AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Kaepernick played very little in the first meeting between these teams. He will be a big focus of the Green Bay defense on Saturday

Some would simply look at this season’s week one matchup between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers to start breaking down this upcoming Saturday’s divisional playoff game.  But each of these teams has made a sizable change between Week 1 and now.

So what are the changes?  The 49ers have a new starting quarterback in Colin Kaepernick and the Packers have found a more productive running game.  Let’s examine each of these factors as it relates to this upcoming game.

Quarterback

This is the biggest change for San Francisco.  In the week one matchup at Green Bay, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith was the starter and he was extremely efficient.  He was 20 for 26 with two touchdowns and no interceptions.  It helped that Frank Gore added over 100 yards rushing and with Smith not under any real pressure all day.  The 49ers were able to beat the Packers for the first time since 1999 and the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated.

In a week 10 game against the St. Louis Rams, Smith suffered a concussion and had to leave the game.  That would be his last start and action during the 2012 season.  Smith was forced to miss the next week’s game when he was not cleared to return.  Read more... (890 words + 3 images, estimated 3:34 mins reading time)

---- Get AddToAny

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were chased up and down the field by the 49ers on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers were outplayed, outhustled and outcoached in their loss to the 49ers on Sunday. Other than that, the Packers looked pretty good.

The game reminded me of how the Packers played in the first part of the 2010 season. If you can remember back that far, the Packers lost three of four from week three through six, and got outplayed, outhustled and outcoached in each one. Nonetheless, each game was close.

• The Bears beat the Packers 20-17 in week three, forcing a late James Jones fumble and taking advantage of 18 penalties on the Packers.
• After the Packers beat Detroit in week four, they lost an ugly 16-13 game to the Redskins the following week. Aaron Rodgers threw an interception in overtime and the Packers were penalized nine times.
• The Packers allowed 150 rushing yards, Rodgers was sacked five times, and the Packers lost 23-20 in overtime to the Miami Dolphins in week five.

It was a stretch of games where the Packers always looked a step behind. Green Bay’s raw talent was obvious, but something was missing.

That’s what it felt like during Sunday’s loss to San Francisco.  Read more... (620 words + 1 image, estimated 2:29 mins reading time)

---- Get AddToAny