Hall of Fame Game Betting Preview
Indianapolis vs. Washington
Sunday, 8:00 pm Eastern – NBC
The 2008 NFL preseason kicks off on Sunday in Canton, Ohio as the Washington Redskins face the Indianapolis Colts in the annual Hall of Fame game. The game is played a day after the latest Hall of Fame class is inducted. The 2008 Class has defensive end Fred Dean, cornerback Darrell Green, wide receiver Art Monk, cornerback Emmitt Thomas, linebacker Andre Tippett, and tackle Gary Zimmerman.
Many starters will not play in this game including Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning who is recovering from off-season surgery. Also out of the lineup for the Colts are defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, tight end Tom Santi, offensive guard Ryan Lilja and defensive back Bob Sanders. The Redskins will be without starting running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. The game will mark the head coaching debut of Washington’s Jim Zorn. The Redskins will have a new offensive scheme this season and Zorn expects some mistakes early in the preseason. "It's going to be really fun, but there are going to be some errors," Zorn said. "I am going to be looking at my sheet wondering what route I just called. There will be some things that don't resemble anything. I already know that." The game will also mark the debut of defensive end Jason Taylor who the Redskins acquired from Miami in the off-season. The quarterback rotation for the Redskins looks to be Jason Campbell for a short time followed by Colt Brennan and Derek Devine. The Colts will go with Jim Sorgi for a few series followed by Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen.
Here is a look at the betting stats for Sunday’s game. The Washington Redskins are a perfect 4-0 in past Hall of Fame games while the Indianapolis Colts are 2-1. Washington defeated Detroit in 1965, Cincinnati in 1975, Buffalo in 1989 and Denver in 2004. This is the 27th time the two teams will have met in preseason play but the first time since 1981. The Colts are 15-10-1 in the previous 26 meetings with the Redskins. This is the third neutral-site preseason meeting between the two teams. This is the second straight time that Washington will have a new coach for the Hall Fame game as in 2004 the Redskins defeated Denver 20-17 as Joe Gibbs made his return to Washington. Hall of Fame betting stats show that five of the last eight Hall of Fame games have gone under the total including the last two. In 2006 it was Oakland winning 16-10 over Philadelphia while last year the Steelers defeated the Saints 20-7.
