HOUSTON (AP) -Mario Williams is living in his house despite the bustle of workers repairing damage from when Hurricane Ike’s powerful winds left a tree resting on its roof.
The rest of the Houston Texans are in a similar situation, preparing for their delayed home opener against Indianapolis in hurricane-damaged Reliant Stadium. Repairs to the retractable roof won’t be finished for some time, so they’ll play the 100th game in franchise history with the roof open.
That doesn’t matter to these road-weary Texans. They’re just glad to be home after three tough road losses, with a break between the first and second one that was spent dealing with Ike after it ravaged Southeast Texas on Sept. 13.
home.”
Houston (0-3) can get comfortable here as the Texans play each of their next four games at home after the hurricane rearranged the schedule.
The Texans’ return to football at home is just one more sign of recovery in an area that still has a long way to go, but is slowly getting back on track after Ike.
The worst damage is on the coast, but reminders of the storm’s wrath remain throughout the nation’s fourth-largest city. Many stop lights still aren’t functioning or are missing altogether. Downed trees litter parks and yards. Blue FEMA tarps cover damaged roofs and a smattering of homemade signs begging electric company workers for help are evidence that some homes remain without power about three weeks after the storm.
“It’s been a hard month,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “It’s been a hard month lifewise and footballwise for a lot of people. We get to settle down here. We’re not going anywhere for the next month. We’re going to get to play at our place. It’s got to feel good for everybody.”
Houston’s home opener is the latest for an NFL team since four teams opened the 2001 season the weekend of Oct. 7-8 after their openers were delayed because of the events of Sept. 11.
Sunday’s game will mark the earliest Houston has played at Reliant with the roof open since Sept. 18, 2005 when it hosted Pittsburgh.
at game the team implemented a rule dictating the roof would be open only if it was between 50-80 degrees outside and there was no chance of precipitation.
A high of 88 degrees is forecast for Sunday, which could will make it hot and sticky, but that could add to Houston’s home-field advantage.
Indy’s Peyton Manning said his team would be prepared for the conditions.
“It’s going to be hot,” he said. “We’ve played in hot weather before, but we do things during the week. Jon Torine, our strength coach, passes out hydration tips and things like that. All those things come into play. How you eat and drink during the week can play a factor in how you play on Sunday. So it’ll be important to do all those things that he wants you to do.”
The Colts (1-2) certainly feel for what the Texans have been through since the hurricane. But after a 1-2 start, their warm feelings won’t extend to the football field.
“It’s going to be great for them to be back in their stadium and playing, and I’m sure it’s going to be a lift for the people in that community,” coach Tony Dungy said. “That part of it you love to see, but we don’t want to let them have too much fun at our expense.”
The Texans have rarely had a good time when facing the Colts, winning only one of 12 meetings with their AFC South foes. This game is much different, with the loser bound for the AFC South basement.
er teams in our division are playing and know that these division games count double,” Manning said. “We’d like to finish off this first quarter of the season … with a win. It’s an important game and one that we’d like to play well in and try to get a win on the road.”
The Colts are coming off their bye and Manning could have some extra help: left tackle Tony Ugoh and right guard Mike Pollak, who have been out with injuries, could play. Manning hasn’t been his usual, dominant self after missing the entire preseason recovering from surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee.
He’s thrown three touchdowns with four interceptions, and his 73.1 quarterback rating is 12th in the AFC.
Regardless of the Colts’ losing record and Manning’s struggles, the Texans know they’ll have to play their best game of the year to compete with this team.
“We don’t look at that,” safety Will Demps said. “We definitely understand that he’s still one of the great quarterbacks and understand that every week, teams get better. He’s just going to keep doing what he has to do. We’ve got to keep doing better the fundamental things and understand we can’t let him get a big game on us.”
arter Steve Slaton.
Slaton had 116 yards in his first start after Ahman Green went down with an ankle injury. He managed 33 yards rushing last week, but caught eight passes for 83 yards.
“I saw him play a lot at West Virginia and he’s a game-breaker,” Dungy said. “He’s a guy that can make long runs. He gets in the open field and makes people miss. He’s a good receiver. He’s been a very good player for them and I’m sure we’re going to have our hands full with him.”
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