Island Casino Monday Night football

It’s not often that the best game of the week is on Monday, but this is the case here.  The undefeated Indianapolis Colts look to keep their perfect record intact as they travel to Jacksonville to take on the surprising one loss Jaguars.  The Colts are actually being overlooked because of the dominating start from there arch rivals the New England Patriots, yet all they continue to do is win.  If you are just becoming a football fan now you would think the road to the Super Bowl goes through New England, but that isn’t the case.  The Colts are the defending Super Bowl champions, and they seem more then willing to challenge anyone who is looking to take away that title from them.

The Colts are still led by Peyton Manning and still have one of the best offenses in the league, putting up 164 points through five games.  Manning is completing just fewer than 70 percent of his passes.  He has passed for 10 touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions.  In the process he has also only been sacked two times, not bad for a quarterback who is considered immobile.  It also proves his offensive line has been doing a more than adequate job.  Running back Joseph Addai is also enjoying a full-time starter.  He is averaging 4.8 yards per carry on his 84 rushing attempts on the season.  He has also found the end zone five times.  A nice surprise has been back up running back Kenton Keith, who is averaging five yards per carry on 51 rushes, while scoring twice.  Reggie Wayne has been the main passing target.  He is averaging 13.2 yards per catch, and has found the end zone four times.  Tight end Dallas Clark has scored five times.

The Jaguars rank up there among the teams you didn’t expect to see with only one loss this season.  Quarterback David Gerrard has done a great job leading this team, making very few mistakes along the way.  While only passing for just over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns, he has zero interceptions to this point.  The running back by committee approach is also working for the Jaguars.  Maurice Jones-Drew, one of the biggest surprises last year, is starting to heat up.   On the season he is averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and has found the end zone three times.  The often injured Fred Taylor is looking healthier by the week, and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.  Even though he hasn’t found the end zone yet he is a welcome to this team when ever he can play.  Defensively the team has also improved.  Not one player really stands out, as they use a team approach to defense.  Five players on the team already have more than 20 tackles, leading the way is Sammy Knight with 36.

The Colts are a three point favorite heading into this one.  While Indianapolis doesn’t seem as prolific as the Patriots up until this point, they still are finding ways to win, and usually comfortably.  There are concerns about their defense, but just like last year they seem to be making big plays when it counts.  The Jaguars might have enough to neutralize the Colts offense for a half, but I think they will stall a little after that.  I think the Colts will be able to win this one by a touchdown or more.