I am passing on this game, but if anyone wants what I got out of handicapping, here are some key things I have come across. Good luck.
-Cowher is 9-0 at home on Monday nights. I am not especially sure how much stock to put into that because every year is so different in the NFL, but he does have a great home record in these nationally televised games.
-Manning is 2-1 on Monday night, with the lone loss being that great game I went to last year in Miami. Oh, what a beating. Anyway, in his first Monday nighter Manning set a career high in passing yards against the Jags, but that was at home.
-Indy is not defending the run at all. In their last two games both Dillon and Lewis have put up very strong numbers on the ground, especially Dillon is helping Cincy comes back from being down big early.
-After a slow start, Bettis has looked great the last two weeks against New Orleans and Cincy. Not coincidentally, that is the time that Maddux has been installed as the starter. When you combine that with Indy's struggles to stop the run, you can see why I leaned towards Pittsburgh.
-Terry Bradshaw will be honored during tonight's game. Generally I have found that teams honoring ex-players tend to have disappoining MNF performances, as John Elway, Dan Marino and Dick Butkus are three examples that come to mind immediately. I am sure there are probably some examples that show the opposite effect, but I think with all the hype surrounding a MNF game, sometimes these ceremonies take more away from the home team than they add.
-Tony Dungy has a 4-2 MNF record and he returns again to the city where he started in the NFL as a player. Dungy did lose last year in Pittsburgh with the Bucs, though.
-Maddux has been intercepted at least once in each of his last three games.
-Cowher is 9-0 at home on Monday nights. I am not especially sure how much stock to put into that because every year is so different in the NFL, but he does have a great home record in these nationally televised games.
-Manning is 2-1 on Monday night, with the lone loss being that great game I went to last year in Miami. Oh, what a beating. Anyway, in his first Monday nighter Manning set a career high in passing yards against the Jags, but that was at home.
-Indy is not defending the run at all. In their last two games both Dillon and Lewis have put up very strong numbers on the ground, especially Dillon is helping Cincy comes back from being down big early.
-After a slow start, Bettis has looked great the last two weeks against New Orleans and Cincy. Not coincidentally, that is the time that Maddux has been installed as the starter. When you combine that with Indy's struggles to stop the run, you can see why I leaned towards Pittsburgh.
-Terry Bradshaw will be honored during tonight's game. Generally I have found that teams honoring ex-players tend to have disappoining MNF performances, as John Elway, Dan Marino and Dick Butkus are three examples that come to mind immediately. I am sure there are probably some examples that show the opposite effect, but I think with all the hype surrounding a MNF game, sometimes these ceremonies take more away from the home team than they add.
-Tony Dungy has a 4-2 MNF record and he returns again to the city where he started in the NFL as a player. Dungy did lose last year in Pittsburgh with the Bucs, though.
-Maddux has been intercepted at least once in each of his last three games.
