Thursday, November 8, 2012

Bik's Thursday Night Week 10 Pick: Letdown

Rest of the week 10 picks on Friday. Home team in CAPS.

JAGUARS (+3.5) over Colts
You know when you get back from a nice vacation that was just absolutely exhilarating, and that first day back to work is just THE WORST? You’re sitting at your desk, completely unmotivated thinking about the trip you just took. It’s just an emotional hangover and you gotta wait it out. This is that game for the Colts.

If you didn't already know but the Colts have used the story with their head coach Chuck Pagano and his battle with leukaemia as their rallying point. Last week Pagano spoke to his team pre and post-game and at home versus the Dolphins, Miami never stood a chance. It was an emotional high that was going to have the Colts on another level. They had a moment like this earlier this year when news of Pagano’s illness first broke. They played the Packers at home that week, surprise surprise the Colts won in an incredible game. This game is very much either a Pro-Colts or Anti-Colts pick because let’s face it – in no scenario are you going to be able to conjure up a Pro-Jaguars pick. Now there are several schools of thought in play for tonight’s game and how using Pagano will work or won’t work for the Colts.

1)      After that Green Bay win, everybody was set to jump on board with the Colts and ride this #ChuckStrong emotional wave the Colts were having. They followed up with a 35-9 loss to the New York Jets. They came up with a big win vs. the Dolphins, especially for the AFC playoff picture, and now play a major downer game vs. the Jaguars.
2)      Because it’s a Thursday game and they don’t have the full week to come down, they’ll still be on that emotional high and be able to ride it out in a win over the Jaguars.
3)      They’re a young but smart team so having already been through this roller-coaster once they’ll be better prepared for it now.
4)      The Colts are a young team and it takes more than 4 weeks to figure out how to manage these emotional swings during a long season.

The Colts are coming off a vacation and are set to go back to the real world. The regular rat race. You need those inspirational moments during a season, but you can't draw to that well every week. I think we see a repeat of that Jets game instead of a continuum of last week. It’s tough to come from that high, then hit the road into a crummy place like Jacksonville and keep that same level of focus on a short week.

Last Week: 5-9
Season: 64-67-1

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