Colts and Miami Dolphins Headline Week 2 of Monday Night Football

NFL News - September 17th, 2009 - Written by John

Indianapolis at Miami -- It's probably a benefit to Monday Night Football that this game is shown early in the season. The Colts and Dolphins could easily head in opposite directions afterwards and the anticipation might not sizzle like it probably will in Week Two.

Indianapolis is favored by three points so far, despite being on the road. Much of that has to do with each team's week one performances. Manning and wide out Reggie Wayne appear to have an unstoppable chemistry after they connected on 10 passes for 162 yards en route to a 14-12 win over Jacksonville.

However, Indianapolis suffered somewhat of a blow last week, when receiver Anthony Gonzalez split his knee in the first quarter on a play he wasn't touched by anyone. Replays show Gonzalez was jogging off the line on a run play to the other side of the field, then falling in pain while clutching his knee. Doctors in the tunnel informed him that he had sprained knee ligaments and would be out indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Miami struggled to score any points against Atlanta, and would've been shut out if not for a late touchdown pass by Chad Pennington.

The Dolphins only averaged six yards per pass and struggled to implement their wildcat offense. The key components to that strategy struggled gaining any ground. Five players had at least one rush, but nobody gained more than 14 yards on any one play, and Pat White and Ted Ginn, Jr. accounted for only 35 yards total.

"When the wildcat words, everybody loves it," Pennington said to ESPN. "When it doesn't, everybody hates it."

What's worse is their dominant turnover margin of plus-17 was lost somewhere in the off-season and the Dolphins committed four turnovers against the Falcons.
If the Dolphins do slide to 0-2, don't jump ship on them just yet. Mind you, their Cinderella run last year, going from one win in 2007 to a Wild Card birth in '08, started with two losses. But the historic comeback came largely in part because of their revolutionary offense, using multiple running formations with several players lining up at quarterback. If they struggle at the outset again, it may indicate NFL defenses have grown wise to the tricks.

And there will be no more gimmicks to fall back on.

As it stands now, oddsmakers see the Colts as 3 1/2 point favorites against the Dolphins. Also, the lines at Bodog Sportsbook have the moneylines at +155 for the Miami Dolphins and -175 for the Indianapolis Colts. Over/under is set at 42 points, with both sides paying evenly. There are sure to be a ton of first quarter, first half, and second half bets, closer to, and during game time.

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