St. Louis at Indianapolis Preview
Atssportsline.com
St. Louis at Indianapolis
St. Louis meets Indianapolis on Sunday from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 1:30pmET. St. Louis defeated Indy last year, 33-10 laying 7 at home.
The Rams are coming off a 2-14 SU season, they were 3-12-1 ATS and 5-9-2 Under. Last year, they went 3-1 ATS in the preseason. First-year coach Jeff Fisher (Tenn.) is 32-30 SU, 32-29-3 ATS and 33-29-2 Over in preseason. Indianapolis is coming off a 2-14 SU season, and they were 6-10 ATS and 7-9 Under. Last year, they went 2-2 ATS in the preseason. Chuck Pagano in his his first year as head coach.
The game is beyond played in a dome.
The Rams are coming off a terrible season but the future is bright under new head coach Jeff Fisher. They traded their second pick of the draft to move down and take LSU DT Michael Brockers. They also acquired multiple first and second rounders from Washington. QB Sam Bradford, who was hampered by an ankle injury last year, needs some help as the Rams drafted WR Brian Quick from Appalachian State and WR Chris Givens from Wake Forest. But that's still a question mark and might not be enough to improve the 30th-ranked passing offense. On defense, Brockers will help their awful run defense (151ypg, 31st). They also added free agent DT Kendall Langford and CB Cortland Finnegan, who played for Fisher in Tennessee. The Colts are rebuilding after a two-win season. Rookie QB Andrew Luck takes over for Peyton Manning. Very big shoes to fill. Luck has some of the same attributes Manning did have and he's a much better athlete. At receiver, they added Donnie Avery and re-signed Reggie Wayne. They also drafted Luck's teammate TE Coby Fleener, to replace Dallas Clark. WR T.Y. Hilton should add a playmaker at WR and KR. The defense allowed 143.9ypg on the ground. Pagano is a 3-4 guy so the Colts have to adapt to a new scheme. DE Cory Redding and S Tom Zbikowski come over from Baltimore to add some experience and toughness.
St. Louis opens with Bradford, followed by Kellen Clemens, Tom Brandstater if there's time, Austin Davis. Indy starts Andrew Luck (who may go the first quarter), followed by Drew Stanton and rookie Chandler Harnish.
The Rams' key injuries include: none. Colts: G Ben Ijalana (ACL) is out for the year.
Preseason Trends:
The Rams are 3-12 ATS.
The Rams are 1-7 ATS away.
The Rams are 3-10 ATS as the underdog.
The Rams are 1-7 ATS as an away underdog.
The Rams are 1-6 ATS in Week 1.
The Colts are 5-1 Over in Week 1.
The Colts are 3-10 ATS in Week 1.
QB Rotations:
St. Louis
Sam Bradford
Kellen Clemens
Tom Brandstater
Austin Davis (R)
Indianapolis
Andrew Luck (R)
Drew Stanton
Chandler Harnish (R)
NFL Preseason Logs Last 6 Years
St. Louis
2006 Results
Indianapolis L -5 19-17 u38’
Houston L -3 20-27 o37’ at Kansas City L +3’ 12-16 u39’
at Miami L +3 9-29 o35’
2007 Results
at Minnesota W +1’ 13-10 u35’
San Diego L +2’ 13-30 o38
at Oakland L -1 10-20 u37’
Kansas City W -3 10-3 u36’
2008 Results
at Tennessee L +3 13-34 o33
SAN DIEGO L -3' 7-6 u37
BALT. W -1 24-10 u34'
at Kansas City W +4' 17-21 o34
2009 Results
at NY Jets W +3 23-20 o32’
ATLANTA L +2’ 13-20 u36
at Cincinnati W +2’ 24-21 o34
KANSAS CITY W -1 17-9 u36
2010 Results
MINNESOTA L -2’ 7-28 o31’
at Cleveland W +4 19-17 o35’
at New England W +8 36-35 o38
BALTIMORE W -3 27-21 o38
2011 Results
INDIANAPOLIS W -7 33-10 o33’
TENNESSEE L -3’ 17-16 u37
at Kansas City W -2 14-10 u35
at Jacksonville W +3 24-17 o37’
Indianapolis
2006 Results
at St. Louis W +5 17-19 u38’
Seattle L -2’ 17-30 o38’
at New Orleans W -3’ 27-14 u42
(at Jackson, MS)
Cincinnati L +3 3-20 u40
2007 Results
at Dallas L +5 10-23 u34
Chicago L +2 24-27 o36’
Detroit W -6’ 37-10 o40
at Cincinnati L +4’ 6-14 u40
2008 Results
Washington L +4' 16-30 o31'
(at Canton, OH)
at Carolina(OT) W +4 20-23 o35'
at Atlanta W +3 16-9 u38
BUFFALO L -5' 7-20 u37'
CINCINNATI L -3 7-27 u34'
2009 Results
MINNESOTA L +3 3-13 u36
PHILADELPHIA W +3 23-15 o36’
at Detroit L -3 17-18 u40
at Cincinnati L +3’ 7-38 o36’
2010 Results
SAN FRANCISCO L +3’ 17-37 o33
$Buffalo L +3’ 21-34 o34
at Green Bay L +4 24-59 o44’
CINCINNATI L +6’ 28-30 o36’
$-Toronto
2011 Results
at St. Louis L +7 10-33 o33’
WASHINGTON L +5 3-16 u36
GREEN BAY W +9’ 21-24 o38’
at Cincinnati W +3’ 17-13 u35’
What Bettors Need to Know: Rams at Colts
By Covers.com
St. Louis Rams at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5, 34)
Most eyes will be on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, the top overall pick in April’s draft. The Stanford standout is expected to be given 20 to 25 plays in the preseason opener, according to offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.
Luck replaces Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and his preseason NFL debut is the main reason NFL Network has decided to televise the game nationally.
The Rams went 4-0 in the preseason last year before a 2-14 regular season. New head coach Jeff Fisher takes the warm-up games seriously, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“What you want to do through the preseason is not give up a lot of points, keep the penalties down – keep them way down – protect the football, block and tackle and execute and let the score take care of itself,” Fisher said earlier this week.
He also announced that many of his starters, including running back Steven Jackson and quarterback Sam Bradford, will only partake in “12 to 20 plays” on Sunday.