect. There is still a whole bunch of room for improvement but it was good to get in a rhythm, it was good to put points on the board. What a great job by our defense, holding them to three points on some short fields.”

The team scored on three straight series and veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri contributed with a 52-yard field goal. His backup, Brandon McManus, added a 50-yard field goal during the game’s second half.

Colts wide receiver Darrious Hayward-Bey led the team with his four receptions for 42 yards.

While there were positives for the Colts, the game was marred by some disappointing news. The team’s tight end Coby Fleener exited the game with a sprained knee. After battling ball security in last week’s game, Fleener struggled again as he dropped a Luck pass and got knocked around on the field; this came on the game’s initial possession.

The player will have additional tests on Monday, according to Fox Sports; he said, “I think it’ll be all right. I’m up and walking on it.”

Fleener is the second tight end to go down for the Colts as fellow tight end Dwayne Allen has a foot injury. Should Fleener miss a lot of time, the Colts may be shopping around for another tight end.

With the win, the team sits at 1-1. Last week Colts owner Jim Irsay publicly expressed his displeasure with the Bills outcome as he took to Twitter and apologized to fans for his team’s first performance. Irsay appeared happy with Sunday’s victory and tweeted, “That’s more like it..there r sum that shrug off losing,even at checkers;they’ll never wear the HORSESHOE or touch the Diamond’s of Champions.”

Next up for the Colts is the undefeated Cleveland Browns (2-0) on Saturday.

What does the future hold for the Colts? They enter the regular season with an 8 1/2 win total (-105 o/-125 u) and a -175 no to make it to the playoffs.

Texans Foster Struggles with Sore Back

The Houston Texans  (2-0) sit at the top of the AFC South and it has come without running back Arian Foster.

Arian Foster

The player first battled a calf strain during OTAs and now he’s struggling with a sore back. This follows the injections he’s had in it and the subsequent complications.

The team had hoped he’d return to the practice field on Monday but on Sunday, his coach Gary Kubiak said via ESPN, “He’s had some injections to try to alleviate some of the soreness. The way I understand it we’re trying to [work through] the injection process.”

The question had then been posed on whether or not there were concerns that Foster would not be ready for Week 1. Kubiak commented, “I’m not there yet because I see him work. I see what he’s going through. I am concerned about repetitions. That’s just me as a coach. … We gotta do what we gotta do. We’re trying to do the smart thing here.”

Without Foster, the team will be missing a player who ran for 1,424 yards with 15 touchdowns in 2012. The team will now look to running back Ben Tate as their only experienced alternative. In 2012, he had 65 attempts for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

This week the Texans will play the New Orleans Saints (2-0).

For the regular season, the Texans sit with a 10 1/2 regular season win total (+120 o/-150 u) and -450 yes to make the playoffs.