After Houston's close 20-17 loss to the Colts in Week 9, many experts have said that the Texans have the best chance of derailing Indy's potential undefeated season in today's rematch. That's for two reasons -- first, the Texans have played the Colts tight in four of their last five matchups, and second, the toughest opponent Peyton and his crew face after this game is the Denver Broncos, and who knows what kind of team you'll get when you take on Denver these days?

The loss to the Colts would have been the most important win in Texans history, and that still stands of Houston can pull it off. The AFC South championship would be out of reach barring a selection of Biblical miracles, but Houston could go forward with great confidence on a possible playoff run. The question is, how do the 5-5 Texans actually pull it off?

One advantage will present itself right off the bat -- pass-rusher extraordinaire Dwight Freeney(notes) is out with an abdominal injury. In the first matchup this season, Freeney racked up 1.5 sacks against Houston's offensive line, and his absence allows Houston to adjust its protection schemes to account for Robert Mathis(notes). Freeney and Mathis feed off each other, preventing offenses from taking both players on with the double-teams they deserve.

The matchup of the game is the same as it was the first time -- Colts tight end Dallas Clark(notes) versus Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing(notes). In Week 9, Manning targeted Clark 16 times, and Clark caught 14 passes for 119 yards. These were mostly underneath routes averaging 8.5 yards per catch, and the Texans bracketed coverage to deal with the Colts' receivers. Despite Clark's stat-heavy day, it was an effective strategy in that Manning did not throw a touchdown pass to a receiver -- only running back Joseph Addai(notes) kept Manning alive in the touchdown category. The Texans might consider rolling safety Bernard Pollard(notes) over more to cover Clark, but they'd probably be better off allowing the small stuff and devoting more resources to the deep and outside threats -- especially when the Colts go no-huddle and stop Houston from using substitutions. Oh, and putting the game on the foot of kicker Kris Brown(notes) (pitcured above, right after missing the field goal that would have tied the Colts game) isn't advisable right now.

The real challenge for Houston will be to put together consistent drives via run and pass balance, and control the momentum of the game. Ryan Moats(notes) led the team with 38 yards on 16 carries last time, and that will not feed the bulldog. They need to work Steve Slaton(notes) in for his versatility, and put together enough threats to keep Indy's defense from smothering Andre Johnson(notes). If they can do that, and keep Manning's deep stuff in check (especially the threat of Austin Collie(notes) on deep slot routes -- that's where Pollard needs to be if he's coming up to force), the Texans have a good chance of beating the Colts in Houston.

It was the play that led to Carlos Rogers'(notes) demotion, and now, he has to re-live it. In their 27-17 Week 7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Redskins gave up two big plays to explosive receiver DeSean Jackson(notes) -- a 67-yard run and a 57-yard pass -- but it's the pass that Rogers will remember. With two minutes left in the first half, Rogers was playing right cornerback in three-deep coverage with the Eagles stuck on third-and-22 from their own 43. Rogers had been playing Jackson to close off shorter routes, and Jackson made him pay for it.

On the play, Jackson ran a quick dig route inside at about the Washington 40, but he widened the route to a straight go. Rogers stopped and closed inside, apparently looking for Donovan McNabb(notes) to throw the other way, but Jackson kept running downfield, bringing in the McNabb pass at the 15-yard line for the touchdown. It's hard enough for cornerbacks to trail Jackson when they maintain full speed, but one misstep will end any hope. That's what makes Jackson so dangerous, and it's why he leads the NFL in plays of 40 yards or more with seven.

For Rogers, it was the beginning of the end. Benched in favor of Fred Smoot(notes) in Week 10 after giving up a long score to Denver's Brandon Marshall(notes), Rogers has handled his demotion like a champ, by all accounts. Now, with DeAngelo Hall(notes) (knee) out against the Eagles, Rogers gets another shot, and he'll see Jackson as much as the Eagles can make it happen. "This ain't nothing new," Rogers told the Washington Post, after running with the first team in practice this week. "I'm not going into the game with an attitude to show you. I know I can play. Obviously, they know it, too. . . . I just got to take advantage of my opportunity. You never know what's going to happen once you get back. All I got to do is just put something good on the film right now."

Putting something good on film against DeSean Jackson is one of the NFL's biggest challenges these days -- between his in-line speed and McNabb's ability to freeze defenses with play action (as I detailed this week in the Post), the Eagles have an in-the-box recipe for success on their deep routes. Odds are, the Redskins will play Jackson deeper this time and allow the small stuff underneath.

Today, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 25 semi-finalists for the class of 2010. In addition to the names listed below, the Seniors Committee nominated former Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little and former Detroit Lions defensive back Dick LeBeau. I don't think Little will make it, but LeBeau still ranks seventh in all-time interceptions with 62, despite the fact that he hasn't played since 1972. When you add in his amazing history as a defensive coordinator (which the voters are not supposed to do, for some reason), he's as big a no-brainer as there can be.

This list gets whittled down to 15 finalists on January 7, 2010, and the final names will be announced on February 6, the day before Super Bowl XLIV. Current rules stipulate that no more than five current nominees can be enshrined, and that number can go up to seven if both Senior nominees are selected. In my view, LeBeau, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Cris Carter, Charles Haley, and Shannon Sharpe will make it, though I wouldn't be surprised if a deserving player gets booted by Art Modell or Paul Tagliabue.

Lead-Pipe Locks:

Jerry Rice, WR - 1985-2000 San Francisco 49ers, 2001-04 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Seattle Seahawks; Emmitt Smith, RB - 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2003-04 Arizona Cardinals

In a word, duh. Smith is the NFL's all-time rushing leader and Rice is the NFL's all-time everything leader. Rice is also the second-best football player I've ever seen (Walter Payton is still #1). Plus, Emmitt's intermeduction speech will be exterifically nortable in its excubulelce.

The Should-Make-Its

Cris Carter, WR - 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins; Charles Haley, DE/LB - 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys; Art Modell, Owner - 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns, 1996-2003 Baltimore Ravens; Shannon Sharpe, TE - 1990-99, 2002-03 Denver Broncos, 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens; Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner - 1989-2006 National Football League

Carter should have made it in last year, and even with Rice going in and Sharpe pressing his case, a preponderance of pass-catchers won't get in his way. Excluding the guy who's third all-time in receptions, seventh all-time in receiving yards, and fourth in receiving touchdowns would be embarrassing at this point. Haley's key role in five Super Bowl championships should put him over the top. Clevelanders will be too busy trying to rescue their team from Eric Mangini to be overly offended by Modell's inclusion, and Modell was a key figure in the television and revenue sharing concerns that gave the NFL enough juice to get through the 1960s. Sharpe is the best and most productive eligible tight end, and Tagliabue is the kind of safe legacy pick that makes the voters very happy.

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Big news from the Twitter account of FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer -- Ben Roethlisberger(notes) will not play against the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday night. Glazer reports that Big Ben has been experiencing "exercise induced headaches", and the Steelers have shut him down. Roethlisberger was kneed in the head late in the Steelers' overtime loss to the Chiefs last Sunday, and Charlie Batch(notes) finished the game. But with Batch now out anywhere from two to six weeks with a broken left wrist, the starting spot will be taken by former Oregon option quarterback Dennis Dixon(notes). Selected by the Steelers in the fifth round in the 2008 draft, Dixon has thrown one NFL pass in his short career. He's received a lot of starting looks in practice, and the Steelers' predilection for shotgun formations and bunching their receivers in short clearout routes will play to Dixon's strengths to a degree.

However, the overall task -- beating the Baltimore Ravens on the road in the first of two crucial matchups against their divisional rivals -- will be a very tall order. Baltimore's defense isn't what it's been in previous years (especially the secondary), but head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged to the media this week that the offense will have to adjust. "I've been very pleased with Dennis's progress as a third quarterback," Tomlin said earlier this week when asked about Dixon possibly starting. "That's different, of course, than playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night television. No question that we would have to do some things to help him. If he plays in this game, and plays extensively in this game, we have to do some things schematically."

Perhaps the Steelers will try some of the counter option looks that Vince Young(notes) and the Tennessee Titans have used so effectively in the last month? With increased use of the shotgun formation and option plays in the last few years, the NFL seems prepared to meet quarterbacks like Dixon halfway in ways that would not have been possible before. Dixon flashed arm strength and accuracy at the college level and in pro workouts, but as Tomlin said, facing the Ravens is an entirely different matter. The Steelers beat the Ravens three times last season in closely-contested games, and both teams are in a fight for playoff contention. Baltimore will have a target on Dixon's back, and Dixon's teammates will have to make up the difference in experience and skill level without Roethlisberger in the picture.

When Tony Romo(notes) looked around his locker room after today's 24-7 win over the Raiders, he saw a lot of guys he could point to and say, "I am thankful for this guy, because he makes my job easier."

If Bruce Gradkowski(notes) said that about anyone in his locker room, he was just being nice.

The Raiders played hard this afternoon, and while it might be a stretch to say that they gave the Cowboys a game, they didn't embarrass themselves, either. The effort was there. What's not there, though, is the same level of talent enjoyed by most other NFL teams. It becomes especially clear when they play a team like the Cowboys who are loaded at the skill positions. It doesn't even look like the two teams are playing the same sport.

When Tony Romo drops back, he's got guys in front of him who can protect him from a pass rush. With the time that gives him, he's usually able to locate a receiver who has been able to get separation from the defense.

When Gradkowski drops back, he's got about two seconds before a defender crushes him. And if, somehow, he's able to get away from the rush, he'll be looking downfield for an inexperienced receiver who probably has not found a way to beat the coverage.

He's playing with such a high degree of difficulty. It's like he and Romo are both carpenters, and when Romo goes to work, he gets a hammer, a screwdriver, a drill, a saw and a tape measure. Gradkowski gets a ball of yarn and a breadstick.

I felt bad for the Raiders today. They're trying. Tom Cable has them playing hard, but they just don't have the horses. It's not Bruce Gradkowski's fault, and it wasn't entirely JaMarcus's Russell's fault, either. It's a bare cupboard. There are haves and have-nots in the NFL right now, and the Raiders demonstrated to all the haves today just how thankful they should be.

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels made a slight stir on Sunday when he engaged in some pre-game trash-talking with the Chargers defense. He said to a group of Chargers linebackers before the game, "We own you!" There was no word on what the Chargers might have said previously or in response, but mild-mannered choir boys, I'm sure they were not.

I didn't think much of it myself, but it's gotten the attention of a few people around the league. Among them is Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who sees McDaniels' actions as a punchable offense.

“Honestly, my thought on that is, I would like to petition Mr. (Roger) Goodell and say, if a coach can talk to me like that, I should be able to fight him,” Clark said. “I don’t know where he’s from, but where I’m from, when somebody talks to you like that, they’ve got a problem with you. And we should be able to fight.

“If a player talks that way, you get to hit him. When a coach talks that way, you don’t really get to strike back. Who wants to have verbal jabs with a coach? That’s no fun. Let’s fight.”

I'm going to go ahead and guess that at the next NFL owners' meetings, there will be no "Yeah, let's do something to get players and coaches involved in fistfights" resolution passed. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it myself, but it would seem to go against the grain for Roger Goodell.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck(notes) chimed in, too, saying that coaches have no right to say anything to the players.

Sensitive, sensitive. These guys are about to spend the next three hours listening to all types of verbal abuse, not to mention the physical threat of other gigantic men trying to hurt them. But they're worried about a little chirping from a coach? Seems odd.

The league isn't looking into it and won't do anything about it, so any trash-talking to players will remain up to the preference of the individual coach. McDaniels is the only coach I know if engaging in the practice.

As for players, if they don't like it, they'll just have to take it out on that coach's players. My recommendation would be to lay a good 32-3 beating on his team.

When you shoot as much game action and put as many microphones on as many players as NFL Films does, you're going to catch lightning in a bottle once in a while. So it was when Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford(notes) had the mic on when he led his team to a 38-37 win over the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. Of particular note: Stafford's resolve even when the Lions were down 24-3 in the first quarter; his relationship with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan; his wisecracking with Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers(notes), and his absolute determination to get back in the game after tackle C.J. Mosely absolutely crushed Stafford, causing a separated left (non-throwing) shoulder, on the pass play in which Hank Poteat's(notes) interference penalty gave the Lions one extra shot with no time left on the clock.

Stafford was aware enough to know that there was a time-out called by Browns coach Eric Mangini, and that he could go back in the game. From there, it was just about displaying his toughness, telling the trainers to "get the **** off me!"and throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew(notes) from the one-yard line. Stafford's "I can throw if you need me to throw" moment was special in a Kirk Gibson sense -- the kind of thing that can help a team get back on track after years of dismal results.

But enough of my yakkin' -- here it is. Six minutes of Matthew Stafford.

He was taken out of Toledo in the sixth round of the 2006 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he's played for several teams, and he was once released by the St. Louis Rams. Bruce Gradkowski(notes) is an unlikely name to take over for the first-overall pick in 2007, but that's exactly what he did when even the Oakland Raiders couldn't take JaMarcus Russell's(notes) abysmal play anymore. What did Gradkowski do with the opportunity of his first Oakland start last Sunday? He simply led the Raiders to a shocking 20-17 upset over the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals. His feature moment was an 80-yard touchdown drive late in the game, in which he showed the kind of mobility and leadership completely foreign to Russell since he game into the league. 17 of 34 for 184 yards and two touchdowns doesn't sound like anything but an average performance, but you have to consider the team -- for the Raiders, these stats signify significant improvement over what came before.

Gradkowski spent his last few days accepting congratulations from the likes of ex-Raiders quarterback Jeff Garcia(notes) (who he basically replaced at Russell's backup) and former coach Jon Gruden (who mentored Gradkowski in Tampa Bay and who, we're quite sure, gave him a snappy nickname at some point). Now, he faces another test in the Dallas Cowboys, who the Raiders will face today in the "middle child" of the NFL's Thanksgiving Triple Play. The strategy for Gradskowki is pretty simple -- roll out of the pocket to create throwing lanes and avoid the batted passes that come with his 6'1" frame, read Dallas' blitz concepts, and simply move on when Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes) drops five or more passes. Oakland's first-round pick this year continued to be a huge liability to the Raiders' offense -- he was targeted six times against the Bengals and caught only one pass.

The Cowboys can match Oakland in high-priced, underachieving receivers; Roy Williams has now mastered the art of smiling after his drops. In their last two games, the supposedly explosive Dallas offense has scored a grand total of 14 points. The most exciting aspect of this game might be the exploits of Oakland punter Shane Lechler(notes), who is channeling the preseason exploits of Titans punter A.J. Trepasso, the guy who hit the big screen at Cowboys Stadium when the Tennessee Titans played there.

"If that guy in Tennessee can hit it, I can hit it," Lechler said this week.

It's no secret that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) is taking sacks at a historic rate -- his 43 through 10 games puts him on pace for 69 for the season, and an outside shot at the all-time single-season record of 76, suffered by Houston's David Carr(notes) in 2002. The surprise is that with all those takedowns, Rodgers is still an efficient quarterback. Going into today's game with the Detroit Lions, Rodgers ranks fourth in the NFL with a 102.6 passer rating, and 15th in Football Outsiders' quarterback efficiency rankings. What's most amazing is that he's only given up two fumbles all season, and the Packers didn't lose either one of them.

Last time the Packers and Lions faced off, Green Bay came up on the top end of a 26-0 score on October 18. Rodgers took five sacks and still completed 29 passes in 37 attempts for 358 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions are trying to gain some measure of consistent competitiveness, but you have to wonder what Rodgers can do in the encore to a defense that made Brady Quinn(notes) look like Peyton Manning last week. Rodgers has gone sackless in a game only once this season -- against the Browns in Week 7, but the Packers made some adjustments to their pass protection last week against the 49ers (giving up only two sacks), and that could benefit Rodgers going forward. Gone were the repeated examples of Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy beating their heads against the same old seven-step drops, replaced by more short drops and quick strikes. The Packers have the personnel and the formation diversity to make an easier spread-style offense appealing, and that's an offense that Rodgers can run skillfully.

As for the Lions, they're just hoping to have NFC Offensive Player of the Week Matthew Stafford(notes) and Megatron of the Year Calvin Johnson(notes) in this game to match Green Bay's firepower, but as posting time, Stafford is doubtful and Johnson is questionable with what Eric Mangini would call "faked injuries" (a claim he has since redacted). Whoever plays quarterback for the Lions -- Stafford or backup Daunte Culpepper(notes) -- might be able to take advantage of a depleted Packers secondary, looking to replace cornerback Al Harris(notes) and sackmaster Aaron Kampman(notes). (UPDATE: Reports now indicate that Stafford will start). The odds still favor a Packers win at a sold-out Ford Field, but perhaps the Lions can build on their winning performance against Cleveland last week and give their long-suffering fans reason for thanks.

This is an update of a post that first appeared on Shutdown Corner in 2008.

The Detroit Lions playing on Thanksgiving is every bit the holiday tradition as the Macy's Day Parade, awkward dinner-time conversations and endless turkey leftovers. But the team's ineptitude has led to a growing call that  Detroit should have the Thanksgiving game stripped from its schedule in favor of a better matchup for the television-viewing audience. With the Lions entering this year's game sporting a 2-8 record on the heels of a winless 2008, the chorus has grown louder than ever. The NFL needs to ignore it. Detroit is the home of Thanksgiving football. Changing that would rob the league of one of it's best traditions.

Maybe it's my inner-Tevye, but tradition matters. There's something to be said for the fact that the Lions began the NFL Thanksgiving game in 1934. (The Cowboys didn't jump into the fray for another 32 years.) It started off as a promotional gimmick to draw interest to professional football which, at the time, lagged in popularity behind the college game. Since then, Thanksgiving football has been synonymous (for better or worse) with the Detroit Lions.

The game is still vastly popular in Detroit, selling out every year since 1992 in spite of the fact that the Lions have been pretty bad since then. They've had just seven winning seasons since 1973 and have only won one playoff win over that same stretch. (They are two games over .500 on Thanksgiving.) Even with all the football misery fans in Detroit have been subjected to, they still continue to support the Thanksgiving game. One gets the impression that Lions fans are very protective of this tradition and taking it away would cause a mini-revolt. Why alienate one loyal fan base just so you might get a better game?

And that's the reason the NFL would dump the Lions: to get a better match-up. But what are the odds that a match-up that looks good in April will be interesting come late-November? The Monday Night and Sunday Night schedules, which are supposed to feature marquee games, are littered with stinkers because teams under-perform from the previous year. It's impossible to gauge what will be a good game seven months out. (Although it wasn't hard to predict back then that putting the Raiders in a Thanksgiving game was going to be a disaster.)

Let's say Detroit had been booted from Thanksgiving this year, maybe the NFL would have put on Panthers-Jets instead; a contest which looked much better when the schedule was released. If the NFL could flex a game into the Thanksgiving spot, then maybe there'd be something to the argument of booting Detroit. But breaking a 75-year old tradition based on the hope that there might be a better game is senseless. Keep Thanksgiving football in Detroit, where it belongs.

Photo: Getty Images