NFL Monday Night Primer – Titans to Take Stranglehold on AFC South
If you had told me that Kerry Collins would be quarterbacking the league’s best team at the halfway mark of the season, I would’ve slapped you in the face, kicked you in the nuts and set your pants on fire (because that’s what you do to liars). But here we are staring at the Week 8 odds and lines with Collins at the helm of the Tennessee Titans, who are on the verge of an undefeated season. With a definitive win over the Colts, it will be nearly impossible for Indianapolis to wrestle the top spot in the AFC North from the reigning Titans.
Indianapolis Colts (3-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (6-0)
Monday, October 27th — Grass of LP Field, Tennessee — 8:30pm EST
NFL Betting Line: Tennessee -4 (40.5)
The Colts are supposed to be the survivors of the NFL, but if we’ve seen anything in the NFL it’s that the giants of years gone by are falling by the wayside. Baltimore, Indianapolis, New England and Cincinnati are just a few teams that have fallen off the radar as potential threats for the Superbowl throne. Indianapolis has been riddled by injuries with Peyton Manning confessing to multiple knee surgeries this off-season. On top of that, Joseph Addai is out along with safety Bob Sanders. Dwight Freeney hasn’t been hurt, but he’s been wildly ineffective in pressuring opposing quarterbacks this season.
So where does that leave us this Monday Night when the lights shine? Ladies and gentlemen, you’re staring straight in the face of a passing of the torch ceremony. The Titans rushing game is going to terrorize a Colts team that is absurdly useless against the rush with Bob Sanders on the shelf. The Titans average 153.8 yards per game on the ground, while the Colts give up just that on a weekly basis. Chris Johnson for Rookie of the Year is a mortal lock in our NFL futures.
-Indianapolis is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games
-Indianapolis is 11-2 SU in their last 13 games on the road
-Indianapolis is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Tennessee
-Tennessee is 5-0 SU, ATS in their last 5 games
-Tennessee is 2-8 SU in their last 10 against Indianapolis
-total has gone UNDER in 5-of-5 when Tennessee plays Indianapolis
Peyton Manning has had trouble finding his rhythm this year, pushing the Colts to a 244.8 passing yards average and a mere 21.3 points per game average. The Titans have been stuffing teams to 11.0 points against per game, which makes this game impossible for the Colts’ betting faithful. How are you going to reason to yourself that the Colts are going to wake up against a Titans team that will come up fired up at home?
The low OVER/UNDER in this game is tempting, but I don’t fully expect the Titans to keep Peyton flustered for the entire day. Look for Peyton to connect with Reggie Wayne for a score early on until the Titans put the clamps on the game by unleashing LenDale “Don’t Call Me Fat!” White and Chris Johnson all over this porous rushing defense.
The Colts simply don’t have the balance, nor the defense, to justify a bet on the Colts this weekend. While I expect Tennessee to drop one game this season, I don’t think it will be against Indianapolis. They have experienced far too much success flustering good Colts teams in the past. They’re going to fair much better against perhaps the worst Colts team we’ve seen in the last five years.
NFL Betting Free Pick: Tennessee -4 (OVER)
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