By
Scary Barry
Rodriguez
January 13, 2013
Candlestick point, San Francisco - Saturday in the city by the bay many
people were concerned about the weather conditions. Cool breezes were
coming in from the bay and layered clothing was the order of the day.
The San Francisco 49ers gave the Green Bay Packers the ultimate cold
shoulder by out playing them in every phase of the game. It has been
said that the young are fearless and Colin Kaepernick validated that old
adage by going hog wild in his first playoff game as a starting
quarterback ! The Niners and Kaepernick exploited the weakness of the
Packer defense against the run.
Things didn't get off to a good start in the Niner's first offensive
series. Kaepernick threw an errant pass that the Packer's Sam Shield
picked it off and ran 52 yards for a touchdown. Undaunted Kaepernick
directed the 49ers on a 8 play 80 yard drive capped off by him running
in a touchdown from 20 yards out. This tied the score at 7-7. The
Packers responded by scoring another touchdown on 7 play 80 yard drive.
This was quickly remedied by the Niners when Packer punt returner
Jeremy Ross fumbled and Special teams standout C. J. Spillman recovered
just as the first quarter was ending.
Kaepernick quickly converted this Green Bay mistake by passing 12 yards
to Michael Crabtree for a Niner touchdown putting the score at 14-14 at
the start of the second quarter. The Pack put up a good fight in the
first half and trailed by only a 24-21 margin. With Aaron Rodgers under
center for Green Bay it was obvious to all in attendance that San
Francisco would have make some defensive stops and more offense in the
second half to win. Michael Crabtree had scored another touchdown on a
20 yard reception.
The third quarter was when the Niners took over the game. After the Pack
had tied the game at 24-24 via a 31 yard Crosby field goal. The 49er
coaching staff had put zone read options in the game plan to take
advantage of Kaepernick's exceptional running ability and at this point
in the game it provided the turning point. On the third snap of a 3 play
80 yard drive , he read the Packer defensive alignment , sprinted to the right through the hole and past the secondary for a 56 yard touchdown
run . The Packers and everyone else , including his team mates were
stunned at Kaepernick's speed. The score was now 31-24 and the third
quarter was almost over. The Niners added two more touchdowns in the
fourth quarter, one on a 2 yard run by Frank Gore and one by Anthony
Dixon on a 2 yard run. Colin Kaepernick had exceeded all expectations
and even Aaron Rodgers couldn't right the ship. The fans started hitting
the exits mid way through the fourth quarter. The final game score was
45-31 but it was really a beat down for Green Bay as the Niners had 579
yards in total offense.
Kaepernick was a one man army passing for two touchdowns on 17/31 and
263 yards while rushing for a quarterback playoff record 181 yards and
two more touchdowns. The Niner offense was 8-13 on third down
conversions thanks to him ! Yet it was a total team effort. Michael
Crabtree snagged 9 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Old reliable
Frank Gore rushed for 119 yards on 23 carries and had a touchdown. As
always everyone on the 49er offense including the receivers and running
backs made key blocks. The defense stopped the Green Bay offense when it
counted and Special Teams held their own ! Green Bay didn't have the
balanced offense that could beat the San Francisco 49ers. The coaches
had the right game plan this time !
Note: This Niner victory is dedicated to Pete Carroll of the Seattle
Seahawks ! When he called a time out to freeze Matt Bryant the Atlanta
Falcon's kicker just like they teach you in NFL Coaching 1A , the conventional thing to do, it just gave Bryant a second chance to kick the
winning 49 yard touchdown ! It was refreshing to see the smirk wiped off
his face as his team was knocked out of the playoffs . Pete has bad
karma and its too bad that it affected his team ! Peace and love from
the Scary one.
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