AFC South Preview – Bet on the NFL

With the first preseason games starting this week, football season really is right around the corner. And your first wager of the season is too.

Let’s take a look at some NFL Futures Bets today, as we break down the AFC South:

Indianapolis Colts (-150): It’s no secret that when looking at the nfl betting odds, the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts are the favorites to win this division.

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They’ve got an explosive offense, steady defense, and the reigning NFL MVP. There’s a reason that this team finished 14-2 in the regular season and 10-5-1 ATS too.

All you really need to know about the Colts is that they return the ageless, Peyton Manning at quarterback, who despite having recently turned 34, doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

In 2009 he was his usual spectacular self, throwing for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns.

The Colts finished the season ranked No. 9 in the NFL in total yards per game (363) and second in passing yards (282).

On defense, Indianapolis will continue to be stellar, although late last year they did start to show their age.

Defensive end Dwight Freeney again was one of the NFL’s top sack masters (14.5 on the season), but was limited in the Super Bowl by an ankle injury.

The Colts coaching staff is slowly working him in during camp. Fellow defensive end Jerry Hughes was drafted in the first round of TCU to help ease the burden on Freeney.

So where does that leave Indianapolis? Still as the favorites in this division.

As much as things change, they stay the same. Make them your NFL Futures Bets now!

Houston Texans (+350): After an offseason with some turmoil, Texans camp is underway and everyone is happy, as wide receiver Andre Johnson recently signed a two-year extension.

Johnson led this team with 101 catches and nine touchdowns in 2009, proving once again to be one of the top performers in the league.

The key will be however if a running game emerges to take some weight off his shoulders. Auburn’s Ben Tate was brought in to pump some blood into the league’s 30th ranked run offense.

Maybe most important for Houston though is just consistency.

This was a team which played itself right out of the playoff race with four straight losses in midseason, before closing the 2009 campaign with four straight wins. They finished 7-7-2 ATS.

Tennessee Titans (+350): So we’ve already established that the AFC South has maybe the best quarterback in the NFL (Manning) and wide receiver (Johnson) too.

Well what about running back? Say hello to Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.

He returns after a spectacular season that saw the second year player rush for a league-high 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns, wow!

He’ll be flanked by the talented, but inconsistent Vince Young at quarterback. As always, Young showed enormous potential in 2009, even making the Pro Bowl, despite not starting Tennessee’s first six games.

However, offseason troubles once again put him in the news for all the wrong reasons.

And while the record looked nice down the stretch, they were a headache for bettors, going just 1-3 ATS to close the season. Keep that in mind when making your NFL Futures bets.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+1000): There’s a reason here that Jacksonville enters 2010 as the long shots to win this division: They finished 2009 just 7-9, and were a dismal 5-11 ATS.

The one hope that they have is that superstar running back Maurice Jones-Drew once again blows up, and carries this team, literally and figuratively.

He set a career-high with 1,389 yards last season, a big reason Jacksonville’s rushing offense finished 10th in the league.

Unfortunately, the defense still needs a lot of work, especially in the passing game, where they ranked 27th in the NFL last year, allowing 235 yards per game.

That doesn’t bode well in a division that features Manning in Indianapolis and the explosive Johnson on the Texans.

Still, at the price you’re getting, there are a lot worse NFL Futures Bets you could take.

Make your football picks now, click here!