• This call is tricky for Kubiak

  • By John Clayton | November 5, 2009 2:43:26 PM PST
Houston head coach Gary Kubiak faces a delicate decision at running back this weekend against the Colts. Should he start Ryan Moats or Steve Slaton? Slaton was benched in Week 8 after a fumble. Plus, he has struggled much of this season. The problem facing Kubiak, though, is changing the balance of the passing game if Slaton gets less playing time. The Texans lead the NFL in yards after catch with 1,087, 49 yards ahead of the Colts, who are second. Yards after catch and passing accuracy have allowed Matt Schaub to lead the NFL with 2,342 passing yards. Houston lost tight end Owen Daniels for the season with a knee injury. He ranked 11th in the league with 215 yards after the catch. Slaton is the league's No. 2 player for YAC with 321 yards. You'd have to figure that if Moats starts, Slaton will still be on the field in passing situations. Kubiak can't change too many of the things that allowed this team to get off to a 5-3 start, best in franchise history. Owens update: For what it's worth, Terrell Owens leads the league in dropped passes with nine, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That's surprising because he has been targeted only 50 times and has 23 receptions. The good news for the Bills is that he hasn't caused one problem in the locker room for the first half of the season. Packers' O-line juggling: Even though Packers general manager Ted Thompson has tried to restock the offensive line with middle-round draft choices, the Packers must go back to the veterans to salvage a season in which they've allowed 31 sacks. They appear to be set to go back to the reliable trio of Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher and Scott Wells this week. Jason Spitz's back is still aching and he probably won't play this week at center. Clifton has been out since the first half of the Oct. 5 game against the Vikings and is ready to return now that his ankle is healed. Moving Daryn Colledge from guard to tackle didn't work. Colledge has given up 5½ sacks this season. Rookie T.J. Lang has given up 4½ sacks in the limited time he has played. Allen Barbre has allowed seven sacks at right tackle. Woes for Jaguars: The numbers are getting scary in Jacksonville. The Jaguars have announced that their Sunday game against the Chiefs will be blacked out, the fourth blackout of the season. There are reports that attendance could be below 42,000. What makes things even sadder is that a Jaguars win would put them at 4-4, much higher than anyone expected in what was considered a rebuilding year. For more on the Jaguars' attendance woes, check out ESPN.com colleague Greg Garber's story.

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