Saints vs Colts Betting Odds – Colts ride patience, discipline to another Super Bowl win

Online betting players have been following the NFL all season, and finally, it all comes down to the teams who were the top seeds in their conference: Indianapolis will represent the AFC, while New Orleans comes out of the NFC in this battle of two MVP-caliber quarterbacks. The AFC has dominated the Super Bowl recently, and they’ll continue to do so as the Colts will stick to a discipline attack on both sides of the ball.

The Storyline - Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The Colts are making their second Super Bowl appearance in four years, and they played a very disciplined game in a 30-17 win over the New York Jets in the AFC championship game. The Saints are making their first-ever Super Bowl appearance after stopping Minnesota 31-28 in overtime of a phenomenal NFC championship game by taking advantage of a few mistakes by the Vikings. On a personal note, Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning’s father, Archie, played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982, making the Pro Bowl twice along the way.

Offensive Matchups - Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The Saints’ offense took a step back against the Vikings, particularly in the second half when they couldn’t get anything going. Still, any offense with Drew Brees in the lineup is scary and can put up points in a hurry. Reggie Bush has been more of a factor during the postseason, but the New Orleans ground game was shut down against a Minnesota defense that is well known for stopping the run.

Manning, who beat out Brees for his record fourth MVP award, made the necessary adjustments after a slow start against the Jets, then caught fire as the Colts scored the final 24 points of the game. With Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark covered, Manning found Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie all day long. The running game even showed up as Joseph Addai ran for 80 yards, although he did have a fumble.

Betting Edge: Draw

Defensive Matchups - Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The Saints bent on defense, but they didn’t break, and just as they have all season, they feasted on turnovers against the Vikings. New Orleans had 39 takeways in the regular season, then two against Arizona, followed by five against Minnesota which kept the Saints in the game. Still, they gave up 475 yards, and they may want to rethink the way they used safety Darren Sharper, who blitzed a lot and often left the Saints in single coverage.

Indy’s win came from the way they handled themselves on defense, as they held the Jets to 86 yards on the ground after they averaged 169 yards in wins over Cincinnati and San Diego. The Colts swarmed to the ball at every chance, led by linebacker Gary Brackett, but the secondary gave up a couple of big plays against the Jets.

Betting Edge: Colts

Notable Injuries: Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The most notable injury on either side is New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey (knee), who limped down the stretch and even though he came back for a good game against Arizona, he didn’t practice before the NFC championship game and had only one catch. The two weeks off before the game should help him, though.

Betting Edge: Colts

Betting Prediction - Kentucky vs South Carolina Betting Odds
The unbeaten Wildcats should be the favorites in this contest, as they’ve won eight of their last 10 trips to Columbia. They’ll be trying to avoid a three-game losing skid to the Gamecocks, and they should be able to do so through the deadly combo of Patterson and Cousins in the post. South Carolina may have had a chance to defend these two with Archie and Holmes in the lineup, but Muldrow can’t watch them both by himself. Someone will have a field day in the post for the Wildcats.

Over/Under Picks: Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The total is 56 in your sportsbook, and the Saints have averaged 38 points in their first two playoff games, while the Colts have averaged 25. But to be fair, New Orleans scored their points against, (1) a poor Arizona defense, and (2) they got the ball in good position via Minnesota’s turnovers. Meanwhile, Manning has been carrying the Colts all season because of the lack of a running game, and

Outlook and Pick: Saints vs Colts Betting Odds
The Colts are 5.5-point favorites in this contest, and they’ve blown out the Saints twice since 2003. This game won’t be a rout, but the Colts should win comfortably as they have the discipline on both sides of the ball to take down New Orleans. Manning and the Colts won’t make the same mistakes that Minnesota did to keep the Saints in the NFC championship game, and on defense, ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney have to get in the backfield and harass Brees. The Colts’ defense is fast enough to keep up with the Saints’ skill players, and they’re a sure-tackling team. Pick this to be the third Super Bowl win in four years for a Manning.

Stan’s Pick: Colts -5.5

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