HOUSTON (AP) – The spotlight has turned away from Arian Foster, and the Houston Texans running back doesn’t mind a bit.
Foster became an overnight sensation after rushing for a franchise-record 231 yards in the Texans’ opening 34-24 win over Indianapolis. He was hardly a household name before that, an undrafted free agent who spent most of the 2009 season on Houston’s practice squad.
But the former Tennessee star was smothered with media attention after his monster game, answering endless questions about the origin of his first name, his fascination with foreign cultures and his propensity for writing poetry.
It’s all died down now, with Foster topping 100 yards rushing only twice since the star-making performance in the first game. Only a handful of reporters gathered at his locker to chat with him on Tuesday, and Foster shrugged.
“I’m old news now,” he said. “I always know it’s fickle. You guys come and go, depending on production.”
Foster is back at center stage this week because the Texans (4-2) play the Colts (4-2) again next Monday. It’s time to forget what happened seven weeks ago, Foster said, because it has no bearing on the rematch.
“Every game has its own identity, I’ve always believed that,” he said. “My mindset going in isn’t going to be nonchalant, because I had 231 yards. That’s not what I’m thinking at all. I’m thinking they (the Colts) are going to remember that and prove that’s not what we’re about. And we’re going to try to prove that we can run the ball – again.”
Foster was the NFL’s top rusher for the first six weeks of the season, but he’s slipped to fourth as opponents have geared their defenses to stop him. The New York Giants held Foster to 25 yards rushing in a 34-10 win over Houston on Oct. 10 and Kansas City limited him to 71 the following week.
Foster said he and the offensive line just need to show more patience, and he’s not worried that opponents have figured out how to shut down Houston’s running game.
“This is the NFL. You’re not going to run crazy every game,” Foster said.
The Colts, meanwhile, are still having issues stopping the run, ranking 26th in the league (137.3 yards per game). Foster promises that the Texans will take much of what worked in the opener and incorporate it into the playbook for Monday’s game.
The challenge this time will be to run the plays just as cleanly in a noisy, hostile environment.
“We know what kind of game plan we have to put together,” Foster said. “But the execution is going to be different, because the atmosphere of the game is going to be different. It’s a whole different animal.”
Houston coach Gary Kubiak and the Texans say breaking down the video of the opener offers little benefit this week, because both teams have made so many adjustments since then. But the replay is still worth watching for the offensive linemen, who paved the way for a team-record 257 yards rushing.
Foster’s rushing total was the most by any running back against Indianapolis.
“We know what it takes to be successful against them,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “We set the standard for what we want to get accomplished against them. Now, we have to go out and execute it all again.”
The Texans can only guess at what defensive adjustments the Colts will make to control Foster heading into Monday’s game. Regardless, the linemen say they have a mental edge, because of how much they physically dominated the line of scrimmage in the opener.
“You have confidence, you know what you can do,” Brown said. “You can’t expect to just go out there and just show up, and think it’s going to happen again. We still have to work for every yard we get. They’re not going to give us anything easily. It’s all about just going out there and getting it done.”
Foster grew up rooting for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and remembers watching Bo Jackson rush for 229 yards in a Monday night game in Seattle in 1987. He has no realistic expectations of outdoing Jackson’s performance – or his own from earlier this season – in his Monday night debut.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t be trying.
“You’ve got to relish these moments,” Foster said. “Don’t try to do anything crazy. All you’ve got to do is focus on your game, and things will happen.”
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