Shifting into reverse

New England came away with one touchdown in six trips inside the Texans' 20-yard line last Sunday and today are the owners of the second-worst red-zone offense in the league (Baltimore is last). In 35 possessions, the Patriots have come away with 12 touchdowns and 16 field goals, a success rate of 34.3 percent.

The problem, in coach Bill Belichick's estimation, is that not only is the Patriots' offense stopping when it should continue, it's shifting into reverse.

"What we can do better is not lose yardage," Belichick said yesterday. "You get down to the red area and get false starts and lose yardage in the running game and go from first and 10 to second and 12, or go from second and eight to third and 10, you just can't afford to lose yardage down there. That, more than anything else, would help us out. We have to eliminate those plays.

"It's hard enough to score when you're just moving forward. It doesn't have to be 10 yards every play, but when you start putting the negative plays in there and start getting into second- and third-and-long yards, it's hard. There's not enough space. It's too hard to throw the ball in there in long yardage. We've been in that situation too many times."

Lingering questions

The Patriots reported that Chris Akins (calf), Deion Branch (ankle), Troy Brown (hamstring), David Givens (hamstring), and Ted Washington (leg) did not practice yesterday. All are listed as questionable on the injury report. Tom Brady (arm) is again probable.

Indianapolis has 17 players on its injury report, including Marvin Harrison (probable, hamstring); Dallas Clark (probable, back); Marcus Pollard (questionable, knee), who has been inactive the past two games; Walt Harris (probable, knee/shoulder/toe); and Terrence Wilkins (probable, nose).

"Actually," Colts coach Tony Dungy said, "this is probably the best it has been in the last month."

Coachspeak

Belichick played the "coach's decision" card when asked about Rohan Davey's promotion to No. 2 quarterback for last week's game. The coach indicated that the depth chart change was not official. "That decision will be made week to week, as every decision is," he said. . . . Belichick on the Colts' offense: "They could throw 80 percent of the time in a formation, but if you give them a certain look, they're going to run the ball. A lot of it depends on what they see you're doing, what type of play they're going to call. Those tendencies and all that have a lot less meaning in a game like this than they would in some other games because so much of it is done at the line of scrimmage." . . . Matt Light will host a celebrity "Wrestling Bash in Boston" Monday at 8 p.m. at The Roxy in Boston. Net proceeds will benefit the Matt Light Foundation. Tickets are $25, $50, $100, and $500 and can be purchased at www.nextticketing.com or by calling 617-423-6398 . . . Misery has found its way into the New England locker room: Ohio State alumnus Mike Vrabel has to wear a Michigan jacket under the terms of the wager he made with Michigan alumnus Brady over last Saturday's game between the rival universities. . . . The players are off today.