Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian: Victory over Houston Sunday showed team's professionalism

Indianapolis Colts WR Pierre Garcon (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)

The Indianapolis Colts on Sunday for the fifth time in as many weeks overcame not only adversity, but a fourth-quarter halftime deficit before rallying for a victory.

Colts President Bill Polian said that can be attributed to one thing:

Professionalism.

The Colts, despite a slew of injuries throughout the season and a few slow starts in recent weeks, remained unbeaten with a 35-27 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit – and from a 17-0 deficit in the first half – for the victory.

“It's a tribute to all of our players that they have accepted that and they have stepped up and done what they had to do,” Polian said Monday on his weekly radio show on 97.1 Hank FM. “They're very professional.

“One of the things [Senior Offensive Coordinator] Tom Moore said [Monday] in our meeting was, 'We handled the adversity that came in that game [Monday] like true professionals.' We had a lot of young guys out there playing, but they played like professionals.

“That win, perhaps more than any other we've had this season, really belongs to them. That was a tired football team on the road in a situation where the other club was desperate. A lot went wrong – most of it our own doing – in the early part of the game, but we overcame it and came back and won the ballgame going away, which is very much to their credit. Very proud of them.”

Polian on Monday also discussed:

*The team's increased blitzing this season: “We did install in the offseason a new blitz package because we felt like the trends were leading that way, leading us that way. We felt that we needed to have a package whereby we could dictate some pressure other than from the front four in certain situations. Sometimes, we'll play man to man when we do it and other times we'll play zone. One play occurred in the first half [Sunday], a pass to [wide receiver] Andre Johnson, and we were in a zone in that situation. We just didn't get him covered in time. He's a tough cover, obviously, and a very great player. We feel like on balance it has been good to us. The blitz package was part of the situation that caused Tom Brady to throw that ball high, which we almost intercepted on third down prior to the famous fourth-down call in the New England game earlier this year. It has been quite successful for us. [Linebacker] Freddy Keiaho had a great blitz at the end of the game [Sunday] that really made it tough on them and made them use some clock, which we wanted to do. It has been good to us. They're going to make some plays on it. Any time you blitz there's a risk, but by and large, it has been good to us.”

*The Colts' long run of success: “The credit belongs to the players and coaches who ultimately have to go out there and perform every week and the organizational credit starts with [Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer] Jim Irsay, who is a phenomenal owner and who has given us everything we need – whether it be money to sign players, money to build a facility here thats second to none in the National Football League, the resources to keep our coaches, and the confidence in the organization to make sure that as we transition from Tony to Jim and eventually from me to [Vice President and General Manager] Chris [Polian] that we continue the core values that have made us successful. It starts with Jim, then goes throughout this building to everyone that works here. That's where the credit belongs. It's a privilege and a pleasure to work here, and I'm looking forward to being here for a little while yet.”

Reviewing Colts President Bill Polian's weekly radio show . . .

* Part One: Late-season rust and momentum "pure fantasy." Here.

* Part Two: QB Peyton Manning at high a level as ever. Here.

* Part Three: No problem with Dungy's Colts analysis on NBC. Here.

* Part Four: Victory over Houston Sunday showed team's professionalism. Here.

WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLTS? SUBSCRIBE TO JOHN OEHSER'S EXAMINER STORIES ABOVE

DOES PEYTON MANNING GET TOO MUCH RESPECT? HERE

MANNING: TOO EARLY TO TALK PLAYOFFS. HERE

POLIANS' CONTRACTS EXTENDED. HERE

REVIEWING BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW

Bill Polian’s Weekly Radio Show | Part One | “Peaking not an issue for us”

Bill Polian’s Weekly Radio Show | Part Two | Media and team in parallel worlds