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.

Colts DT Tommie Harris during 2011 Preseason games

From wikipedia:

Without Harris, the Bears noticed a significant decline in their pass rush and run defense. Though the Bears beat the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC Championship, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

Would the outcome have been different if Harris had actually played in the game? Would the Bears have won? Don’t forget that the Colts  ran wild during SB XLI, right through the Bears DL.   These are hypothetical questions, of course, just like when we asked, if Dwight Freeney  had not been injured in SB XLIV, would the Colts have won? Freeney was sacking Brees and giving him a hell of a time before Dwight’s ankle gave up on him in the second half.   We don’t know the answers, but we can make some good guesses.

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Tommie Harris will try to break out with the Colts this season.

Sean Jenkins at the Chicago Sun-Times reports tonight that the Colts have signed former Bears DT Tommie Harris to a one-year deal.   Harris was the Bears’ first-round pick (14th overall) in 2004 and made three Pro Bowls playing for Chicago.   A few years ago, he was arguably the toughest run stuffer in the NFL, but injuries and age have caught up with him a bit in the last couple of seasons.   He only started six games last season and recorded just one-and-a-half sacks.  I assume that he comes at a bargain price, so he is the classic low-risk, high-reward (potentially) pick-up that has colored the Colts’ free agent activity over the last 24 hours.   Last night, Indianapolis signed former Falcons DE Jamaal Anderson, and this morning they grabbed former Lions LB Ernie Sims.

These guys are no longer primetime material, but they have the potential to be big upgrades for the Colts this season.  Even if just one of them pans out, that much better than what the Colts usually manage to pluck from the free agent market.   Cross your fingers, folks!