The Indianapolis Colts made a firm commitment to Matt Eberf

[panxing18]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —n January.They stuck to it after the man who initially hired Eberflus to be Indy’s defensive coordinator , Josh McDaniels, reneged on a deal to become the next coach and they lived up to their promise after eventually hiring Frank Reich in February.It’s worked out well for the Colts.“He’s a consistent guy, he’s got a consistent message every day and he believes in the system,” middle linebacker Anthony Walker said Tuesday. “That’s what you want as a player, a guy who believes in the system.”The system looks awfully familiar to longtime Colts’ fans.Eberflus reinstalled the Tampa 2 defense, the zone concept popularized by Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy. General manager Chris Ballard saw it work in Chicago under Lovie Smith, one of Dungy’s former pupils, and Reich worked with it on Dungy’s staff when he first started coaching in 2006. Indy capped that season by winning the Super Bowl.The low-key personalities and focused approaches also proved a perfect match.But the real investment came in free agency and the draft.While Colts fans waited impatiently for Ballard to make a splashy move, he mostly avoided the high-priced free agents and instead went with less-familiar names who could excel in Eberflus’ system.The results have been remarkable.Linebacker Darius Leonard, a second-round pick, has a league-high 104 tackles and Walker has 67 tackles, nearly four times as many as he had in 2017.Defensive end Kemoko Turay has shown flashes of being a disruptive pass rusher and Tyquan Lewis showed promise in his first two games after missing the first eight with an injured toe. Both were second-round draft picks in April.“We’re getting to the ball, causing turnovers,” Leonard said. “We don’t do a lot, there’s not a lot of thinking so it’s very easy for me to go out and play.”Not just for the young guys, either.Jabaal Sheard moved from outside linebacker to defensive end and already has matched his sacks total (5½) from last season. Veteran defensive linemen Margus Hunt has gone from rotation player to starter and has had a career-best season.Safeties Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker have been rounding into form after missing most of last season and part of this season with injuries, and outsiders have noticed a difference.“They hustle. They have great team effort. They have very good team speed. They stunt the front and they are all very good hitters,” Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden said recently. “They seem to really like each other. They seem to have a really good , I think, overall down to down competitive nature about them.”The individual numbers only tell part of the story.After finishing 30th in the league in yards allowed per game in 2016 and 2017 and 26th or worse in four of Chuck Pagano’s six seasons as head coach, Indy has jumped to No. 20 this season. Through 10 games, they have 26 sacks and are on pace for their highest total since 2013.The Colts have allowed 17.5 points to their past four opponents and only four teams have more takeaways than Indy (19).Not surprisingly, the Colts (5-5) have won all four, moving back into the playoff picture largely because of a defensive resurgence few expected in Eberflus’ first season.“I think you have to go through this process. Sometimes you take a couple steps forward and one step back or three or four steps forward and one or two back,” Eberflus said. “But it’s really about the guys buying into it.”It could be just the start.The young Colts are still getting acclimated to Eberflus and his scheme, are still learning how to play consistently well and still must demonstrate they can withstand the late-season rigors to make a playoff run.But for the first time in a long time, the Colts’ defense no longer looks like the weak link. Instead, Eberflus has demonstrated just how promising the future could be.“I think guys are buying into the style slowly but it’s not consistent yet,” Eberflus said. “Today in the film room we pointed out all the loafs and all the missed assignments, so we can definitely get better week to week and now it’s about being consistent week to week.”Notes: With the likelihood of starting center Ryan Kelly out with an injured left knee, the Colts signed center Josh Andrews off the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. … Indy also put cornerback D.J. Killings on injured reserve and waived cornerback Arthur Maulet. HOUSTON (0-3) at INDIANAPOLIS (1-2)Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE – Pick-emRECORD VS. SPREAD – Houston 0-3, Indianapolis 2-1SERIES RECORD – Colts lead 25-7LAST MEETING – Colts beat Texans 22-13, Dec. 31, 2017LAST WEEK – Texans lost to Giants 27-22; Colts lost to Eagles 20-16AP PRO32 RANKING – Texans No. 30 , Colts No. 26TEXANS OFFENSE – OVERALL (8), RUSH (8), PASS (13).TEXANS DEFENSE – OVERALL (16), RUSH (20), PASS (14).COLTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (28), RUSH (29), PASS (23).COLTS DEFENSE – OVERALL (18), RUSH (15), PASS (15).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Texans have lost league-high nine straight and are one of three winless teams in NFL this season. … Houston’s last win came Nov. 19 vs. Arizona. … Deshaun Watson is first Texans quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard games since Matt Schaub in 2012. … Watson has connected with Will Fuller for TD pass in seven straight games. … WR DeAndre Hopkins has caught at least one pass in all 82 games played. … DE-OLB Jadeveon Clowney needs two tackles for loss to reach 50 in career. … S Kareem Jackson needs one interception to tie Johnathan Joseph’s franchise record (14). … DE J.J. Watt has eight sacks against Andrew Luck, second-highest total of any active quarterback behind only Blake Bortles (nine). … Since 2014, Texans are league-best 21-1 when leading at halftime and have held opponents to league-low 34.2 percent on third-down conversions. …Indy swept last season’s two-game series after losing three straight to Houston and is 14-2 at home against Houston. … Colts’ next win will be No. 300 since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. … K Adam Vinatieri needs one field goal to break Morten Andersen’s NFL record (565). Vinatieri also needs three field goal attempts to pass Gary Anderson (672) for second all-time and one game played to pass George Blanda (340) for No. 4. … Luck has thrown TD pass in league-best 26 consecutive games and needs one more game to tie Peyton Manning for No. 2 in franchise history. … Luck also needs 260 yards passing to reach 20,000 and 16 yards rushing for 1,500 in career. … WR T.Y. Hilton needs two catches for 450. … Indy ranks sixth in sacks allowed (five), while defense is tied for fourth in sacks (10). … Colts also have most tackles for loss (22) in NFL this season. … Rookie LB Darius Leonard has 31 tackles last two weeks and leads NFL with 41. … Fantasy tip: Hilton has historically played well against Texans. With Luck back, Colts looking for more big plays and Houston struggling, Luck and Hilton could have another big day against familiar foe.

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]

[veranix]