INDIANAPOLIS -- Brad Scioli and Chad Bratzke don't expect Sunday's matchup at Houston to be just another game for Vic Fangio.
Even if Fangio, the Texans' defensive coordinator, is trying to keep quiet.
Fangio spent three seasons in Indianapolis trying to improve the Colts' defense and after a messy split during the offseason, Fangio now finds himself facing his ex-employer -- with something to prove.
"I think anybody who said no would be lying," Bratzke said. "I'm sure he wants to beat us a little more than everyone else, but that means there's something there for us, too."
Fangio joined the Colts in 1999 as the defensive coordinator.
Michael Conroy • The Associated Press
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning throws a pass over Miami Dolphins' Jason Taylor in the second quarter in Indianapolis Sunday. Manning threw for 289 yards as the Colts lost to the Dolphins, 21-13.
He arrived with a reputation as a builder of solid defenses, but that was sullied during his last two seasons in Indianapolis when the Colts' defensive ranking dropped into the bottom third of the league in 2000 and then plummeted to 29th last season.
As the Colts finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years, it was Fangio who took the blame.
Team president Bill Polian told then coach Jim Mora in early January that Fangio had to go. Polian believed Fangio's system was too complex for a team with six first-time starters.
Mora thought otherwise. He insisted the problem was not the system but that Fangio didn't have enough good players to make the system work. When Mora refused to get rid of Fangio, he was fired and Fangio wound up in Houston.
On Sunday, Fangio gets his first shot at the Texans' new division rival with a chance to save face.
"We enjoyed our time there. It was a great time," he said. "I enjoyed working for the Colts. Things just didn't work out, that's all."
While Fangio is downplaying the contest publicly, the Colts think their former coach wants to show Polian that his system still can be successful.
The Colts have some inclination of what to expect because they've practiced against Fangio's blitz packages and schemes for three seasons.
Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning also is concerned that Fangio knows some of the Colts' audibles and will prepare the Texans defense to take those adjustments away.
And Manning, from personal experience, expects Fangio to spend plenty of time working with David Carr, too.
"He can give a quarterback and offense a lot of trouble," Manning said. "I've always had a lot of respect for Vic and I was sorry to see him go."
Houston's defense, though, will be a little different.
The most noticeable change is that Fangio has reverted to the 3-4 defense that he ran in Carolina instead of the 4-3 he used in Indianapolis.
Then there is the cast.
In Indianapolis, Fangio had to rely on primarily young players who were still learning how to play in the NFL rather than veterans such as Gary Walker, Jamie Sharper and Aaron Glenn, whom the Texans selected in the expansion draft.
Armed with a stronger contingent, the Colts expect Fangio to take some chances -- and prove that his defenses can still be among the league's best.
"His defenses are complex with a lot of blitzes," Scioli said. "I think there will be some extra motivation there."
