Bye week Mag 7

Oehser addresses the big stories

3) A marked improvement. Remember the Week 1 teeth-gnashing over the play of the Colts’ offensive line? Six weeks in, the area has shown marked improvement, and Colts veterans said this week the reason was fairly obvious: continuity. The line spent the preseason playing without center Jeff Saturday and left tackle Charlie Johnson, and Johnson said this week that lack of working together was a major reason the unit struggled at times early, particularly in the regular-season opener against Houston. Manning that day had one of the most remarkable games of his career, completing 40 of 57 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns despite one of the heaviest rushes he had faced in his career. “Obviously, preseason was kind of a mish-mosh with Charlie and Jeff out,” Colts right tackle Ryan Diem said. “We were shuffling guys around all over the place. To get them in there and get some consistency in the lineup was important.” That will be one of the key match-ups when the Colts and Texans play in Lucas Oil Stadium in two weeks. The Texans have struggled defensively at times since the opener, and if the Colts can get the Texans blocked, that could be a key to turning the result of a 34-24 loss to Houston in the opener.