NFL Week 1 Picks + Rick Venturi On Colts Defense
Source: EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JANUARY 08: A detail of the official National Football League NFL logo is seen painted on the turf as the New York Giants host the Atlanta Falcons during their NFC Wild Card Playoff game at MetLife Stadium on January 8, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Take a deep breath, football fans. We made it.
The long NFL offseason is officially in the books. What lies ahead is five glorious months of professional football. Things of course kick off with a bang, when the defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Championship rematch. For the Ravens, the questions won’t really be answered until January, but getting revenge on Patrick Mahomes and company would be a great way to begin the year.
Speaking of revenge games, the Indianapolis Colts will host the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil on Sunday in a repeat of the Week 18 game between the two teams that saw Houston emerge victorious, earn a playoff spot (and the AFC South crown), and bounce Indianapolis out of the postseason. If that wasn’t enough, the game will also feature the return of Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson after he missed most of his rookie year with a shoulder injury. The duel between Richardson and Texans quarterback C.J Stroud will draw the headlines, but something to certainly keep an eye on will be how the Colts secondary performs against the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year in Stroud.
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During the Thursday edition of The Ride With JMV, Rick Venturi of the Colts Radio Network joined the show, and shared his thoughts on the Colts defense.
“I think the 2nd biggest key to our success in ‘24 is I think number one, the modernization of our scheme…and then how well can our corners play within it. I think the modernization of the scheme is really important and I think it could help the corners. I think this is a team that really has to become a much more sophisticated coverage team, a team that can choke people off, a team that can take away a good quarterback, who we’re going to see week in and week out. We may be seeing the two best young guys in the league in the first two weeks…I think as well as the sophistication, I think we have to become a much higher percentage pressure team, particularly this week. I think you have to pressure Stroud, you have to get him off the mark…I think you’ve got to come up with better coverage schemes, and you’ve got to come up with a much higher percentage of pressure on your defense.
With that in mind, here are JMV’s and betting analyst Brent Holverson’s picks for Week 1 of the NFL season:
| Thursday | JMV | | BRENT |
| Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs | KC -3 | | BAL +3 |
| Friday | JMV | | BRENT |
| Green Bay Packers @ Philidelphia Eagles | GB +2.5 | | GB +2.5 |
| Sunday | JMV | | BRENT |
| Pittsburgh Steelers @ Atlanta Falcons | ATL –3.5 | | ATL –3.5 |
| Arizona Cardinals @ Buffalo Bills | BUF –6.5 | | BUF –6.5 |
| Tennessee Titans @ Chicago Bears | CHI –3.5 | | TEN +3.5 |
| New England Patriots @ Cincinati Bengals | NE +8.5 | | CIN –8.5 |
| Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts | HOU -3 | | HOU -3 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars @ Miami Dolphins | MIA –3.5 | | MIA –3.5 |
| Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints | NO –4.5 | | NO –4.5 |
| Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants | NY +1.5 | | MIN –1.5 |
| Las Vegas Raiders @ Las Angeles Chargers | LAC -3 | | LV +3 |
| Denver Broncos @ Seattle Seahawks | SEA -6 | | SEA -6 |
| Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns | DAL +2.5 | | DAL +2.5 |
| Washington Commanders @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB –3.5 | | TB –3.5 |
| Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions | DET –4.5 | | DET –4.5 |
| Monday | JMV | | BRENT |
| New York Jets @ San Francisco 49ers | SF –4.5| | SF –4.5 |
Listen to the full conversation with Rick Venturi, JMV and betting analyst Brent Holverson’s Week 1 picks, and more down below! Tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
