Sportbet Sunday Football

It might seem odd, but there are more than a few people out there that think that the Colts having two losses by this point of the season is somewhat of a surprise.  On the other hand, those same people may seem it’s a shock that the Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves playing the Colts for first place in the AFC south.  The Colts unexpected loss came against the San Diego Chargers one week after giving up a fourth quarter lead against their rivals, the New England Patriots.  Maybe losing to the Chargers shouldn’t be such a shock, despite San Diego sliding down this year, but it was the way they lost.  It featured a number you will most likely ever seen again: Peyton Manning: 6 interceptions.  Because of that stat Manning’s numbers look a little low this year (19 TD’s, 12 Int’s) but he is still on pace to throw for over 4000 yards, generally a benchmark of a good season.  However, his 89 passer rating is five points below his career average, and even more below the rating he has had the last few seasons.  Because of that, the Colts will actually have important games down the stretch, something they haven’t been used to since they began to dominate the AFC south a few years ago.

When healthy, David Garrard is showing he is a more than formidable NFL quarterback.  In his eight starts he has generated a 6-2 record while compiling a quarterback rating of over 103, a stat comparable to other top quarterbacks like Tony Romo and his opponent this week, Peyton Manning.  While he has only thrown nine touchdowns this year he has thrown no interceptions in his 209 passing attempts, an amazing stat in the NFL.  His goal on the team seems to be to limit mistakes while handing off to one of the best running back duos of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.  Fred Taylor has ran for over 700 yards with two touchdowns, while Jones-Drew has found the end zone seven times while running for a little under 600 yards.  Both running backs are averaging over 4.5 yards per carry, a stat that will win your team a lot of ball games.  Neither player is really considered the featured back, but Fred Talyor is enjoying one of his best years in a while because of past injury problems.  The undersized Jones-Drew is a very exciting player to watch.  He has also gained a reputation for his blocking skills, despite being undersized in every which way. 

With Indy being a bit undermanned due to injury, this could be a close ball game.  However, it is very hard for me to go against Manning in his home stadium.  I believe the Colts will take this one by a slim margin, something like 27-24.  That’s if Adam Vinatieri can start knocking down some field goals.