Run-defense blues

My latest Colts' story touched on the Colts' inability to stop the running game of the New York Giants in their opening-night win, which I also wrote about in my game column from Monday. Allowing 6.6 yards per carry clearly is unacceptable. But there may not be reason to panic yet.

For starters, the Colts continue to wait for Corey Simon to return to health and add that run-stopping presence that he was hired to accomplish. And, it's important to remember that Tiki Barber remains one of the Top 5 running backs in the league. He broke his own franchise record last season with 2,390 total yards, the second-highest total in NFL history. This wasn't some journeyman the Colts were having trouble tackling.

If it continues this week against the Texans, then the concern levels can be raised to high alert.