Colts Still Kings Of AFC South

NFL betting enthusiasts will be quick to blame Karma for the Indianapolis Colts’ 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV last year, and their argument is simple. With a record of 14-0, first-year head coach Jim Caldwell and his staff decided to ignore a chance to chase history and sit their starters for most of the final two weeks of the season, a move that wound up costing the team the final two contests. The decision was made despite several players clearly wanting to finish what they had worked so hard for, and despite making it all the way to the Super Bowl healthy-the ultimate goal, it wasn’t enough to beat the upstart Saints. In the past, Super Bowl runner ups have had a difficult time making it back to the playoffs the following season, however if any team can reverse that trend it’s the Colts. Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and the explosive offense return fully intact and with another year experience together, while the defense always seems to show up when it counts the most. In a division that has featured little in the way of contenders other than Indianapolis, as illustrated by their win totals of 14, 12, 13, 12, 14 over the past five years, the Colts remain the projected sports online bet top dog.

The front-runners to challenge the Colts are the Houston Texans, who after consecutive eight-win seasons finally got over the hump and finished with a winning record in 2009-10. Buoyed by the NFL’s number-one ranked passing attack, the Texans won four straight games to close out the regular season just outside of a Wild Card spot, which came on the heels of four straight losses that knocked them out of contention. Those losses all came against divisional opponents, including two against the Colts. Choosing to keep their core nucleus together for this season, and adding a couple of key players on both sides of the ball through the draft in running back Ben Tate and cornerback Kareem Jackson, the pressure will be on Houston to continue to improve.

Despite starting off their season 0-6, the Tennessee Titans almost ended up with a Wild Card spot by winning eight of their final 10 betting games to close out the regular season. The elevation of quarterback Vince Young to the starting position provided the offense with a spark, and the Titans improved dramatically as the season progressed, losing only to Indianapolis and San Diego after week six. The losses of a couple of key leaders in center Kevin Mawae and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch will have to be addressed, but the Titans could be a contender if they are able to build on their end to last season.

Rounding out the AFC South is the Jacksonville Jaguars, the only team in the division to finish with a losing record last season. The Jaguars added some key pieces on defense in NCAA college football betting star defensive tackle Tyson Alualu and defensive end Aaron Kampman, but with no additions to an offense that ranked 18^th overall a year ago, it will be hard for Jacksonville to contend in 2010-11.