Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers: 2013 Wild Card Round
Unfiltered game day blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.
GAME NOTES:
This will be the second meeting this season and the fourth in the last 16 months between the clubs. The Packers visited San Francisco in Week 1 this season, a 34-28 win for the 49ers.
Including playoffs, the Packers have won 13 of the last 17 games against the 49ers, but San Francisco has emerged victorious in the last three.
It’s cold at Lambeau Field, with temperatures in the single digits and dropping. It’s possible the temperature will remain at or above zero through most of the game, with the brutal cold arriving later in the evening. Still, wind chills will be in the minus-20 range for most of the game and possibly getting worse.
As per team tradition, the Packers alternated game captains each week during the regular season. The team elects captains for the entire postseason.
Today’s captains for the Packers will be WR Jordy Nelson and QB Aaron Rodgers (offense), S Morgan Burnettand LB A.J. Hawk (defense), and K Mason Crosby and CB Jarrett Bush (special teams).
Inactives for today’s game:
Green Bay Packers
13 WR Chris Harper
16 QB Scott Tolzien
20 CB Jumal Rolle
51 LB Nate Palmer
52 LB Clay Matthews
65 G Lane Taylor
73 C/G JC Tretter
San Francisco 49ers
22 CB Carlos Rogers
46 TE Derek Carrier
54 LB Nick Moody
62 G Ryan Seymour
71 DT Quinton Dial
78 G Joe Looney
84 WR Jon Baldwin
Startling lineup change: 26 CB Trumaine Brock starts for Rogers.
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Packers vs. 49ers – First Impressions – First Half:
Hope all the #Packers fans at Lambeau stay warm and BRING THE NOISE!!! #gopackgo
The Eagles’ loss to the Saints last night highlights the problems of poor run defenses. I’m hoping but not confident that the Packers can get back into their earlier season form in that regard.
Three runs to start the game, and a three-and-out. Message sent, but at what cost?
Sam Shields down… Not a good sign for the Packers.
Two fumbles so far, one by each team. Could see more of this with the weather, but who will take advantage of it?
It’s going to be a long day for the secondary, as Crabtree is wide open for the 4th down conversion.
Packers need to keep up this red zone defense. Holding 49ers to a FG is a win for how bad the rest of the drive was, though they got help with the 49ers calling three straight passes.
Two three-and-outs for the Packers offense to start the game. After a long drive by the 49ers, the defense is going to get tired quickly.
49ers dominating first quarter so far, but Packers only down by 6. Plenty of time left in this one.
On third straight three-and-out, the boos come out from the crowd. Let the team hear it!
Score at end of 1st quarter: SF 6 GB 0
Ouch. 2004 was the last time the Packers went without a pass in the 1st quarter.
Hard to put too much blame on the secondary when the pass rush is nonexistent.
Tramon came to play today. Great interception, even better hit on Kaep during the return.
Rejoice! Packers get their first 1st down. Signs of life, and the crowd is back in the game.
Strike to Nelson in the endzone puts the Packers ahead and gives them some momentum. All thanks to the interception by Tramon.
And the tides turn again… 49ers back on top after Kaepernick and Gore find running room.
Important for Packers to get points here, since 49ers get the ball to start second half.
Nice to see Starks getting involved in the passing game.
MM is doing his best Tom Coughlin impersonation in the freezing temperatures.
Lost timeout might have cost Packers there. Settle for a FG attempt, and Crosby nails it.
Score at end of 1st half: SF 13 GB 10
Packers vs. 49ers – First Impressions – Second Half:
Important 3rd down to open the half… and Daniels makes a helluva sack!
Love the shot to Jones, but it was undertrown. Sure both players wish they had done better on that play.
Tramon gets MVP so far. Great contain on the run by Gore.
Mulumba going down with an injury leaves Packers with just one true OLB. Hoping he can get back in. Meanwhile, defense basically goes into 4-3 scheme.
The effect of those two lost timeouts on Harbaugh’s decision/ability to challenge should not be overlooked.
The Packers defense has shown up to play this half. Three straight punts, and the Packers get a break with the touchback.
Eddie Lacy deserves Rookie of the Year.
Third quarter ends without a score for either team, but Packers driving and have found their one-two punch with Lacy and Starks
Score at end of 3rd quarter: SF 13 GB 10
Aaron Rodgers finds some Atlanta magic to get out of trouble and find Cobb for a HUGE fourth down conversion.
KUUUUUUUUUUHN!!!
Kaepernick using his legs to pick up yard in these crucial fourth quarter moments. Hopefully the defense can buckle down with the Packers now in the lead.
Vernon Davis finally makes his big play, a touchdown against AJ Hawk.
John Kuhn is money on those dump-offs. Makes a big first down.
Handing off to Cobb is questionable with Starks and Lacy on the team.
Five minutes left, 49ers get the ball, game tied… Could be the drive of the game.
Hyde agonizingly close to a game-changing interception… Instead, 49ers convert and the drive continues.
Clock keeps ticking… 3:00 left with San Fran at midfield.
This is completely nerve-wracking.
This game feels like it’s over with that run by Kaepernick for the first down.
And it all comes down to this field goal… At least the Packers weren’t blown out of the water this time around.
Field goal is good, and Packers season is over. Time to wrap up the season and look on to the draft!
Final Score: SF 23 GB 20
——————Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski
Follow @ChadToporski——————
Caeperdick’s legs were once again the x-factor. We would have had that game otherwise. Fuck him and fuck the Niners. Let’s go Panthers. In fact, I hope the Panthers knock him out. What a little bitch.
He’s a stud.
Rodgers is a better passer but I would trade for Kprnk straight up. He just wills first downs/wins.
Unstoppable.
Kprnk will end his career with more rings than Rodgers.
Rodgers will be hamstrung by TT and DC.
I have to stop being disappointed by these playoff outcomes. 2010 was a fluke. 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 (1-4)are the norm – and what we can expect for the rest of 12’s career…
20+ years of HOF qb play with only 1 ring to show for it… pathetic.
Rodgers doesn’t deserve this.
Trade him to an organization that will put a complete team around him.
Pathetic.
2 rings, I mean… still pathetic.
If you think Kaepernick is unstoppable, just wait until you watch them play the Panthers.
Besides, I think you don’t actually believe he’s better than Rodgers. What you’re really frustrated with is the offensive line that does Rodgers no favors in protection. Put those two players in the same offense, and anyone worth their weight in salt would take Rodgers any day over Kaepernick.
Right On Chad. I think the Panthers send the 49ers packing next week. Packers almost beat them with a Practice Squad defense!
being too harsh on the OL. They didn’t play a great game but were solid and certainly helped rodgers, especially considering they were missing Bulaga and had NEWHOUSE!!! playing by the end of the game. Also, 49er’s have one of the best group of front 7 defensive players in the NFL. The OL made some holes in the running game (which helped rodgers) and it looked like they wore down the entire 9er defense by the end of the game (which also helped rodgers).
That being said, Kaepernick is what Vince Young was supposed to be- a big, fast, scrambling QB that isn’t very accurate and makes questionable decisions. I’ll take the guy with the cannon for an arm, decent mobility and one of highest IQ’s in the league and so would any knowledgable football fan.
lol ease up on Kap’s nuts. he’s playing against 3rd string OLB’s in contain. outcome shouldn’t be surprising. let’s see how good a team they can put around him once he is done with his rookie contract and they’ve gone a few more years with low draft positions. you’re comparing apples n oranges. how many rings the 9ers got in last 20 yrs?
Guys like Kaepernick don’t last very long. It’s only a matter of time ’til someone twists his leg off…
Hey Dobber I think the Panthers might put a hurtinn on Colin next weel!
Never underestimate the importance of the week off in cooling off a hot team. I think Carolina’s gonna get beat.
Kaepernick is like Randy Moss: someone you’d like to see get smacked around, but he never seems to take a big hit. Moss is the only other guy I can think of that I ever really wanted to see get beat up.
“Rodgers is a better passer but I would trade for Kprnk straight up. He just wills first downs/wins.”
Do you see fish riding on bicycles too?
You do know one QB has a ring while the other failed his chance to get one right?
Played a great game, need to make a few more plays.
MM did it again, first and goal at the 9YL. Got there pounding Lacy. Then he take him out of the game puts Cobb in backfield. Outsmarted himself. Need a touchdown. Defense played well put when needed the most, can’t deliver. When GB went ahead 17-13 had a chance to take over game but let 49’s go right down field and score. Then last 5 min NEVER saw the ball again. Hyde has to make that play and Bush has to contain.
MM blows it again, if anyone hits dislike on the post you do not know football.
I think I saw Starks like 5 times that whole game. Starks is plenty good enough to help relieve Lacy of too many carries. Put’s Cobb in instead? McCarthy is an offensive genius but just SOMETIMES I’M LIKE AGHH!! Why mike???
No excuse for this loss. Rodgers is the only reason we’re in every game. Not Mike.
Never mind that Rodgers has as much and possibly more to do w/ the plays that are actually run than McCarthy does.
Starks got a lot of playing time if you were paying attention, and Cobb lined up in the backfield for that one play.
You think Starks played enough? Let’s elaborate.
Starks was able to effectively carry the ball 81 times during the 2010 post-season with a 3.9 average. And one of those games was against the vaunted Pittsburgh defense, in which he had just 11 carries for a 4.7 average.
He had 5 carries against the Niners. Eddie Lacy, as talented as he his, can’t be overworked just like any other human being, especially if you consider his bum ankle.
The play calling improved DRASTICALLY when Rodgers returned. It was Rodgers who wanted to go for it on 4th and 1, when it was McCarthy who wanted to give the ball back to the Bears. On the sidelines the playcalling only had one saving grace which would be the second half against the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of it was RANCID.
If you think just 5 carries is good enough for a back as good as Starks, and if you think Rodgers doesn’t know what he’s doing as a playcaller, then honestly I don’t even care to hear your pessimistic, condescending, degrading opinion anymore.
Just keep em to your damn self!
I AGREE 100%. I was screaming.. on 1st and goal from the 9, you run more of a gimmick play with Cobb, who has been back all of one game? What a waste of a play. and we could not afford a waste of a play. It is another example of MM’s seemingly poor play calling.
Another – why not mix in some “big play” Starks in the first half? Why wait until the 2nd half? He’s averaging 6 plus yards a carry lately.. and we needed a spark.
Wow. I really blame MM’s playcalling on this loss (along with 2 reg season losses). Any chance he gives up playcalling?
Rodgers has as much and possibly more to do w/ the play that’s actually run than McCarthy does. Guess we’re just ignoring that fact.
Stroh you must be a fly on the wall in the film room to know that. You really are a tool.
look, that play was not the reason we lost; we lost like we lost a lot of games this season. because the D cannot get off the field in the 4th quarter.
I see the Heroes of Playcalling Comedy Troupe has taken the stage again.
Comedy, as you know, is all about timing. First, you gotta set the audience up. Say something like, “Mike McCarthy is so bleepin’ stupid! I can’t believe he isn’t unleashing the dazzling unpredictability of a fourth-string quarterback throwing to an undrafted wide receiver while getting kneed in the groin by Marshall Newhouse!!” (Oh, and say it REALLY deadpan… as if you actually mean it.) Then, after about eight solid weeks of this – WHAMMMO! – hit ’em with the punch line! “Mike McCarthy is so bleepin’ stupid! I can’t believe he gave one of the most dynamic playmakers on the field a single touch from the backfield! We lost the game because of that!” One (1) touch! The whole game!!
Ah, dear God, I’m laughing so hard I’m crying!
Y’know, the mark of true comedic genius is that even after you have heard the same schtick a million times, you still can’t stop yourself from laughing whenever you hear it again.
Oh yeah, and you need to have a clever bit to end your set on a high note… something like, “Anyone who clicks ‘dislike’ to this post doesn’t know football.”
Precious!
I rest my case marpag, no clue!
“Handing off to Cobb is questionable with Starks and Lacy on the team.”
That cost us the more likely TD and the game.
Yes, sir!
I agree, why Cobb? With Lacy and Starks available,don’t understand that one.And now depression sets in!
A perfect example of Mike trying to fix something that wasn’t broke. Seen it too many times.
I’m afraid this will end up being a lose/lose game, i.e. packers lose and Capers keeps his job.
On last 49’s drive, EVERY defensive play had to be ALL OUT blitz. Rather see a quick TD then get bled to death by that punk Kaepernick.
Kapernick got a few good runs in but was pretty awful throwing the ball. Should have had 3 INT’s. I agree with you but Micah Hyde and Jarrett Bush should have made plays. Not sure you can fault Capers when the players lay egg’s on the field like that. As good as hyde has been this year (which is better than i ever imagined) I kept thinking how nice it would have been to have Casey Hayward playing the slot and getting a pick 6 to effectively end the game.
You are so right!
This was a closer game than I anticipated. The biggest problem is the Packers offense (which includes the play calling by McCarthy!) only played three quarters. The 49ers played the entire game.
Considering all the injuries this season, musical quarterbacks, erratic defense and a patchwork o-line this was a season to remember.
Really good game for a team that had basicly NO starters left on deffence!!! Mika, Mika, Mika, that would have been the sweetest interception, well folks they played like champs but no cigar!! Enjoyed the chats, it’s been great!!
Agree Big O,It’s absurd. Shields,Neal Mulumba,Baktieri go down and the 49ers lose no one. Bad luck I guess.
What else is new… Been that way all damn year.
It’s been that way for years.
I know it’s the lament of losers; “We could have won that game”. But in this case the Packers had a real chance to win if Hyde hangs onto that late pass. Pisses me off! Now we have to hear how great Kaeperdick is for at least another week. He should have been the goat.
Still – the Pack battled all night. Great effort. We’ll have all offseason to question this and that – but still love my Packers.
Hyde blew that play as well as a couple coverages. But that INT chance is a play he simply has to make at that point in the game. We simply need players that are able to make big plays w/ the game on the line.
for a rookie 5th round pick, I would say Hyde has been pretty damn good this year. He isn’t going to be charles woodson or casey hayward, but a good, versatile back up defensive back and a great special teams player. Hyde has great hands too, not sure how he dropped it, but he isnt a problem for the team or “not a playmaker”. his punt run back was a pretty good play, same with his generally tight coverage most of the year (minus against victor cruz). the problem is he was starting in the nickel instead of casey hayward.
Bummed. Not good enough talent, not good enough coaching. Let’s hope for better this next season. Go Pack Go!
most of our talent is on IR! We almost beat these chumps with 3 and 4th stringers at very important positions. For christ sake, newhouse was on the field by the end of the game!
What a bummer loss.
Rodgers played lights-out. Hate seeing a performance like that go to waste.
Give the man a defense, please.
not sure I would agree w/ lights-out, especially by rodgers’ standards. 4 scoring drives generated 20 points. the other 5 drives were basically 3-and-out with average time of 1:45. some of that has to fall on rodgers, esp when he takes sacks w/ an open check-down option.
He had some moments, but it wasn’t his best game.
Needed a touchdown on the last drive, way to go MM you blew it again. When they showed Lacy with the cape on, wanted to jump through TV and bitch slap that retard.
Dummy!
McCarty should hand over the play calling next year!
McCarthy needs to turn over the Offensive Coordinator duty to Clements and take over the Head Coaching job on game day.
Ball at the 9 yard need to score a td why take the beast out.
How does anyone dislike post #11 are you retarded like MM?
Capers STILL has to go. Don’t want to hear the injury excuse. Bye Bye Dom!
I’m not a big fan of DC,but I will cut him some slack. Would anyone do any better with all the injuries and replacements? I doubt it. The Pack needs some players who can stay healthy AND get the job done. And I’d like to see DC or some other coach chuck the soft zone, have corners actually hit their receivers off the line (and not give opposing WRs 5-10 yards to get a head of steam), and do whatever it takes so an opposing QB doesn’t have all day to throw the ball (in my humble opinion).
Generally agree… Why did it take till the playoffs for him to get his players to play w/ a sense of urgency for a change? That kinda effort was needed all year long and particularly when Rodgers was out. I just don’t think Capers is going anywhere yet.
SF plays w/ that kinda urgency every week near as I can tell, but our D took most of the year off. Granted injuries plays a part in that, and did again today, but he’s got to find a way to get players to play hard every week. This was so far and away the hardest they’ve played all year. Just points to a lack of leadership from him IMO. That and his schemes being so complex that it takes veterans to execute it.
Guys, we had three chances to stop that last drive. Hyde needed that int. bush needed to play for contain and not leap on the ball fake, and house let the sure fg block go between his arms. Those are basic player failures. Rodgers frustrates me when guys are open underneath and he sits and waits for the downfield throw. Today was a classic example of him holding ball too long. On our second to last drive, had Nelson open for 15 and very next play had Starks for easy 10 yards. — frustrating loss but had their chances. If Matthews plays, we may win that one. Injuries were a killer all season. Look forward to the offseason moves, of which numerous are necessary. GoPack!
The team played hard and almost won. Injuries doomed this team. When we didn’t score a TD on our last drive , and tied it up with a FG, I had a bad feeling we would lose exactly how we did, on a time killing game winning field goal drive.
I did not like the play calling when we got inside the 10, first and goal..hand off wide to Cobb? Then spread them wide twice and pass…The power run game was on fire at that point in the game. What sucked is we had SF on their heals on that drive, they were winded, and then we had to call a time out, which gave MM to much time to think.
i’ve been holding off on saying anything negative about Morgan Burnett all season, mainly because i get to watch MD Jennings screw up every week, but he really needs to rebound and be a quality starter next year. The TD pass to Davis was late and any decent Safety would have picked it. Burnett reacted late and missed. Early in the game when he had to cover Crabtree in the slot he looked worse that Hawk! He made a few good tackles helping in the run game but jesus christ has he been a disappointment. I think we are all not happy with how the year has turned out for Nick Perry, but at least we can blame his foot injury and he flashed a few big plays….. Burnett went the whole year without a INT
Notice how I stop well short of saying Burnett should be replaced. Anybody who watched McMillian and MD Jennings start in Week 1 against San Fran should remember just how bad Safety play can be!
There is something going on with this team. We had injuries all year, San Fran was missing 1 starter. During the game we lost 3 more starters. San Fran – 0. What the hell is going on????? Seeing our guys continue to limp off the field while the other team stays intact was just cruel. With the way Kapernick was spraying the ball around the field, Shields probably would have had a iNT
Burnett was awful all season. Soiled have picked that Davis td. Forgot to mention above how disappointed I was in James jones. Missed opportunities to make big plays. Could have made a difference and failed. He will be gone next year. GoPack!
I was in favor of keeping him last time around, but i agree. If he’s not going to make those catches, they need to find someone who will.
I agree with you about James Jones and his drops. He is a free agent and will be gone.
disagree. James Jones had a few incredible catches last year against San Fran in the playoffs, maybe he just doesn’t play well in the cold….. like Brent Favre. I think he gets another cold reception in free agency and comes back to the team again on the cheap. Don’t forget, the guy played most of the year less than 100% and had a decent season, given the QB situation. Also, with Finley not coming back, we need a good WR group. I hope we get him back.
Yup. I’m not absolving James Jones of his drops, but (1) this wasn’t the norm for him unless you go back a few years, and (2) he had defenders all over him for both drops and was trying to catch a rock of a ball.
Again, he could have and should have made those catches, but it doesn’t make him a bad player that he didn’t.
I would like to know what Bush was doing going on the inside. His job is to contain Kaepernick so he doen’t run outside, gain 11 yards and a first down, when it could have been a much longer field goal attempt by SF on 4th down.
I like Bush on special teams, and he made a great play picking off Big Ben at the big dance but he’s of sub par football intelligence and that was a big screwup when he failed to maintain the edge. If he keeps Krapernick inside the pocket the 49ers don’t convert.
The Colts have already offered him $16M over 4 years…
Get ready to see James jones in a viqueen jersey next year…..
They have Jennings & Patterson. Not sure why’d they bother with Jones. But stranger things have happened.
Well, that was incredibly disappointing. We are all rightly frustrated. But I’m going offer some perspective here.
If, in July, I had said, “Hey everyone, the Packers are going to lose their starting left tackle and their nickel CB (who led the team in interceptions last season) for the whole year in training camp and replace them with rookies, they will lose red chip players like Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley for most of the season, blue chipper Clay Matthews will miss over a month and be limited by a cast, Nick Perry and Eddie Lacy will have recurring foot issues, and oh yeah — they will be without Aaron Rodgers for HALF THE SEASON… And they will STILL finish with a technically winning record, steal the championship of the lousy NFC North from the Bears in an incredibly satisfying fashion, host a playoff game at Lambeau, and lose to the vastly more talented 49ers by only a last-second field goal… Oh, and Johnny Jolly will come back after three years and be a player… and Mason Crosby will be back to his previously clutch self…” I would have been laughed off this board.
Does this team need changes both on the field and on the sidelines/booth? Yes. Is it frustrating when we think about what could have been if players had executed and coaches prepared them better? Yes.
But I give a HELL of a lot of credit to this team, players and coaches, for not giving up and playing with heart to the very end. I’m not that depressed by this ending to the season, all things considered. The ending I wanted? No. But I’ll take it, and hope for better next year.
Great comment. This was disappointing to lose, but I would rather lose a close game that could have been won with an extra play or two going our way than get embarrassed like last year.
This year was rough, and it’s amazing the Packers were able to weather it as far as they did.
Also, a lot easier to lose to a talented team and play really well even though we were severely short handed. Have to feel good about next years team. This loss is a lot easier to take than all the playoff loss’s where we were the more talented team, but Favre thru too many picks. (St. Louis, Eagles, Vikings, Giants, etc.) Those made me sick.
Enough about how everyone thinks the Cobb handoff cost us the game and shows how terrible MM is at play calling. Lacey had been beating up the defense all game. Throw cobb and his speed at them while the worn down and something good could have happened. There is some logic there….. plus i have a feeling that a lot of you guys screaming about the cobb play also used to scream about about the Kuhn FB dive play that didn’t work for what seemed like a whole year.
completely agree. people are gonna whine because they want to whine. if a play fails it was either “too predictable” or “too creative”. just 20/20 hindsight
Game was closer than I expected but Vegas was right on at -3. Neither QB played well today IMO. SF DL didn’t even try to rush 12 in 2nd half most of the time. They just stood up and contained AR. Great effort by our guys in teh face of more injuries. I got to believe weather and surface helped to keep game close. Pack could have won. MM the ass clown, of course, struck again. Running Cobb from 9YL was stupid, not going for TD on 4th down led to very predictable loss.
Very sad. Tough, tough loss. We were RIGHT there – with all the injuries and adversity this team has faced. Unlike last year, this game truly could have gone our way. The 9ers punched and we punched back. They BARELY got the last laugh. I thought we’d get railroaded and this was FAR from that. SF, with all it’s healthy, is not much better of a team than GB with 20 guys on IR.
We need better safety, LB play and to get healthy. Dom did a great job today – he’ll keep his job for another year. One more year to get it right.
Overall, I’m sad. But proud of my team.
Bearmeat — well said: “Sad, but proud.” Nicely done.
Bearmeat – you brought your game. Dom Capers did a great job with very little talent. I am waiting for all the “fire Capers” posters to hang this on his scheme and play calling. You can’t manufacture the heart that this team played with. I look forward to a great 2014 season.
Go Packers!