Hi guys, Very nice <B>7-3-1(+12.9*'s)</B> day yesterday which could have easily been 10-1. Pushed with KC after having a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter and had a very tough drop on 3rd down which would have kept a drve alive in OT right before the blocked punt, JAX was inside the 20 THREE times without scoring a point and outgained Baltimore by 130 yards and we lose by the hook in the AZ game and by 1.5 points on Bears total. Hell, come to think of it, we could have easily swept the board.
I like the side and total tonight:
<B>4* INDY(+4.5) AND 3* OVER(46)</B> I see a LOT of people on Pittsburgh here, but we won't be. Both teams have weaknesses on defense that the other team can exploit, but I think the Colts have the better weapons to exploit with and their defense is actually statistically better than Pittsburgh's to this point in the season. The overriding factors in the selection of the Colts are the intangibles. <b>1) Special Teams</b> is a big edge for the Colts and has been the most drastic improvement in this team since Dungy arrived. They are ranked #1 in the league in net punting behind Hunter Smith at 42.3 as compared to Pittsburgh's net of 33.6 which ranks 26th. When you add in that Walters is ranked 5th in the league at 11.5 per return among guys with at least 10 returns compared to Randle El's 6.1 average, the Colts have nearly a 15 yard edge in the punting game which is HUGE. The Colts also have the advantage in the FG department as Vanderjagt is the #1 kicker all-time in FG accuracy while Peterson has already missed 3 attempts inside 40 yards this season. The Colts rate the edge in Kickoff coverage as well as Peterson is having a problem getting the ball deep. His average kickoff is reaching the opponents 14 yard line and then the Steelers are allowing a 25.6 yard average per return for an average start position of the 40 yard line!! The Colts opponent average start on kickoff coverage is the 29, so another 11 yard advantage. <b>2) Turnovers</b> The Colts are a +3 on the season and the Steelers are -7 as Maddox and Stewart have combined for more INT's(9) than TD's(8) and the Steelers have also fumbled 11 times and lost 7 of them. <b>3) Penalties</b> The Colts have been penalized just 235 yards on offense(3rd in the league) while the Steeler offense comes in at 344 yards(14th). <b>4)Third down defense</b> The Colts are 9th in the league allowing 35% of opponents third downs to be converted while Pittsburgh is allowing a whopping 48.7% which ranks 26th in the league. <b>5) Pass protection</b> Manning has been sacked only 9 times in 178 attempts or roughly 1 in every 20, while Maddox has already been sacked 6 times in just 78 attempts or 1 in every 13. The Colts are still not one of the top pass rushing teams in the league, but have improved over a season ago. Both teams will move the ball and score tonight as the Colts will exploit the 22nd ranked pass defense of the Steelers and the Steelers will run the ball on the Colts. Colts have the advantage everywhere else in my opinion and will keep it tight and likely win outright someting like 28-24.
Good luck all......Bookie
I like the side and total tonight:
<B>4* INDY(+4.5) AND 3* OVER(46)</B> I see a LOT of people on Pittsburgh here, but we won't be. Both teams have weaknesses on defense that the other team can exploit, but I think the Colts have the better weapons to exploit with and their defense is actually statistically better than Pittsburgh's to this point in the season. The overriding factors in the selection of the Colts are the intangibles. <b>1) Special Teams</b> is a big edge for the Colts and has been the most drastic improvement in this team since Dungy arrived. They are ranked #1 in the league in net punting behind Hunter Smith at 42.3 as compared to Pittsburgh's net of 33.6 which ranks 26th. When you add in that Walters is ranked 5th in the league at 11.5 per return among guys with at least 10 returns compared to Randle El's 6.1 average, the Colts have nearly a 15 yard edge in the punting game which is HUGE. The Colts also have the advantage in the FG department as Vanderjagt is the #1 kicker all-time in FG accuracy while Peterson has already missed 3 attempts inside 40 yards this season. The Colts rate the edge in Kickoff coverage as well as Peterson is having a problem getting the ball deep. His average kickoff is reaching the opponents 14 yard line and then the Steelers are allowing a 25.6 yard average per return for an average start position of the 40 yard line!! The Colts opponent average start on kickoff coverage is the 29, so another 11 yard advantage. <b>2) Turnovers</b> The Colts are a +3 on the season and the Steelers are -7 as Maddox and Stewart have combined for more INT's(9) than TD's(8) and the Steelers have also fumbled 11 times and lost 7 of them. <b>3) Penalties</b> The Colts have been penalized just 235 yards on offense(3rd in the league) while the Steeler offense comes in at 344 yards(14th). <b>4)Third down defense</b> The Colts are 9th in the league allowing 35% of opponents third downs to be converted while Pittsburgh is allowing a whopping 48.7% which ranks 26th in the league. <b>5) Pass protection</b> Manning has been sacked only 9 times in 178 attempts or roughly 1 in every 20, while Maddox has already been sacked 6 times in just 78 attempts or 1 in every 13. The Colts are still not one of the top pass rushing teams in the league, but have improved over a season ago. Both teams will move the ball and score tonight as the Colts will exploit the 22nd ranked pass defense of the Steelers and the Steelers will run the ball on the Colts. Colts have the advantage everywhere else in my opinion and will keep it tight and likely win outright someting like 28-24.
Good luck all......Bookie
......I see alot of Pitt here....but the Indy betters will be postiong soon
