Colts’ 2016 Season Win Total Pick
After finishing 8-8 a year ago, will the Indianapolis Colts rebound to win at least two more games in 2016?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the over/under has been set at 9.5 for the number of wins that the Colts will produce this upcoming season. The Colts are also 18/1 to win Super Bowl 51, are 9/1 to win the AFC Conference Championship and are favored at +140 odds to win the AFC South Division.
A Look Back
After compiling an 11-5 record and falling to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game in 2014, the Colts took a significant step backwards in 2015. The Colts finished with an 8-8 record while failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and only the fourth time since 1998. Following a Week 8 loss to the Panthers, the team fired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and promoted associate head coach Rob Chudzinski to offensive play-caller. Due to a shoulder injury suffered in Week 3, Andrew Luck missed the first game of his career and was replaced by 40-year-old signal-caller Matt Hasselback. Two days after beating Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Week 9, Luck was also hospitalized with a lacerated kidney along with an abdominal injury, effectively ending his season.
A Look Ahead
Luck is healthy again and has a new center in Ryan Kelly, whom the team selected with their first-round pick in April’s draft. Gone is Coby Fleener, who signed a free agent deal with the Saints, but Dwayne Allen, TY Hilton, Donte Moncrief, Phillip Dorsett and Frank Gore all return. Defensively, the Colts drafted free safety TJ Green in the second round, while Robert Mathis, Vontae Davis, Erik Walden, D’Qwell Jackson and Sio Moore all return. Gone is steady veteran Jerrell Freeman, who signed with the Bears in the offseason.
Season Win Total Prediction
Even though there were some reports early in camp that Luck was shaky, it’s hard to bet against him now that he’s healthy. The offense has plenty of talent from a skill-position standpoint and if Kelly makes a significant difference along the offensive line, then the Colts should be a good bet to win 10 games this year. The defense still has some holes, but this team has won 11 games before with a worse unit on that side of the ball.
2016 NFL SEASON WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS OVER 9.5