WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Notes, Quotes

The Sports Xchange

December 06, 2018 at 1:12 am.

–Quarterback Andrew Luck, who attended Stratford High School just west of Houston, said his grandparents as well as aunts and uncles still live down there. He recalled attending Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium, since renamed NRG Stadium. His current Colts kicker, Adam Vinatieri, made the game-winning field goal for New England. “Yeah, it’s always fun to go back to Houston,” Luck said. “Obviously I spent most of my formative years there and have really, really great memories. I remember going to Texans games. I remember my dad (Oliver) taking me to the Super Bowl to see Adam Vinatieri kick a game-winner when it was in what was known as Reliant (Stadium) back then. So (it’s) always fun.”

–Center Ryan Kelly (knee) is still considered day-to-day and missed his seventh consecutive practice on Wednesday, which suggests he will be sidelined for his third consecutive start. “He’s doing great, making progress,” Reich said. “Just still in that monitoring every day. Want to be smart, want to get him back as soon as we can, but we still want to be smart about it.” Evan Boehm has made the last two starts. When Kelly anchored the line, the Colts didn’t allow Luck to be sacked in five consecutive games and 239 pass attempts. Luck has been sacked four times in the past two games, including three at Jacksonville.

–NFL tackle leader Darius Leonard acknowledges shadowing shifty Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is a key. “He makes a lot of plays with his legs,” the rookie linebacker said of Watson. “He extends a lot of plays, so if we keep him in the well, I think we’ll be alright.” He added, “We want to try to make them one-dimensional and try to make Deshaun beat us with his arm.” Leonard’s 122 total tackles are 16 more than the league’s next player.

–Defensive tackle Denico Autry enjoyed a career-best three sacks and two forced fumbles on Sunday, but the fact that it came in a loss was disconcerting. “Yes, sir, it was a career day,” Autry said. “Yeah, it’s humbling, but you have those games. I’ll just try to go back to the drawing board and do it again.” Signed as a free agent to a three-year, $17.8 million contract in March, Autry has already set a new career season best with six sacks, which ties Leonard for the team lead. And that’s despite missing four games due to injuries.

–Texans All-Pro pass rusher J.J. Watt has one thing in common with Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Neither have much to say about being considered front-runners for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Luck said last week after being named AFC Offensive Player of the Week that he doesn’t think much about awards and that any honor is positive because it suggests the team is doing well. Luck missed all of 2017 due to shoulder surgery. Watt was lost after five games to a left leg fracture. Watt was quite candid on a Wednesday conference call when asked about being mentioned with Luck for the award. “It doesn’t matter a whole lot to me,” Watt said. “There are a lot of deserving guys out there. It doesn’t really matter to me. I am just focused on winning games.”

BY THE NUMBERS: 95.8 – Average receiving yards for T.Y. Hilton in 13 games against Houston. He caught four passes for 115 yards but exited early with chest/hamstring injuries in the 37-34 home overtime loss to the Texans on Sept. 30. One of his best NFL games came in 2014 at Houston, when Hilton had nine receptions for 223 yards and one TD. The four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, who is averaging 108.5 yards receiving in his last four starts, has 67 career catches for 1,246 yards and nine TDs against Houston.