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Colts Buccaneers Odds

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to host the Indianapolis Colts on ESPN’s Monday Night Football in Week 4. This one has certainly lost its luster considering Peyton Manning remains out with a neck injury. The Colts were scheduled for five primetime games this season with the thought that Manning was going to play. Indy will be looking for their first win of the season, while Tampa aims for a third straight victory. These teams have only met twice since Manning came into the league, with the Colts winning both times. Indy was victorious 38-35 on the road in 2003, and 33-14 at home in ‘07.

According to the Week 4 lines, Tampa Bay is a 10-point home favorite with a total set of 40.5 points.

Tampa Bay

The Buccaneers opened their season with a 20-27 home loss to Detroit Lions. After watching what Detroit has done thus far, it doesn’t seem like such a bad loss. Tampa has responded nicely, erasing a 20-3 deficit to beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-20 in Week 2, and topping the Atlanta Falcons 16-13 last week. Tampa held Atlanta to just 30 rushing yards on 15 attempts as their defense stole the show.

Tampa Bay (2-1) is led by QB Josh Freeman, who is completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 682 yards and two touchdowns to four interceptions. He threw two early picks last week against Atlanta, but had a solid game overall by completing 22 of 32 passes for 180 yards. He ranks seventh in the NFL in completion percentage, but must take better care of the football after accounting for six Tampa Bay turnovers through the first three weeks.

Mike Williams led the Bucs with 964 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 2010, but he’s been held to just 10 grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown this season. Freeman also needs to find a way to get the ball into his hands more. LeGarrette Blount rushed for 1,000 yards as a rookie last year, but like Williams, he’s off to a slow start as well. Blount has rushed 42 times for 167 yards and two scores. The Bucs rank 22nd in the league in total offense (315.0 yards/game) and 24th in total defense (384.7 yards/game).

Indianapolis

The Colts will be trying to avoid their first 0-4 start since 1998, which was Manning’s rookie year. After showing little in a 7-34 loss to Houston, and a 19-27 defeat at the hands of Cleveland, Indy (0-3) put together their best performance of the season last week. They played the Pittsburgh Steelers very tough, but still fell short 23-20 thanks to a Shaun Suisham 38-yard field goal with only 4 seconds to play.

Little has gone right for the Colts, who are 28th in scoring offense (15.3 points/game), 29th in total offense (254.0 yards/game) and 27th in passing (164.0 yards/game). Kerry Collins suffered a concussion against Pittsburgh and was knocked out of the game. Curtis Painter came in and went 5 of 11 for 60 yards with a lost fumble, but he also lead the Colts’ only TD drive. Their only scores before Painter came on a 47-yard fumble return by Jamaal Anderson, and two field goals from Adam Vinatieri.

Painter will make his first NFL start Monday against the Bucs. He should be an upgrade over Collins, who was completing just 49 percent of his passes and averaging under 5 yards per attempt with three lost fumbles before getting injured. The Colts have been getting solid production out of Joseph Addai and Reggie Wayne, though. Addia has rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown, while Wayne has caught 14 balls for 196 yards and a score.

The Colts have really needed their defense to step up, but it has been a disappointment thus far. Indy ranks 19th in total defense (365.0 yards/game) and 28th in scoring defense (28.0 points/game). Not helping matters is the fact that starting linebacker Gary Brackett and starting safety Melvin Bullitt have been placed on the injured reserve this week with shoulder injuries.

Betting Trends

The Colts are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. They have been great on the road under Manning in the past, going 14-6-2 ATS in their last 22 road games. They are also 13-3-2 ATS in their last 18 vs. a team with a winning record, and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Monday games. Indy owns a 9-2 record on Monday Night Football all-time.

The Bucs are just 5-16 ATS in their last 21 home games, and 0-3-2 ATS in their last 5 Monday night contests. Tampa is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a win, and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. a team with a losing record.

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