Packers vs. 49ers – Game Day First Impressions, Unfiltered: GB 20 SF 23

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hands_to_faceGreen 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 PackersGreen 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.

Packers converting on 2nd down a lot this drive. Great for them, though bad for those 3rd-down stats.

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

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Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski

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86 thoughts on “Packers vs. 49ers – Game Day First Impressions, Unfiltered: GB 20 SF 23

  1. Lets dwell on the positives: the Packers couldn’t give the division away this year. Aaron Rogers is the best player in the NFL. The Vikings are a ship w/o a rudder and will be playing their games outdoor for the next two years. The Bears will need an almost complete rebuild on defense and the Lions problems will need more than just a coaching change to correct. Ted T has got to find at least one more play maker on the defensive side of the ball and the Packers have a stud running back. Mike Daniels looks like a Cullen Jenkins clone and Mika Hyde is only gonna get better!

    1. “…the Lions problems will need more than just a coaching change to correct”

      I wish that were true. They have a lot of talent…all they really need is a good corner and some discipline. Look at what Andy Reid did for KC…

  2. Well, it was disappointing, but at the same time, more than could be expected in light of all the injuries. Bradhtx is on target with his comments. I think you have to look at the 49ers, or any of the playoff teams, and think what would have happened to them given the same circumstances as the Packers had. Give the packers some credit. They showed a lot of heart. There are holes to fill and personnel changes needed. But, all in all, it was more than I expected. The #1 problem to solve is why are we having so many injuries.

  3. I disagree Dobber! They need a lot of discipline. When guys like Suh and Matt Stafford get away with the things they do for so long it’s hard to change them. Suh was a thug in H.S.and College and I don’t think a guy like that will be easy to change. The lions have a culture of losing and its been ingrained in them. I never thought Andy Reid was as great as many claim he was.He never won the big one and a lot of his success was due to a very good Defensive Coordinator named Jim Johnson. Once he passed away the Eagles were never the same. Did you watch the Chiefs blow that lead yesterday?

  4. Here’s the thing. We took this team that was very healthy down to the last play of the game. As usual we missed tackles and didn’t make plays to get our defense off the field especially on the final drive. Considering g our defense lost 3 more players during the game I thought the D made a heck of an effort. On offense, the Pack tried to control TOP and pound with the run game. On the 1st and goal from the 9YL MMs call to Cobb makes perfect sense to change pace when the SF D is tiring. We didn’t execute. Also as far as we know Rodgers may have made that call, he makes most of the play calls anyway. Bottom line is a failure to execute. As Bearmeat said, Sad but Proud. It was a heck of a ride all season long, just like this last game. Maybe next year this team stays healthy and we get to see what we really have. Go Pack! Thanks, Since ’61

  5. I don’t care what anyone says, that was horrible play calling down at the 9 yard line. MM, that was a game changer. The way I look at it you had 4 downs to pound Lacy and Starks to get 9 yards. You go up by 4 and force the whiners to drive the whole field for a TD.

    One last thing, Packers need to invest in a new training staff..this current crew isn’t cutting it!

  6. My only comment is to address “Why would you put Cobb in the backfield instead of Lacy or Starks?”

    MM is simply trying to get the defense to trot out nickle or dime personnel onto the field in a goal line situation.

    If the defense bites, you exploit the weakened box (DBs subbed in at the expense of either DL or LBs) by lining up Cobb in the backfield as a runner..Quick reminder, Cobb has repeatedly shown to be productive if not deadly when taking a hand off out of the backfield.

    If the defense sticks with their base D, you line up empty backfield and take your shot at exploiting the weak match up (LB on a WR or athletic/big TE).

    It did not work, but it is not poor play calling. It’s MM using all the tools he has at his disposal.

    The Packers played valiantly this season when one considers the devastation at many positions due to injury. This was a tough season but a lot of young players got valuable experience. Let’s hope for a healthy squad in 2014 and get back after it.

  7. No issues with the coaching staff really. They got the most out of what they had, and that’s what they are paid to do.

    The red zone failures this year where somewhat surprising, but I think the team really missed Finley in those situations. The team really needs another big (6-4 or 6-5) receiver that can go up and win a jump ball.

    Just my 2 cents

  8. It was a valiant effort by the Packers, but just not enough. The offense got off to such a pathetic start that, early on, I thought we were gonna get killed. The Packers really needed to get the ball, score a TD and put San Francisco on their heels. Starting the game with three 3 and outs just isn’t good enough.

    The defense played well enough to win. If you would have told me before the game that they would hold SF to 23 points, I would have been ecstatic.

    Clay Matthews needs to be in the game. He’s getting paid too much money to be sitting on the bench in a game like this. I don’t care if he has to wear a club the size of my head, he needs to be out there!

    Overall, the Packers showed a lot of resiliency this season. Injuries came in droves…just too many to weather through. Need to get a safety, ILB and just stay healthy next season. Go Pack!

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