NFL picks: The Indianapolis Colts are definitely in preseason form as they are winless and have been alarmingly bad on offense, especially on the ground. The New Orleans Saints have been among the best offensive teams in the preseason so far and that has been the key ingredient to their 2-0 start but their defense has been awful so far in exhibition play after showing marked improvement in 2013. The Indianapolis Colts will host the New Orleans Saints at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night with coverage on CBS starting at 8 PM ET. BetDSI opened with the Colts as a 2.5 point favorite and with a total of 47.
Half a Team
The Saints are 2-0 both straight up and against the spread with both of their games going over the total. New Orleans is coming off a 31-24 home payout against the Tennessee Titans with the game soaring over the total of 43. The Saints rank 3rd overall in the NFL preseason for total offense and 5th for scoring offense but that is countered by a defense that ranks 31st overall and 25th for points allowed. Drew Brees is yet to throw a pass in preseason as Ryan Griffin has been outstanding with a 118.9 QB rating with a 3/0 TD/INT ratio. RB Mark Ingram leads the ball carriers with 102 yards and 7.8 yards per carry.
Colts Offense Corralled
The Colts are 0-2 straight up and 1-1 against the spread with an even 1-1 split on totals. The Colts rank 28th overall in the NFL preseason for total offense and an even worse 29th for rushing while ranking 6th for total defense. The Colts are coming off a 27-26 loss to the New York Giants as 1-point home favorites with the game going over the total of 42.5. One positive for the Colts has been the play of backup QB Matt Hasselbeck who has compiled a 109.5 QB rating with a 2/0 TD/INT ratio. Andrew Luck has been in good form and looks ready for the regular season with a 100.3 QB rating.
Our Pick
Both teams are getting strong QB play and have not been effective at keeping opponents off the scoreboard. We’ll use that as the rationale for taking this one over the total.
