Even before Peyton Manning\u2019s injury problems, many bettors and pundits billed 2011 as the year the Houston Texans finally pass the Colts and reach the playoffs. The Colts made few significant changes over the offseason and the Texans finally improved their woeful pass defense, so many of us believed that they\u2019d gain ground. <\/p>\n
Now that Manning is out indefinitely due to complications from his neck surgery, the door is open like never before. Will Houston capitalize and stake its claim to the AFC South with a dominant effort against Indy in Week 1?<\/p>\n
NFL Week 1: Colts vs Texans<\/strong> Indianapolis Colts (0-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n Anyone who has claimed over the last 13 years that the Colts were more than just Peyton Manning will put that theory to the test this Sunday, when No. 18 misses his first-ever NFL start.<\/p>\n The prospect is scary. It looks like 38-year old Kerry Collins will start for the Colts on Sunday. Does that mean the Colts will defer to Joseph Addai and rookie Delone Carter in the running game more often? Indy ranked 29th<\/sup> in the NFL with just 92.7 rushing yards per game and averaged only 3.8 yards per carry last season. They can only hope Carter\u2019s fresh legs give them a badly needed boost in Week 1.<\/p>\n Houston Texans (0-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n Offense hasn\u2019t been a problem for the Houston Texans for several seasons now. They have one of the NFL\u2019s best and most balanced attacks. Matt Schaub can seriously hurt opponents downfield, connecting with elite wideout Andre Johnson and underrated tight end Owen Daniels. Arian Foster was the best running back in football last season. Even if his hamstring keeps him out this week, Ben Tate and Derrick Ward showed in the preseason that they are capable backups.<\/p>\n The Texans scored plenty last year \u2013 even beating up on the Colts in Week 1 \u2013 but their \u201cD\u201d was atrocious. They were far-and-away the league\u2019s worst against the pass, surrendering 267.5 yards per game. However, they finally addressed the problem this offseason, signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph away from the Cincinnati Bengals. Adding him to the secondary, not to mention converting Mario Williams to outside linebacker (as a pass rusher), should improve their pass \u201cD.\u201d [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n The pick:<\/strong><\/p>\n Houston\u2019s improvements won\u2019t even come into play this week. Collins probably won\u2019t test the Texans and, even if Carter bolsters Indy\u2019s running game, they won\u2019t be able to rely on it for long if (and when) they fall behind.<\/p>\n The Colts\u2019 \u201cD\u201d won\u2019t scare Houston away from attacking aggressively and putting major points on the board. The nine-point spread is justified. Don\u2019t be surprised if the Manning-less Colts look like an expansion team on Sunday.<\/p>\n Indianapolis at Houston Gambling Trends:<\/strong><\/p>\n Over is 10-1 in IND last 11 road games. Colts vs Texans prediction: <\/strong>Texans 35, Colts 13<\/p>\n Money Line: Texans -400 The 2011 NFL Season is finally here. Welcome to the CappersPicks.com NFL football weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly NFL football picks<\/strong><\/a>, tips, betting advice, strategies, NFL gambling articles and more to help you become the best NFL football bettor on your block!! <\/p>\n NFL Week 1 betting has arrived, we\u2019ve got the point spreads, and our man Shea Matthews weighs in with a free nfl pick and preview for the matchup between the Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans NFL Preview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":26683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[28750,41883,52067,52068,434,463,52065,52066,2517,844,1161,52064,33899],"class_list":["post-42992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-28750","tag-2011-nfl-betting","tag-colts-texans-week-1","tag-colts-vs-texans-line","tag-football-handicapping","tag-free-nfl-picks","tag-indianapolis-colts-vs-houston-texans-nfl-preview","tag-indianapolis-houston-predictions","tag-nfl-gambling-online","tag-nfl-picks","tag-sports-picks","tag-texans-colts-odds","tag-week-1-free-pick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42992"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43112,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42992\/revisions\/43112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDate: <\/strong>Sunday, September 11, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>CBS
\nIndianapolis Colts at Houston Texans Betting Lines from DSI Sportsbook<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/strong>Money Line: <\/strong>Colts +320, Texans -400
\nSpread: <\/strong>Texans -9
\nOver\/Under: <\/strong>43<\/p>\n
\nOver is 5-2-1 in IND last 8 games overall.
\nIND are 12-5-2 ATS in their last 19 games on grass.
\nHOU are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games on grass.
\nOver is 10-3-1 in HOU last 14 vs. AFC.
\nOver is 19-7 in HOU last 26 games in September.
\nOver is 10-2 in the last 12 meetings.<\/p>\n
\nSpread: Texans -9
\nOver\/Under: OVER 43<\/strong><\/p>\nGRAB OUR NFL HANDICAPPING EXPERTS PREDICTIONS ALL SEASON LONG – CLICK HERE NOW \u2014\u2013><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"