Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans Preview

NFL Football Betting Preview
Indianapolis Colts (4-0) at Tennessee Titans (0-4)
Sunday October 11th, 8:20PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – Colts -4, 46 O/U

Opposite ends of the AFC South get their taste of their center stage this Sunday night. The Colts offense has come out firing behind Peyton Manning and sports the NFL’s best offense with an untainted record of 4-0. The Titans were expected to challenge for the division title and in many causes were the favorites in the division this season. After a big 2008 season that resulting in a 10-0 perfect start, the Titans have failed to tally a mark in the wins column.

Tennessee is also coming off an embarrassing performance against Jacksonville last week. The Titans entered the game as 4 point favorites and punched in the mouth early while trailing 27-3 at the half. There has been no bigger letdown team in the league so far this season than the Titans, but they could possibly redeem their horrific start if they could capture an upset win over possibly the best team in the AFC this Sunday night.

Manning has thrown over 300 yards in every contest this season as he leads the league with 1,336 passing yards this season averaging an incredible 334 yards per game. The Colts quarterback has been absolutely astonishing leading the Colts to 414 yards per game. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark have proved they can carry the weight for the receiving core. Wayne leads the team with 399 receiving yards while Clark follows close behind with 364 additional yards.

Both wide outs have combined for 5 touchdowns and we expect those numbers will increase when the lethal passing attack lines up with a Titans secondary that ranks next to last allowing 282 yards per game. The Colts have not had much success as liked all the ground, but in all honesty Manning has been too successful to worry about the running game thus far this season. Expect another big passing performance from the Colts air assault as they attempt to move to 5-0.

The question is will the Titans offense be able to keep pace with the Colts. Tennessee is averaging just 18.75 points per game this season and those numbers would be a lot lower if not for posting 31 in a loss to Houston. One reason for the disappointing opening month comes from the defense. The Titans defense was ranked as the 2nd best scoring defense last year holding opponents to just 14.6 points per game, but are allowing over 27 points per game in 2009. The offense is not going to have much of a chance if the defense continues to allow those types of numbers.

The Titans offense was not very powerful in 2008. However, the Titans did run the ball well and play good defense. Running back Chris Johnson has held up his end of the bargain rushing for 434 yards which leads the NFL. Johnson has been sporty averaging 6.3 yards per carry on the ground, but the running game has only produced 4 touchdowns as a team on the ground. The chains have been moving, but the points have not reflected the motion. Either the defense will have to get back to form, or the Titans playbook is going to happen to open up giving the opportunity for some big plays.

The Colts defense on the other hand has played very well especially in the secondary. Indianapolis is allowing just 15.5 points per game. However, it will be the run stop unit that faces the challenge this week. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis should help the matter. Freeney and Mathis rank respectively 4th and 5th this season in the NFL in sacks. The two playmakers have combined for 9.5 of the Colts 12 sacks this season. If that type of pressure continues, that could be bad new for Titans quarterback Kerry Collins who ranks 2nd in the NFL with a disappointing 6 picks already this season. Look for the Colts defense to be pumped in on the big stage and rack up some sacks. How Collins will handle the pressure remains to be determined.

Pick – Titans will give their best effort, but it still will not be enough. However with the inspired play and better performance from the Titans defense, the scoring will occur less often. Take the Under 46