Colts look to beat up on Bengals

Things aren't exactly looking promising right now for either the Indianapolis Colts or the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously the Bengals, at 2-6, are in significantly more dire shape than the 5-3 Colts, but neither team has to be happy with the way they are playing, especially since they have both already lost as many games this year as they did in all of 2009.
However, someone is going to take a step in the right direction this weekend, as the two meet in NFL betting action at Lucas Oil Field.
Cincinnati likely had its own funeral on Monday Night Football last week, as it was beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-21, which probably eliminated any chance of making the playoffs. However, we did see the Tennessee Titans come back from an 0-6 start to the season to challenge for the postseason, something that head coach Marvin Lewis, who is firmly sitting on a very hot seat, will be telling his team.
Don't blame either QB Carson Palmer or WR Terrell Owens for the lousy record this year. These two are the only reason that the Bengals really have much of anything this year offensively and are why they rank No. 6 in the NFL in passing.
Palmer, who has taken every single snap this year for his team, is completing 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,103 yards with 14 scores on the year. Owens, who is most definitely having a resurgent season, has 55 catches for 770 yards and a team high seven TDs. Outside of Owens, the rest of the team has only accounted for 10 scores on offense.
Part of the problem on the other side of the ball is that there is just no pressure on opposing quarterbacks. There are only seven sacks to speak of for the entire season for the Cincinnati defense, the second-lowest mark in the NFL, trailing just the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If you give QB Peyton Manning all day to throw the football, it doesn't matter who he has out there at wide receiver. That's a good thing this week as well. Manning is inevitably at practice this week handing out nametags to all of his receivers. Austin Collie suffered a concussion last week and is unlikely to be able to give it a go this weekend, while Anthony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark are already on IR.
Tight End Jacob Tamme has put together a fantastic pair of games since Clark was knocked out for the year. He has 17 catches for 172 yards and two scores in just two starts this year.
On the ground, both Mike Hart and Joseph Addai are unlikely to play due to injuries, which would only leave Donald Brown and Javarris James, the cousin of former Colts back Edgerrin James, to carry the rock for the second straight week.
The last time the Bengals paid a visit to Indy, they were absolutely whacked, 35-3. They haven't covered the NFL odds in this series since a 28-21 loss in 2002, which marks the only cover since 1997. That year's 28-13 victory marked the last time Cincinnati won a game against the Colts. Indianapolis owns a 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS record since that point.
Cincinnati is just 1-7 ATS in its last eight games against AFC foes and 3-13 ATS in its last 16 overall. Indy, on the other hand, is 6-2 ATS in its last eight against teams with a losing record and 10-4-1 ATS in its last 15 against the AFC.Bookmaker.com has the hosts favored by a touchdown on Sunday afternoon, while the 'total' has been locked in at 47.