Candlestick park , San Francisco - In the much anticipated rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers , fans were treated to an exciting but sloppy contest. The post game statistics don't really capture the real time game experience. The 49ers had 11 penalties for 85 yards. That Tim Teabow game statistics !
Clay Matthews and the Green Bay defensive unit was bound and determined to shut down the zone read option runs on the part of QB Colin Kaepernick. They succeeded in this but lost the game to the pocket passing version of Mr. Tattoo , who shredded their secondary for 412 passing yards with the mighty help of Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis.
From the very start of the game the Niners had no trouble moving the ball via the pass. Yet they seemed to have difficulty in lining up their offensive personnel and getting plays off on time. Throughout the game the Niners used precious timeouts just to get the play calls right. The impact of this was that Coach Jim Harbaugh was in no position to challenge the numerous bad calls by the game officials !
The 49er defensive unit took the " bend but don't break " idea to the extreme. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was only sacked twice and had plenty of time to pass for 333 yards , mostly to Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. The Packers just like the 49ers weren't successful with the running attack. The Pack managed to fail at critical times during the game despite the impressive statistics.
The 49er fans were loud ! Green Bay LB Clay Matthews was the obvious villain for making an out of bounds horse collar tackle on Kaepernick in the 2nd quarter , which almost provoked an all out brawl on the Green Bay sidelines ! Matthews had been mouthing off prior to the game about putting big hits on Kaepernick .
The Niner special team play in the first half was one of the reasons that the score was tied 21-21. Kicker Phil Dawson missed a short field goal , the return receivers exercised poor judgement at times and there were penalties that didn't help.
The first half score could have very easily been 28-7 not 21-21. The Niner defense lost some steam in the closing minutes and allowed the Packers to score. This despite the success of the offense.
The second half was more of the same with the 49ers and Packers trading touchdowns. Even when the opportunity presented itself Kaepernick seemed reluctant to run the ball. With Boldin beating the Green Bay secondary up the middle and the lack of a strong running attack , big gaps were there to exploit. Kaepernick didn't take the easy yards. The offensive line didn't open many holes for the Frank Gore who managed only 44 yards rushing.
San Francisco won because they were the better team and Green Bay just couldn't shut down the 49er passing game. The performance of the Niner defense was shaky . There wasn't much pressure on Aaron Rodgers. The special team play was barely adequate and the offense was disorganized.
The upside was the performance of Colin Kaepernick in only the 11th start of his career ! He had no turnovers and completed 27/39 passes for 412 yards and 3 touchdowns. Anquan Boldin , in his first regular game as a 49er out muscled the Packer secondary for 13 catches for 208 yards and one touchdown. What were the Baltimore Ravens thinking when they let him go ? Vernon Davis is now officially in sync with Kaepernick ! Making 6 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
The downside is a shaky defense with the upcoming game with the Seattle Seahawks in view. Not to mention that the noise level in Seattle and the apparent difficulties the 49ers have getting the correct calls into the offense ! Even though television and radio jockcasters were impressed , the Niners won the game by attrition not brilliance !
So hang on to your seats fans ! Everything is up for grabs in the 2013 NFL season. In the last season at Candlestick park and the first home game , the weather was hot ! The ball park is like a senior citizen on a last combat tour ! Its shabby and blue collar but its home. Next year its Levi stadium. No more steaks and hotdogs on the barby ! So lets take in the ocean breezes and enjoy !
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