Check our our betting preview and prediction for the NFL preseason match between Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts.
Panthers at Colts Betting Preview
The preseason, particularly week 1, can be a tough situation to nail down who and what to target. You have to keep up with a bunch of news and keep your eyes peeled for coach quotes on the playing time of starters and each backup. Luckily, we have a decent feel for these two teams heading into the game, so check out our free sports betting preview for the match between Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts.
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Colts Playing Time
The Colts’ coach, Frank Reich, said that they would hold out a good amount of the starters in this game. While we don’t know what this means, I expect that we don’t see someone like TY Hilton. Could we see someone like Michael Pittman or Jonathan Taylor play a bit? Maybe, they are on the bubble here, but they won’t play enough to really impact my thoughts on the team overall. I’d guess we do see someone like Parris Campbell, who has had injury issues and lacks experience but is likely a starter in a few weeks.
The QB play is key in the preseason, just like it is in the regular season. The difference is that no one really knows these QBs and their expected playing time. Here, I expect to see Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger to play the majority of this game, especially because the Colts do expect Wentz back, and they want to see what they have in these young QBs while knowing that their starter is on his way back.
Coaches always try to find the fine line between getting young guys looks and keeping them healthy, and I think the news that Wentz should be back sooner than later probably makes the Colts feel comfortable running out these young QBs and knowing that even if there were an injury, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I’m hopeful that we get about three quarters from these two splits about down the middle, with Eason starting the game under center.
Panthers Playing Time
The Panthers are also looking to sit most of their veteran players, including starting QB Sam Darnold. We should see a bit of assumed RB2 Chuba Hubbard and WR3 Terrence Marshall Jr, but I wouldn’t even expect to see a ton of work for either of them here.
At QB, we expect to see a half of PJ Walker and a half of Will Grier. Walker was an XFL standout years ago and a former Temple player under Matt Rhule, so he should be familiar with the scheme and have a great understanding of the playbook after being with the team last season. Grier has also been around a bit but hasn’t had a ton of success when he has gotten on the field. I do think that a good showing is important for Grier’s NFL future, but that’s likely not the priority of the coaching staff here.
Where is the Edge?
Looking at the betting lines and betting odds, I like the Colts in this game at -3 on the spread and -150 on the moneyline, even though I don’t think that the edge at QB is that significant if it exists at all. In this format, I think I would rank the QBs in this game as PJ Walker, Jacob Eason, Sam Ehlinger, Will Grier, and Brett Hundley, but I think that the Colts are deeper all over the field.
I prefer the Colts’ secondary running backs, receivers, tight ends, and offensive lines on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, I don’t see much of a gap unless we were to see the Panthers play a significant amount of their young starters on the defense like Jaycee Horn and Brian Burns. Even if they did, I wouldn’t change my stance, but I don’t expect that to be the case anyways.
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