The sports book makers can sometimes be a stubborn bunch. In justifying why the Indianapolis Colts are nine point favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL betting gurus may point to who the Chiefs beat to become 3-0 to this point in the season. But in picking this game it is not who the Chiefs have beaten that is important, it is who the Colts have lost to so far.Good teams are supposed to win the games they are expected to win. The Chiefs have beaten the San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers so far this season. With the exception of the Chargers, the Chiefs were expected to win these games if they wanted to show how much they have improved with the additions of running back Thomas Jones and wide receiver Chris Chambers.
The Colts have been a problem for the football betting experts as Peyton Manning and his crew cannot seem to win the games they need to win to stay on top in the AFC South. The Colts have lost two important divisional games so far this season. Their opening day loss to the Houston Texans and week four loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars could be setting a dangerous tone for the rest of the season for the Colts. Indianapolis could finish the season 10-6, but if all six loses are divisional then they may not make the playoffs.
At this point the Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0, and while this may surprise some people it should not be a big surprise to those that follow the league closely. The Chiefs biggest problems were on offense last season. With the addition of quarterback Matt Cassel two years ago and running back Thomas Jones in this most recent off-season, the Chiefs now have a way to stretch out the field against opposing defenses. It worked perfectly against the 49ers defense as the Chiefs went on to beat San Francisco 31-10.
The element people are forgetting is Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles and the wide receivers of the Chiefs. Charles ran for 97 yards against the 49ers, and he offers a one-two punch along with Jones that makes the opposing defense take notice.
Anyone involved with NFL predictions used to fear a motivated Peyton Manning. The Colts came into this season as the Northbet odds-on Super Bowl favorite because of their disappointment in Super Bowl XLIV and the motivation that would bring Manning. But the games are played on the field and not in the speculators score cards. The Colts defense is weak at secondary without the oft-injured Bob Sanders. Teams can throw against the Colts. The Colts offensive line is not what it used to be so teams can shut down the Colts running game as well.
It will take more than Peyton Manning to turn the Colts around this season. If the Colts defense cannot figure out how to stop the opposing team’s passing attack, the quarterbacks like Matt Cassel will continue to run up the score on the Colts and get Peyton Manning into situations where he will have to throw his way out of holes dug by the defense.
Pick: Indianapolis Colts 24-21
0 comments:
Post a Comment