The circus is officially in town. The grand experiment known as the Philadelphia Eagles will be cleared for takeoff for the first time in 2015, as bettors will get their first look at Chip Kelly's brand new squad on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
ODDS ANALYSIS
We're still not all that sure what to expect out of this Philadelphia team. The Eagles are favored by 3.5, more so due to the fact that they are at home than anything else.
Thanks to Kelly's sometimes absurd offense, one which won't slow down for anything, the total is high for a preseason game at 42.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
In case you've forgotten in an otherwise wild season in the AFL, there's a man playing quarterback for the Eagles you might have heard of before. Remember Tim Tebow? Yes, that man is going to be taking snaps for Philly at some point in this game.
Will it work for the Eagles? Who knows? What we do know is that Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley are all in line with Tebow.
The Colts seem to have a pretty clear plan here in place for the preseason. Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck are hardly going to play. That's going to leave undrafted rookie Bryan Bennett to play at least half of this game, if not even more than that.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
Why aren't we surprised that Kelly's Eagles are 7-1 for over bettors in his eight all-time preseason games? The only motivation here for either side is for Kelly to continue to tinker with his pieces to the puzzle until he gets things the way he wants them. That's why this offense flat out isn't going to stop no matter who is under center.
The more plays for Kelly, the better.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's an ongoing battle. If (the first regular season game) was today, then we would have had just one guy at each spot jump in the first four days of practice, and you could set it. You always would love to have it done sooner than later, but we also want to make sure it's the right guy and the right fit." – Eagles head coach Chip Kelly on fitting the new pieces he’s assembled for this team together to make a cohesive unit
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
We could talk about 22 positions the Eagles have up for grabs right now, but instead, we want to talk about the Colts wide receivers. T.Y. Hilton is about the only consistent cog here. There isn't an obvious choice as a No. 3 receiver behind Hilton and the brand new Andre Johnson.
Rookie Phillip Dorsett will get worked into this offense slowly, but someone, whether it be Dorsett, Donte Moncrief or Griff Whalen, really has to step it up to become a legitimate third option in a spread out offense.
INJURIES
The injury report has been quiet for both teams. Vick Ballard has an Achilles issue he's dealing with, and we don't figure to see him or a lot of the Indy vets in this one for long, if at all.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
We're just not sure that Kelly has gotten it right yet. When the ball gets turned over to guys like Barkley, Tebow and maybe even G.J. Kinne, what's going to happen to the Eagles' offense?
Tebow sure as heck isn't going to run that system unless Kelly truly is the guru of all offensive gurus.
That's why we want the points in this game. The Eagles still don't have their secondary figured out, and if Hasselbeck and Luck can get a TD or two on the board early, that could be enough to cover, and maybe even win outright as well.
Indianapolis 20, Philadelphia 16
BookMaker opened the spread for this Sunday game at -3.5 in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL odds total surfaced at 42. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone or tablet with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The Week 1 game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles will go down Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. The matchup will be televised on FOX 59.
