Preview: Packers vs 49ers - NFC Divisional Game

Rodgers vs Kaepernick:

• This will be Kaepernick's first playoff game as a starter. This could be either a good thing (Wilson, Flacco, Sanchez, Yates just to make a few QB's who won their first playoffs starts) or this could be a bad thing for him. Since 2008, QB's making their first playoff starts are 8-7. So for Kaepernick, its almost a 50/50 shot at giving the Niners the win. As for Rodgers, he could make this tough on the Niners faithful. Winning he's last 3 playoff road starts, playing on the road doesn't really phase him, but this will be his first ever game at Candlestick Park. Rodgers, who is a California-native, rooted for the 49ers his entire life until he became a Packer. Now he must beat the team he loves dearly in his heart. Likewise for Kaepernick, born in Wisconsin but raised on the west coast, he also has to play against the team he so loved as a child, the Green Bay Packers. It will be a tough game for both of these QB's, on and off the field.

Can Frank Gore do the the Packers Defense as Adrian Peterson did to them this season?

• If we rank the top 5 RB's in this league from the last 5 years, Gore would be on that list. At least he should be. With that being said, this Packers defense had serious issues with the guy would most, if not all, would say is #1 on that list: Adrian Peterson. Lets not forget that Gore also destroyed this defense up at Lambeau back in September for 112 yards, including the game-sealing TD run. If he can run like that again, this Packers defense will be in for a long evening, which isn't good for the Packers. Period.

Battle of the "3-4" defenses: Who wins?

• Well the Niners defense won round one of these battle at Lambeau. This time around, both defenses have had their share of injuries, but now both teams seem to be getting everything back to together at the right now. Its all about the matchups: Which defense can exploit the other offenses weakness? The defense that can do that, and play physical, smash-mouth defense, will be the ones who wins this battle and the game.

Can the 49ers win this game if they score under 20 points?

• Well they scored 30 points at Lambeau (although 23 of those came from the offense). I believe that this will not be an issue for the Niners. I think they'll get over 20 points and so will the Packers.

X-Factor: Dujuan Harris vs 49ers Defense

• Can Harris take some pressure off Rodgers against this 49ers defense??

Confidence Picks: Packers (11) vs 49ers (15)

• QB: Rodgers (2) vs Kaepernick (8)
• Defense: GB (6) vs SF (2)
• Coach: McCarthy (3) vs Harbaugh (5)

Prediction: 23-20, 49ers

Top 3 for Week 2

Week 2 can be the week that determine how well of a start do teams get off. 16 teams are 1-0, a 75% chance at making the playoffs. 16 teams are 0-1, a 25% chance at making the playoffs. Since 1990, 12 of the 16 teams that start off 1-0 will go to the playoffs while 4 of the 16 teams that start 0-1 will recover and make the playoffs.

1. Bears at Packers: Well the Bears are 1-0 and Packers are 0-1. This is a huge Thursday Night game at Lambeau and this could very well be a huge division win or lost for these teams. The Bears are trying to take a 2-game lead (2 1/2 because of winning one of the two regular season meetings) and for the Packers, being in 4th place in the NFC North wasn't in their plans this season.
2. Lions at 49ers: For the 49ers, last week's game at Lambeau could be the game that puts the NFL on notice: THIS TEAM IS FOR REAL. Dominating defensive performance against the Packers could set this team up for home-field in January. As for the Lions, a very dismal game against the Rams, are looking to show the world that they are not the Detroit Lions of old. Being that this is a Sunday Night Game, what other way to get the world to know your name by beating the 49ers at home after they came off of a dominating win at Lambeau. 
3. Saints at Panthers: For two teams that we're thought to be 1-2 in the NFC South, one of these teams could be last by the end of day on Sunday. With Falcons looking pretty dominate and the Bucs seem to have found their old-school defense, the Saints and Panthers could be in for a uphill battle if they lose. Cam Newton is looking to shake off his performance in Tampa with a performance similar to what newcomer RGIII did to this Saints D last week.

2012 Super Bowl Predictions

The two teams who will be in New Orleans on February 3rd, 2013 is:

AFC Champions: Baltimore Ravens

• For this team, I believe that this could be the final swan song for what will go down as one of the greatest defensive cores in NFL history. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed held this defense together for years and this could be the last season for one, if not both players.
• So close last season was this team from going to and playing in the Super Bowl. This season they should dominate as usual. 
• Joey Flacco must become the leader for this team if they have any chance at getting to the Super Bowl. After watching Eli Manning take more control for the Giants last season, Flacco must be able to take the next step and have himself a career season.
• If the Ravens can get Terrell Suggs back at least 70-80%, this team could be back in the Super Bowl just like that.

NFC Champions: San Francisco 49ers

• With a team that's return every starter from last year's lights-out Defense, this team reloaded on offensive this year and could be one of the deepest teams in the NFL this season.
• Can the young WR's and Randy Moss make this 49ers offensive a little more explosive then it was last year? If they can, this team is a lock to the Super Bowl.
• Alex Smith must and I mean MUST continue to improve as he might be asked to win more games for the 49ers this season. I believe he had a good postseason last year and would need to pull off another performance like he did against the Saints in the playoffs to get this team into the Super Bowl.
• Well playing in one of the weakest divisions in the NFL be an advantage or disadvantage to this 49ers team. Competition in the season could be the fuel that sets this team off and go on a tear, if motivated throughout the season.

Winner: Baltimore Ravens

2012 NFC West Preview

NFC West

Reviews are in order of final standings for 2011

1. 49ers (13-3): - Two fumbles keep this team away from going to the Super Bowl in January. A painful way to end what was a great season for this prestige franchise that could be back on the rise after a decade of painful futility. QB Alex Smith may have saved his career with a career season and will be looked upon to make his mark among the great 49ers QB's of the past. However, this team's glaring need of a WR was checked over the off-season with additions of Mario Manningham and Randy Moss. This should make Smith's life a lot easier and make this 49ers offense more dangerous. Can this 49ers team win the Super Bowl this year??
2. Cardinals (8-8): - The 2008 season seem like a 4 decades ago for this team that made to the Super Bowl. Year one of Kolb is complete with the only problem being: He didn't finish the season. With John Skelton as starter, the Cards finished strong last season, winning 5 of 6 games to end the season at .500. One of the questions will remain for this Cards team: Kolb or Skelton? With the 49ers reloading, Rams rebounding, and Seahawks improving, this leaves the Cards with a huge question moving forward. Can the Cards keep winning with Skelton at the helm or will Kolb make a strong move for the starting QB spot in 2012?
3. Seahawks (7-9): - The Seahawks could of had a worse record then this, but because of two huge road wins, which indeed keep this team afloat for the 2011 season. Going into this season, the Seahawks have a problem....their QB situation. Signing Matt Flynn and drafting Russell Wilson, put incumbent Tarvaris Jackson in a familiar position: Having to fight for his starting QB spot again. Something Jackson has done throughout his career. Another thing could be the signing of WR Terrell Owens and how effective he could be during this season. Two key questions lurk for this team: Who will be the lead signal caller in 2012? Will T.O. be effective enough to help a Seahawks receiver core that, all combined ,would still not equal the hall of fame numbers that T.O. has accumulated over his career?
4. Rams (2-14): - After choosing Bradford over R.G.III in the draft, could adding some help for Bradford be enough to help this team gain some wins in 2012. Maybe the addition of new coach Jeff Fisher could be enough to do the trick as well. This team last season had really nobody to count on and was just a bad team overall. However, with a few WR's added to the team and a few draft picks (thanks to the Redskins) may be enough to turn this team around in the next 2-3 seasons. Can the Rams make it to the playoffs in 2012 after finishing last in the division in 2011??

2012 NFC West Champion: San Francisco 49ers

SF: (11-5)

SEA: (7-9)

ARI: (6-10)

STL: (5-11)

4 Downs - NFC Championship: Giants vs 49ers

Giants vs 49ers

• 1st Down: Can Alex Smith repeat his performance he had against the Saints? - Well last week I asked would he succumb to the playoff pressure. Well he answered that question in a great way. Now I would have to ask that again, now that the stakes are higher and this game could send him to the Super Bowl and pretty much erase the failures of the last 6 years of his career.
• 2nd Down: Which Defense can put the other Quarterback on the ground more: Giants or 49ers? - Sacks will be a big stat as to see who's defense can control this game. The Giants front 4 vs the 49ers turnover machine of a secondary. Winner of this, will win this game and go to the Super Bowl.
• 3rd Down: Will this game become another classic playoff game between these two organizations? - Lets face it, when the Giants/49ers play each other in the playoffs, you usually get GREAT games. 2002 NFC Wild Card (which became the 2nd biggest comeback in postseason history), 1986 Divisional game in New York (48-3 beat'em-down they gave the 49ers) and 1990 NFC Championship Game (Joe Montana's last game as a 49ers Quarterback) just to name a few. All-time postseason series: 4-3 49ers.
• 4th Down: Rainy, Sloppy-Field, Windy, Messy weather in San Francisco - From early weather predictions, this game will look nothing like the game last Saturday against the Saints. With rainy weather  attacking the west coast all weekend, this game will be a messy one. This could be an advantage for the home team, but of course the Giants aren't any strangers to bad weather games. Playing in New Jersey, they seen their few share of messy games. Interesting to see what happens at Candlestick Park on Sunday.

Confidence Pick: Giants

• QB: Manning (2) vs Smith (4)
• Defense: Giants (1) vs 49ers (2)
• Team: Giants (2) vs 49ers (3)
• Giants (5) vs 49ers (9)

My Pick: Giants 26, 49ers 30

Possible Super Bowl Story lines........

As we gear up for the Conference Championship game on Sunday, I put up a poll to see what would be the "sexier" match-up for Super Bowl 46. Still time to vote, so do so. Each team may have a "story line" for the Super Bowl. We'll examine a few of those now:

New England Patriots: This will make 5 Super Bowls in 10 years. That would put them in the ranks of the Steelers of the 70's, Vikings of the late 60's and 70's, the 49ers of the 80's and Bills of the 90's as far as Super Bowl appearances in a 10-year span. Tom Brady is seeking his 4th Super Bowl title, which will put him with Terry Bradshaw and his Boyhood idol Joe Montana as far as Quarterbacks with the most Super Bowl titles. This would also mark the first time the Pats will be back in the Super Bowl since the almost "undefeated" season.

Baltimore Ravens: This team could be facing the "closing" of their window for winning a championship. Over the last few years, the Ravens have had the talent to get to a Super Bowl, it was just the fact that they could never beat the Indianapolis Colts or their dreaded AFC North Rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, this time the moons may have aligned for this Ravens team. Picture this Baltimore Sports fans, 28 years ago the then Baltimore Colts left town to move to Indianapolis. Since then, the Ravens and Colts have won a Super Bowl. However, the Super Bowl this season is where.........that's right Indianapolis. How fitting and sweet would this be for Ravens fans (ex-Colts fans) win a Super Bowl in the stadium and city of which their old beloved Colts now play in.

San Francisco 49ers: This once proud franchise that dominated the 80's and 90's with great football teams had a 9-year absence from the NFL postseason. Well their back and what a great way to make a comeback to prominence then winning a classic game on the 30-year anniversary of "The Catch" with a play that will go down as "The Catch III" last week against the Saints. The 49ers would also have a good story line: The team with the Quarterback who was one the #1 overall pick in a draft that featured him and another quarterback who won last year before he did. Alex Smith would have vindication of he can get to and win a Super Bowl title. Having the word "Bust" attached to your career is like being black-listed by the Federal Government.

New York Giants: Following the path that won them a title 4 years ago, the Giants are looking to repeat history. Well for the Giants, there could be a few compelling story lines: Rematch Super Bowls. If the Giants make it to the Super Bowl, it will be the first time since the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills did it in '91 and '93. If they we're to match up with the Ravens, it would be a rematch of Super Bowl 35 and if the Patriots win, it will mark the rematch of Super Bowl 42 played 4 years ago.

Recap: NFC Divisional - Saints vs. 49ers

Saints 32, 49ers 36

Recap:

• 1st Down: Under/Over 300 yards for Drew Brees? If I were to say that Brees went 40/63 for 462, 4 TD's and 2 INT's well you'd say the Saints had to win big out there in San Fran right? Right? Well not exactly, great numbers by Brees but it was the other Quarterback who went toe to toe with Brees. Alex Smith may of had the under in this, but he got the one important thing: THE WIN! Advantage: 49ers
• 2nd Down: Will the playoff pressure succumb Alex Smith's lack of postseason experience? Smith went 24/42, 3 TD's (1 rushing TD) and 0 INT's. Well to answer that question: NO. Alex Smith may have played one of his best games, but this game was the biggest game he's won so far in his shaky career. Advantage: 49ers
• 3rd Down: Saints High-Powered offense vs 49ers dominate defense? - Well lets see, the Saints did score 32 points. Normally you'd tell me that the Saints won this game. However, having 5 turnovers against the 49ers, one could say that the Saints we're blown out. However, with 5 turnovers, the Saints actually had a chance to win the game. 32 points vs 5 turnovers. Advantage: Push
• 4th Down: Outdoors vs Indoors - Didn't factor much in this game. It was in the low 60's and sunny. Perfect weather for any team.

Jed Jacobson/Getty Images

What's Next: 49ers will await the winner of the Giants/Packers game. Either match-up could be great, considering the history of all of these organizations.

4 Downs - NFC Divisional: Saints vs 49ers

Saints vs 49ers

• 1st Down: Under/Over 300 yards for Drew Brees and the Saints? Well this will measure if the Saints are moving the ball against that vaunted 49ers defense. If Brees passes for more then 300, then the Saints have a great chance of winning. However, if Brees is held in check and throws for under 300, then you have to say can the Saints win a defensive battle? We'll have to see.
• 2nd Down: Will the playoff pressure succumb Alex Smith's lack of postseason experience? Well last week, 2 of the 3 QB's who had first time playoff start won. They were also at home, so for Smith this should be good news. However, for Smith this first playoff appearance is in his 6th season. Smith has be left for dead by most people, but winning in the playoffs could re-energize his career.
• 3rd Down: Saints High-Powered Offense vs 49ers Dominate Defense - This game can answer that saying that always get brought up: Defense wins championships and Offense sells tickets. We'll see who's right after this game.
• 4th Down: Outdoor vs Indoor - For the Saints, this is important because the Saints may have to play the rest of their games outdoors. Now as a 3rd seed, the Saints could still play a home playoff game. It's only happened twice in NFL history that a conference championship was hosted in a 3rd place stadium: 06 Colts and 08 Cardinals. Both teams went to the Super. Now on the other side, the Saints are 0-2 on the road under Payton in the playoffs: Losing the 06 NFC title game at Chicago and losing last year to another NFC West team in Seattle. 

Confidence Pick:

• QB: Brees (4) vs Smith (8)
• Defense: Saints (6) vs 49ers (2)
• Team: Saints (1) vs 49ers (3)
• Saints (11) vs 49ers (13)

My Pick: Saints 20, 49ers 23

Divisional Confidence Picks

This format is simple: I'll use 3 categories (Overall Team, Quarterback, and Defense) and then I'll rank those categories by using the numbers 1-8 (1 being the most confident and 8 being the least confident). Of those 3 categories, I'll combine the total and get the confidence number. Remember, the lower the number wins for each game.

Quarterbacks:
1. Brady
2. Rodgers
3. Manning
4. Brees
5. Flacco
6. Tebow
7. Yates
8. Smith

Defense:
1. Texans
2. 49ers
3. Ravens
4. Broncos
5. Giants
6. Saints
7. Packers
8. Patriots

Overall Team:
1. Saints
2. Ravens
3. 49ers
4. Patriots
5. Giants
6. Broncos
7. Packers
8. Texans

Saints (11) at 49ers (13)
Broncos (16) at Patriots (13)
Texans (16) at Ravens (10)
Giants (13) at Packers (16)

Results of the confidence picks suggest that the Saints, Patriots, Ravens and Giants will win over the weekend. However, I do believe that the Saints/49ers pick is the only pick I would change. I think the 49ers will win that game, it will be close.

Go West Young Man, Go West?

Week 15 could be the tell all for where the road to Indianapolis (Super Bowl) will go through. I'll focus a lot on the AFC (Since the Packers have the NFC locked down) and I'll look at 3 teams today who all will travel west of the Mississippi. In the AFC, four teams are 10-3, with the Texans leading the way through tie-breakers. But of those four teams, the Texans are the only ones that are at home and have clinched their division. The Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers all are on the road and all have huge games that could have meaning in the playoff race. 

Lets start with the big game of the weekend, Patriots at Broncos. This game could be huge, not because of the Tebow-ism that's taken over the league right now, but this game puts the 10-3 Pats against the 8-5 Broncos. This game could be for tie-breaking purposes as well as can the team of the decade beat the rising phenomenon named Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Could today be the "changing" of the guard? Over the last 10 years, the Pats have been the darlings of the NFL, but if "Tebow-ism" beat the Pats today, could all of that finally change? 

I'll get on that topic later, but the reason why I am doing this entry is because of the huge impact this game could deliver for this year's AFC postseason picture. If the Pats pull off this victory, many people would be happy because the Tebow-mania would subside for a week and for Pats fans this could put them closer to having home-field in the AFC. But, if the Broncos were to pull out the win, this could give them the AFC West title and at least position this team for a possible run at the #1 or #2 seed in the AFC. Which leads me into the next AFC game.

Ravens at Chargers tonight could be a huge test for a Ravens team that's trying to make themselves the #1 top dog in the AFC. Ravens may have exercise their demons in the Steelers this season (winning the season series between the two) but seem to have mental breakdowns against teams they have NO business losing too (i.e. Jaguars, Seahawks and Titans). The Ravens don't want to repeat the last trip they made to the west-coast. As for the Chargers, making late season runs is their MO. However, this could be the final nail in the coffin that's known as the 2011 NFL season. The Chargers would have to win out and get help in order to make the playoffs, but winning their last two game is a good symbol for this team that's use to winning in the month of December.

If the Ravens can hang on the win this game, this would pretty much give the Ravens at least the #2 seed in the AFC and would very much wrap up the AFC North (with the Browns and Bengals left on their schedule). If the Chargers win, this would extend their other-wise not so good season by another week. Noteworthy to the Raven faithful, WIN THIS GAME TONIGHT!!!! Put the pressure on the Steelers!!! Which leads me to the final game of week 15.

Steelers at 49ers, this game has HUGE meaning on both teams who are in heated races within their respective conferences. This hurdle for the Steelers could be a tough one, being without the suspended James Harrison and having Big Ben injured and questionable to play in this game, the Steelers have to play the 49ers short-handed. As for the 49ers, who lost to the other AFC North top dog the Ravens a few weeks ago, will play a similar team in the Steelers. 

If the Steelers win this game, two things could happen: 1.) they could be leading the AFC North (if Ravens lose) or 2.) they could have locked down the #5 seed as a wild-card. The Steelers will go into Monday Night knowing the results of both the Pats, Ravens, and Texans games. If the 49ers win this game, this could lock down the #2 seed in the NFC and thus the 49ers would have two weeks plus a bye week to prepare for their first playoff game in 9 years.

So lets just say that the Super Bowl picture could be settled in the Wild, Wild West this week. Well I had to use something for the theme "Go West Young Man, Go West". We'll see what happens. Destination Super Bowl!!!!

Turkey Day Football Games Recap

Well had a good time with family and friends yesterday. Three football games, upset stomach, and a headache later.....I am here to give a recap on the football games from Thanksgiving.

First game was the Packers vs. Lions and this game was noted more for what one player did than the whole grand scheme of the Packers winning again going 11-0 for the season. Ndamukong Suh was ejected from the game in the 3rd Quarter after an act for which I'll say is just plain "stupid", this changed the game. The Packers just got stopped on a key 3rd & Goal and should have been kicking a FG to make it 10-0, until that incident. The Packers got the ball on the 2 and scored a few plays later. From that time on, Stafford throw a few INT's and the Packers scored on those mistakes and before you knew it was 24-0 and the game was essentially over.


Second Game featured the Dolphins vs Cowboys and this game, the Dolphins effort wasn't question this time around. Matt Moore played well against Tony Romo, whom despite two 1st quarter INT's, lead the Cowboys on a few good scoring plays of his own. This game came down to a last-second FG, and no it's wasn't snowing this Thanksgiving for all of you Leon Lett fans, but Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey nailed the game-winning kick in a 20-19 victory for the streaking Cowboys.


Third and final game was between the 49ers vs Ravens, the headline of this game was the Harbaugh family, bothers Jim and John Harbaugh teams faced off against one another in a possible Super Bowl preview. This game was just a defensive battle. The Raven's defense sacked Alex Smith not 1, not 2, not 3 (okay I'll kill the Lebron James reference) but 9 times. Joe Flacco threw the only TD of this game as the Ravens won 16-6.

What could be.......

I've decided to write this morning. Remember the 2005 NFL Draft? It wasn't that eventful, but I'll just take two players from that draft for the purpose of this blog entry. Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith will forever be linked to this day, in which two franchises took two different paths to a run at a championship.

Before this draft most people, including myself, believed that Aaron Rodgers would be the #1 pick to the San Francisco 49ers, but the 49ers took a different approach that day. They took Alex Smith at #1. Keep in mind that this year's draft wasn't the most Quarterback-friendly drafts, considering that the new wave of QB's were still a few years away and the previous draft had Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.

As for Alex Smith, being the #1 pick, he hasn't lived up to that standard and has plenty of times come very very close to having his career ended by inconsistent play and injuries. However, this could be the comeback of all comebacks if Smith can pull off the unthinkable by getting the 49ers back to the Super Bowl.

As for Aaron Rodgers, he's gone from rags to riches over the years. From being snubbed by this favorite team, the 49ers, to winning a championship with his current team. He was protected from early failures by being the backup to one Brett Favre, before he was inserted into the lineup at the start of the 2008 season. 3 years later, Rodgers is arguably one of the top 5 QB in the league. Coming off of a Super Bowl win, most could say that the Packers made a great choice that day in 2005, when it picked Rodgers at 24th in the draft.

Now the true reason why I am writing this is because both the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers are on a collision course to see each other sometime in the playoffs, particularly in the NFC Championship game. This would be the 1st time that Alex Smith will make the playoffs (considering that he gets in as to date) and for Aaron Rodgers, this is his first time defending a Super Bowl title and could be his first time winning the MVP.

As I said before, these two men will be forever linked with each other, but they could start up a late rivalry against one another if both teams stay young (Packers are the 2nd youngest team in the league and the 49ers are the 9th youngest).