We are now two weeks away from an NFL experiment. Beginning Sunday, Nov. 12 the night game has not been scheduled.
That's right; we should not have to watch any more Sunday night games that many would call meaningless or boring.
When the NFL moved the Sunday and Monday night games to new channels, it worked out an agreement that would allow the Sunday night game to be chosen the week before. This is new for the NFL and a good move that should have been attempted for the entire season.
The reason I say that is because this week we could be watching a possible preview of the AFC championship game during prime time, instead we are stuck watching the TO show and a confused Cowboys team again (they were last seen taking a beating from the Giants on Monday).
The game of the week, the possible AFC championship game alluded to earlier, will be played in Denver when Peyton Manning and his undefeated Colts take on the best defense in the NFL. The Broncos have allowed their opponents to score only 44 points this season, that's just over 7 points per game.
Although their defense has been outstanding their offense has struggled to put points on the board. They are averaging just more than 13 points a game.
The difference in this game may just end up being the defense of the Colts. Just before the trading deadline they acquired defensive tackle Anthony "Booger" McFarland from the Bucs for a second round draft pick. This move was made to help bolster the defensive front against the run.
The line on this game favors the Broncos by 2 1/2 with a total of 38. The pick here is to take the Colts and the points. These two teams may meet again in the playoffs but the Broncos are going to have to start scoring some points.
The second game features the best rushing team in the league, the Atlanta Falcons visiting the Cincinnati Bengals, who you may remember allowed 236 rushing yards to the Patriots back in week 4. The Bengals opened as 3 1/2 point favorites but the line quickly moved to 4 1/2 with a total of 43 1/2.
I like the Falcons in this game and will take the points, as the line moved in our favor and could possibly go higher, but don't wait too long. Take the points in both of the games but look for value in the money lines as they could possibly upset the favorites.
Recapping last week we notched another two wins with the Falcons beating the Steelers at home and the Panthers and Bengals playing a low scoring game. That brings the season to 10-4, and when you have a good lead in hand you can take your shots with underdogs on the money line.
Jason Kolenut is the Casino Fandango Race and Sports Book supervisor.