Colts find cure for Super Bowl hangover -- get better

Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden bring a more physical approach to the secondary than did David and Harper. It makes for a young group back there with Sanders, now in his fourth year, the oldest of the group.

"It is kind of weird to look around and see all the young guys, but I like it," Sanders said. "They're hungry. To see those guys making plays gets me excited for what we can do as a group."

The defense held the Texans to 254 yards and only 40 yards rushing. Jackson led all tacklers with 15, 12 solo tackles, and Hayden had three tackles. Freddie Keiaho, who brings more punch than June did, had five tackles.

"We used all that talk that we couldn't do the job as motivation," Hayden said. "People don't know what we can do. So let them talk about how there will be a drop-off. We knew better."

The defense is certainly better than it was during the regular season in 2006. Who can forget the images of teams rushing the ball at will against the Colts? It was almost sad when Jacksonville rushed for 375 in a late-season victory. That's not happening to this team, which tackles much better.

But it's not just the defense that makes the Colts better. The scary thing is the offense is even better than last season.

Here are three reasons why:

• Joseph Addai is now the featured back, which doesn't mean sharing carries with Dominic Rhodes. He ran for 72 yards and scored two touchdowns against the Texans.

• They have a slot receiver. The Colts played all of last season without a slot receiver when Brandon Stokley was lost due to injury. Rookie first-round pick Anthony Gonzalez now provides a nice option in the middle of the field.

Gonzalez dropped two passes against the Texans, but he gets open. He did catch two passes for 39 yards.

"We tell them guys it's not OK to play like a rookie," Manning said. "We tell them to play like a 10-year veteran. It's not fair to those guys. So far, they've answered the bell."

• Manning is better than ever. As crazy as that might sound, it's true. Yes, he's better than the season in which he tossed 49 touchdown passes. In three games, Manning has completed 66 of 101 passes for five touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating is at 104.5 for the season and he had a 110.3 passer rating against the Texans.

The best stat form the first three games is that Manning has been sacked three times, including once by the Texans -- and that was a coverage sack. That's of note since Glenn retired before the season and forced rookie Tony Ugoh in as the starter.

In his battle with Mario Williams on Sunday, Ugoh held the top pick in the 2006 draft to two tackles and no sacks.

"I think I held my own," Ugoh said.

But doing that, and being a rookie starter, didn't mean it got him out of going to the shower and getting towels for the rest of the linemen after the game. As Ugoh walked through their area with a pile of towels, it was clear that he was still a rookie off the field.

On it, he's one of several key replacements for the Super Bowl champs. It's the talents of those players that make this Colts team even better than a year ago.

Hangover?

Don't even think about it.