Blogs & Opinion


Features:

Recent Comments:

Kevin Maltby on Who's on the plane?

"for me this is a strong 30 man squad, except for RB n CB. For me with the injury that Terry might have got today, we are now going to be short in defence, much like Man Utd were this ... " View all comments

David Holder on Bravo, now build on it

"Well said Mikey. As a West Indian I am so glad for a series win but i hope this was a one-off in terms of the tactics employed to win. It so nearly blew up in the team's face, but you ... " View all comments

Chris Knox on Premier League picks

"I cant look beyond Chelsea again this season, considering we were without Michael Essien for the vast majority of last season and we had to do without Drogba, Kalou and Mikel during the... " View all comments

Kevin Maltby on Who's on the plane?

"for me this is a strong 30 man squad, except for RB n CB. For me with the injury that Terry might have got today, we are now going to be short in defence, much like Man Utd were this ... " View all comments

Tom W on Will Blues blow it?

"Martin. Arsenal beat Birmingham 3-1 earlier in the season so in your hypothesis Arsenal would be champions on goals scored only.... " View all comments

Anthony Carlin on Calendar goals

"i find it really funny that rooney has more goals than defoe well 1 more. saying the fact defoe has missed alot more games this decade than rooney, has'nt started as many and dosn take ... " View all comments

Kevin Cadle previews the NFL wild card matches on Saturday

Features Posted 4th January 2013 view comments

First up on Saturday we see Cincinnati's trip to face the Houston Texans before a huge NFC North clash between Minnesota and Green Bay, who only played each other last week!

It's a busy weekend of wildcard action, and first up are a team in Houston that thought right up until the last weekend that they would get a bye in the play-offs, only to drop right into third spot and into a tough match against the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) @ Houston Texans (12-4) - Sat, 9.30pm Sky Sports 1HD

For me, it's all about Cincinnati's defence because if that defence can continue on the streak they're on now then Houston will have a very difficult time. Houston's defence has a difficult time dealing with the long pass, and passing in general.

Adrian Peterson: MVP but can't do it on his own

Adrian Peterson: MVP but can't do it on his own

And that's the strength of the Bengals right now with AJ Green and the other guys that they have been steeping up for them - so their pass game could give the Texans some problems.

The thing with Houston is they can't get Arian Foster going and make things happen with that offensive line. The key for them is play-action, Foster is their main man, but if they can't get that play-action working then he's not going to be as effective.

The guy standing up recently for Houston is Andre Johnson, he's been out there and been competitive each and every game. Offensively the key for them is to run the ball and then that will open up the play-action game and make it hard for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The two quarterbacks have question marks around both of them. This is the first big game for Matt Schaub, probably his first play-off game where he has got to stand up and be the man from the beginning. The jury's still out on Andy Dalton - the last four or five weeks offensively the Bengals have struggled and a lot of it has to do with his play, so it's a big game for both of these in their position.

Kev's Call: I have to go with Cincinnati, I think they're on a much better roll, even though they have problems on offence, but I just think they'll be too strong.

Minnesota (10-6) @ Green Bay (11-5) - Sun 1am Sky Sports 1 HD

I don't really like Minnesota in this one, Adrian Peterson will be able to get off and do some things but he has to have a superhuman game for them to be in it.

Green Bay are at home, they still have those receivers and the Vikings have problems in the secondary with Antoine Winfield - when he didn't play in the second half Aaron Rodgers had a field day with them - and with a broken hand how good is he going to be after just a week?

DuJuan Harris at running back had a good game for the Packers so if he or Ryan Grant can give them a running game I like how they line up offensively, Charles Woodson can give them something extra on defence so there's too many things in Green Bay's favour in this one.

I don't think the outside turf will slow Peterson down, he had 209 yards against them last time outside on that grass in Green Bay. I just think they've got to figure him out third time of asking, Dom Capers and this defence, Peterson has run over them once, twice, but not a third time - the Packers must have a plan to figure out this Vikings run game by now!

For me Peterson is the MVP of the season without a doubt, he's nine years off the record, and who are the Minnesota Vikings without Adrian Peterson, they're not even close to being a play-off team.

He's carried them as far as he possibly could, their QB is shaky, I think I got six games where he didn't pass for more than 150 yards so for me it's not even close over who the MVP is.

Kev's Call: Peterson is my MVP, but I think it's as far as he can take the Vikings, the Packers just have too much going for them and Woodson back in defence will help so it's got to be a home win.

Post to your View!

Be the first to post a comment on this story

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private

back to top

Other Experts:

Latest Posts in :

Alex Ferguson

NBA showtime

Alex Ferguson asks if Miami can hit back against the Bulls in the Conference semi-finals....

Alex Ferguson

Tracking Tebow?

Alex Ferguson profiles Johnny Manziel and asks if the quarterback's career could mirror Tim Tebow's....

Alex Ferguson

American beauties

Alex Ferguson names the 10 biggest sports stars in the States. Do you agree with his selections?...

Andy Walker

Mountain to climb

Andy Walker says Hibs are up against it in Sunday's Scottish Cup Final against SPL champions Celtic....

Peter Beagrie

Yellow fever

Watford have a greater goal threat than Crystal Palace, says Beags, and will prevail at Wembley....

Martin Tyler

Season post script

Liverpool and Spurs would be in the Champions League if hitting the post or bar was a goal... it's Martin!...

4 comments

Miles Harrison

Chance to shine

Miles Harrison can't wait to see England's exciting youngsters take on the Barbarians on Sunday....

Stuart Barnes

A bridge too far

Despite his Heineken Cup heroics, Stuart Barnes says Jonny Wilkinson won't feature for the Lions....

Dean Ryan

Out of control

Clermont's inability to control the game late on cost them the Heineken Cup, says Dean Ryan....

0 comments

Stevo

Magical Manchester

Stevo believes the Magic Weekend will go from strength to strength, if it remains in Manchester....

Barrie vs Terry

Barrie v Terry

Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor go head-to-head with their Magic Weekend predictions......

0 comments

Mike Atherton

Test of resilience

Mike Atherton says New Zealand must patch up some old batting wounds before the second Test....

David Lloyd

Boiled up nicely

Bumble blogs on an explosive Lord's Test, Stuart Broad's form and the art of making a decent brew....

Rob Lee

Worth tuning in

Illustrious names and roly-poly greens... Rob Lee previews the BMW PGA Championship....

Richard Boxall

Grounds for optimism

Richard Boxall says the "grinder" Graeme McDowell is now a real favourite to win at Wentworth....

0 comments

Barry Cowan

Collision course

Barry Cowan says it's a shame Nadal and Djokovic are in the same half of the French Open draw....

Alex Hammond

Spell-binding stuff

Alex Hammond is backing Magician in The Irish 2000 Guineas as she previews this weekend's action....

Alex Hammond

Great-ness beckons

Greatwood can strike for Highclere and Luca Cumani in Thursday's Dante Stakes at York, says Alex....

Alex Hammond

Quick as a flash

Alex Hammond says Lightning Cloud could run away with this weekend's Victoria Cup at Ascot....

Jim Watt

Test of toughness

Jim Watt tips Carl Froch to outlast Mikkel Kessler in an epic battle of skill and strength on Saturday....

0 comments

Johnny Nelson

A warrior's fall?

Mikkel Kessler was the underdog and after taking a closer look at Carl Froch, Johnny Nelson knows why!...

0 comments

View from America

Tebow unravelled

Simon Veness tries to make sense of the hype surrounding American footballer Tim Tebow....

Rod Harrington

Best on the planet

Premier League king Michael van Gerwen is the best player on planet darts, says Rod Harrington....

0 comments

Rod Harrington

Awesome foursome

Van Gerwen, Barney, Taylor, Wade... Rod Harrington says it's impossible to call the Play-Offs....

2 comments

Neal Foulds

Fabulous fifth

Neal Foulds hailed 'brilliant' Ronnie O'Sullivan and reckons this won't be the end for the Rocket....

Neal Foulds

Rocket returns

Neal Foulds doubts Ronnie O'Sullivan can retain his title but tips Neil Robertson to win the Worlds again....

comments

Kelvin Tatum

Beware the Woff

Kelvin Tatum makes his predictions for Monday's British Championship at Wolverhampton....

Daniel Routledge

Simply the best?

Leicester are a great defensive team, says Daniel Routledge, but are they the best in BBL history?...

Richard Moore

The final curtain

Richard Moore reflects on Sunday's Closing Ceremony to an unforgettable Olympic Games......

comments

Richard Moore

Out of control

Rain, rivals and mechanical problems have affected Bradley Wiggins at the Giro, says Richard Moore....

Richard Moore - Richard Moore

A lasting golden glow

Richard Moore suggests all the British Olympians should visit schools and talk about their experiences....

comments

Richard Moore

Mark of the man

As Sir Chris Hoy retires, Richard Moore pays tribute to his hard work and impeccable timing....

Wayne McCullough

Wonderful Davis

Wayne McCullough watched Antonio Rogerio Nogueria take on Phil Davis at UFC Fight Night 24. ...

0 comments

Wayne McCullough

Jones shines bright

Wayne McCullough was highly impressed as the talented Jon Jones made short work of Mauricio Rua....

2 comments

Wayne McCullough

A bloody marvel

Wayne McCullough salutes Diego Sanchez as he edges out Martin Kampmann in a UFC humdinger....

0 comments