The Colts have more to worry about than Peyton Manning’s neck when they go to Houston to play the Texans for the season opener on September 11. Plenty of problems face the Colts, not only at the quarterback position but also on the defensive side of the ball, where the Colts allowed 125 rushing yards a game last season.

Even with a busy off-season that saw the arrivals of tackle Tommie Harris, linebacker Ernie Sims and end Jamaal Anderson, the defense still has struggled against preseason opponents. Oh, and apparently the Colts grew tired of Harris, releasing him Friday.   Sims was hurt for a good part of training camp, but he’s still one player I’m excited to see play alongside Gary Brackett and the rest of the Colts D.

During the preseason, the Colts allowed less than 150 yards rushing in just one game, and that was against the pass-first Packers. Even though it’s only the preseason, this is still concerning since the Colts do start the year off in Houston,  where last season Arian Foster had his coming-out party and rushed for over 230 yards and 3 touchdowns against Indy.

It’s not like the Texans are one-dimensional, either, with wide receiver Andre Johnson running wild and Matt Schaub behind center.  In addition, the Texans now have a healthy Owen Daniels, who was recovering from a torn ACL in 2010 and had an overall slow year.

Week 1 in Houston should be very interesting given that there are so many ways for the Texans to attack the Colts defense, and  I’m really curious to see how the boys in white and blue will respond. With our franchise quarterback most likely out for this game, it’s going to take a lot more from the defense to notch a win.

Next up is Oakland… … …I don’t really have a preview except JaMarcus Russell, should the Raiders coach get smart and start him, is relatively unknown except for a few snaps last week so the mystery is enough to give caution. I’d hate for the Raiders to score more than 10 this game, honestly. This game will do a number of things for the Colts:

• It will be a W in the win column, which is always nice to see, pushing the Colts to 12-2;
• A win will separate the Colts from the still-dangerous No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers;
• Should the Colts win and the Jaguars lose to the Steelers this week, the Colts will have clinched their 5th divisional title in 5 years;
• Should the Colts lose and the Jaguars win, the AFC South is back up in the air;
• But should the Colts win and the Jaguars win, the AFC South - with a Colts win in Houston just for good measure - falls back into the Colts hands!

So, the Houston Texans, who is actually a good team that looks bad because of which division they’re in, is going to be a tough game. You know…the complete opposite of the New England Patriots who look better than they really are because six games this year have come on a silver platter because of which division they’re in. This game will galvanize the Colts’ divisional dominance no matter what, but I think the actual division title will come on Dec. 30 when we face the Titans.

To close out the season it’s the Tennessee Titans, which might be the game where the starters sit out after the Q1 to rest for the postseason. It’s going to be a tough game and I’m thinking the offense will probably be held up pretty well but there’s no stopping this defense we have! Bob Sanders, not Peyton Manning, is the man who is going to lead our Indianapolis Colts to a 14-2 record!!!

And then the first round bye, second round win, AFC Championship victory over the Pats and a second consecutive SB win against the Packers (yeah, I’m calling the Packers over the Cowboys – what?)…DROPPING BOMBS, BABY!!!