END OF THE ROAD

Kaepernick Dazzles as Niners KO Pack

It all started with such promise.

And – it ended in the same disappointment of last season. It was the end of the line.

As the Green Bay Packers close the books on their 2012 -13 campaign with a decisive 45 – 31 loss in the NFC Divisional Playoff game they walk off the field not wondering what happened to the best team in football, like last year, but knowing they were beaten soundly by perhaps the best team in football this season. The opportunities were there; the Pack could not capitalize on them often enough and the one thing a coach as meticulous as Mike McCarthy fears most, a mistake at a key time, turned the momentum and the direction of the game in the 49ers favor.

The game opened with the Packers bolting from the gates and jumping on Colin Kaepernick’s mistake. The 2nd year QB in his first ever playoff game, on his second throw of the game, laid a flat ball out that CB Sam Shields grabbed after he jumped the route and undercut his man and it was off to the races. No one in the NFL can match Shields stride for stride and before the Bay area faithful had even settled into their seats San Francisco was staring down the wrong end of a 7 – 0 count.

This was the mistake the Packers were hoping, even expected Kaepernick to make. At midseason SF Head Coach Jim Harbaugh made a bold move in benching his season long starter and former #1 overall pick QB Alex Smith and rolled the dice on a gut instinct that he felt Kaepernick would give his team the best shot to win it all. Smith had been performing at his best since entering the league along with Aaron Rodgers. Harbaugh’s decision was made all the more shocking that the Niners were in first place and Smith’s numbers were among the league leaders at the time.

But an injury that put Smith in the bench opened the door for the athletic Kaepernick who made the most of his chance. Smith may become football’s version of Wally Pipp, the unfortunate sap who was playing 1^st base for the powerhouse New York Yankees in the 20’s who sat out a game with a minor injury and the Yanks inserted a young slugger named Lou Gehrig into his position, a spot he would not give up for the next 2,000+ games.

The 49ers struggled at times towards the end of the year causing many to question whether or not Harbaugh had made the right move. The Patriots lit the Niners up. And when Seattle dumped 48 points on them Harbaugh and his young QB really felt the heat. Now with the red hot Packers coming into town it was gut check time.

Many a young quarterback has wilted like a flower under the heat and pressure of the brightest lights when those lights shine brightest. Such was not the case with Kaepernick. He immediately answered any questions about his grittiness and resolve. He shook off the early game jitters and led the 49ers right back down the field and knotted the game on a nifty read-option run into the end zone. If any of his teammates had any doubt about the kid he quickly allayed their doubts with his decisiveness.

But the question of how Kaepernick would respond to Aaron Rodgers’ ability to shred a defense and light up a scoreboard remained. Rodgers has the ability to buckle the knees of many in the NFL and to dazzle with his icy cool persona. Rodgers led the Packers right back and RB DuJuan Harris took S Donte Whitner right out of his jockstrap on a run and fake up the gut that landed Harris in the end zone and put the Packers in front of the 49ers. At this point the feeling across the Bay area was “Uh, oh… here we go…” as the Packers moved the ball with precision against a 49er defense that was ailing with DE Justin Smith playing in a brace to protect a torn triceps muscle. Justin Smith’s value to the D cannot be stated enough; in his absence his running mate Aldon Smith, he of the 19.5 sacks through 13 games, registered exactly zero in the 3 games Smith missed. Justin Smith’s presence and strength that allows him to occupy two blockers create havoc for an offensive line that must deal with the stunts and twists Justin and Aldon Smith like to employ to get to the QB and runner. For their early efforts it appeared the Packers would have the answers for the young guns in San Fran.

Momentum is a funny thing and has been known to appear and disappear just as quickly. After taking a 14 – 7 lead and looking sharp in the process the Packer D help SF to a 3 and out and was about to hand the ball back to Rodgers and momentum was on the side of Green Bay. Another score this early could undo the young bucks in red. Green Bay was up 7, and had shown they could move the ball against the Niner D and was poised to make a long, clock killing, back breaking drive. The game was following the Packer script perfectly. There was no reason to believe that Rodgers and his merry men would not marshal another drive to open up a 14 point lead and run Kaepernick and his team right out of their own building.

It was precisely at this moment the Packers committed a mistake, a mistake that saw Ol’ Mo(mentum) jump right across the field in a single play.

Jeremy Ross had been mired deep in Indianapolis’ roster, buried on the practice squad. As the injuries to the Packers kept mounting at the wide receiver position – Greg Jennings- abdomen/ Jordy Nelson- hamstring/ Donald Driver – hand/ Jarrett Boykin – knee and finally Randall Cobb – ankle – GM Ted Thompson went shopping. Long known for his ability to find diamonds in a trash heap Thompson looked to have done it again when he snagged Ross from the Colts. When Cobb went out McCarthy inserted Ross into the lineup and Ross was electric in the handful of returns he had throughout the end of the regular season. Ross’ performance was so good it raised a valid question. With the multitalented Cobb becoming such an integral part of the offense what sense did to make to risk him as a punt returner? And when Ross responded clearly the question became do you want to put a proven commodity (Cobb) back as a kick returner risking injury or a rookie (Ross) that has been terrific so far but has yet to play in 3 NFL games yet a playoff game?

 

Ross gave McCarthy that option and McCarthy gave Ross the chance. In the cruel irony of the NFL it was just last week that Washington Head Coach Mike Shanahan decided to play an injured Robert Griffin III and RG3 left after seriously re-injuring his already banged yup knee. The fans and media cascaded to screams down on Shanny. In this situation McCarthy spared the versatile Cobb in favor of Ross on the bomb squad.

Unfortunately the bomb exploded in McCarthy’s face.

As Andy Lee’s punt drove Ross back to the Packer 9 yard line Ross did the unthinkable on several counts in a single play. He made a poor decision in trying to field the punt, a ball that most likely would have gone into the end zone, then chose not to signal for a fair catch then, as instant slow motion replay clearly showed, took his eye off the ball to see what was coming just prior to making the catch. The ball hit Ross between the numbers and fell at his feet where C.J. Spillman jumped on the gift.

To lay the defeat of the Packers at Ross’ doorstep would be categorically unfair and also untrue. But the momentum shift was palatable. After SF punched it in the reality of the game was a tie score. Green Bay saw a golden opportunity to take control of the game literally slip through their hands. The new life given to SF neutralized the early mistake made by Kaepernick and gave the 49ers hope and a renewed life.

To compound the felony on the next drive the usually reliable Rodgers was picked off by Tarrell Brown who returned the ball 39 yards setting up another 49er TD. The momentum swing was eagerly grabbed by SF as they took a 24 – 21 lead in at the half as struggling K David Akers hit a field goal as time expired in the half. Even a Rodgers to Jones TD pass was not enough to hold back the 49ers.

The 49ers dominated the game to that point. Time of possession, running yards and offensive plays were piling up for the Niners while the Packers seemed to be out of sorts. The offseason will be riddled with the same burning questions from last year – what went wrong, how could the defense give up so many yards, is the Packers time truly over?

Have the Packers come to the end of the line?

So completely had the Niners dominated the Packers in the first half lost among the finality of the final score is that the Packers were not so far out of the game as to render the outcome hopeless. Getting the ball back in the second half Crosby hit a field goal to tie the score up at 24. But the inability to protect the lead or even regain the lead came into play once again as the Packers D and Dom Capers had no answer at all for Kaepernick’s capers. In the first game this year the Pack gave up 186 yards rushing, mostly to Frank Gore. The key to stopping  SF is keeping Gore from piling up the yards. The Packers did not keep Gore in check; he would rush for 116 yards and Kaepernick was the dagger that ended whatever hopes Green Bay would have of advancing by rushing for an NFL record for quarterbacks 181 yards, a number that was almost the same amount they vowed to not give up again.

The 49ers exploited the left side of the Packers defense repeatedly, and Eric Walden was the target. Last week Walden set the edge against Peterson, but in this game Walden repeatedly lost contain on the outside allowing Kaepernick to jettison into the second level. When Walden stepped inside Kaepernick bounced outside leaving Walden in his wake. When Walden held his contain Kaepernick beat him to the inside like a cheetah. The Packers other linebackers were no match for Kaepernick’s speed. The return of rookie Nick Perry will help immensely but the Packers issues on stopping the run go far beyond Walden.

The 49ers completed drives of 80, 93 and 93 yards to put an exclamation point at the end of their very loud statement. They are for real and have become the favorites to win it all. WR Michael Crabtree had a great outing going over 100 yards and some Kaepernick scoring throws to heap more misery on the Packers. It can only be left to speculation the outcome had Green Bay been able to force San Francisco to play from behind and not the other way around. San Francisco’s time of possession was a gaudy 38 minutes to the Packers paltry 21 minutes. Even with a world class QB in Rodgers that is the death knell of most teams.

This is the second straight season to end in a divisional ass kicking. Last year the problems were the defense and the paltry pass rush. GM Ted Thompson addressed that issue by going after 6 players on defense in the draft. The defense rose from a bottom of the barrel 32^nd last year to 11^th overall this year and the Packers were in the Top 5 in sacks. But now the issue is stopping the run. Teams like the Niners have gashed the Packers almost at will. Clearly the 49ers are on the rise and for Green Bay to get back into the mix they will have to address the issue of how to bridge the gap between themselves and San Francisco and that gap is becoming large enough now that the Packers may need to construct their own Golden Gate Bridge to catch up.

But have some of the Packers themselves also come to the end of the line?

Donald Driver was not even suited up over the last part of the season but was in uniform for the playoffs, but his smile was as absent from his face as the familiar #80 was on the field. Driver’s days in Green Bay may be numbered, along with fellow WR and free agent Greg Jennings whose numbers may be too large for Green Bay to afford. The Packers are faced with large contracts due to Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji and Jennings’ may be the odd man out of the equation. With Rodgers, Matthews and Raji the cornerstones of the franchise there may simply not be enough to go around, and at age 30 coming off two injury filled years Jennings may be deemed expendable. With the defense against the run and the paucity of athletic and speedy linebackers like Matthews A.J. Hawk and his large contract could also be a casualty. Hawk has been a solid pro since being taken #5 overall but his lack of speed and deficiencies in pass coverage could see his hefty contract being moved.

And what to do about the mercurial Jermichael Finley? His talent is finally blossoming, but are his ill-timed tantrums too much of a distraction? Over the last few games, right after Finley popped off about he and Rodgers not being on the same page, Finley has come into his own with big games and big catches, minus the drama. There has been much debate about whether or not McCarthy and Thompson are ready to cut ties with Finley and his hefty salary, a salary about which he is pointedly referencing when it comes to the long term in Green Bay or if he has finally grown up enough to become the player MM and TT thought they would get when they took a flyer on the former Texas standout.

The questions abound on the defense as well. Is Ryan Pickett done? The big fella has been a key member of the defense and in a league that stresses youth, speed, and replacement perhaps Pickett’s needle is fluttering near ‘E’ on his enormous tank. The same could be said for Charles Woodson. Sad as it is to cut ties with the onetime heart of the defense the Packers will definitely need to retool but not necessarily rebuild. Woodson is 36 and has had collarbone breaks in each of the past two seasons along with a nagging turf toe injury and commands a hefty paycheck. Has Woodson come to the fork in the road where he is playing out the string? No one will ever question Pickett’s or Woodson’s heart; the painful reality of life in the NFL is the parting and the goodbyes.

We want to see our heroes play forever. We would have loved to have seen Lombardi coaching Rodgers who pitches the ball to a sweeping Paul Hornung behind the lead of Jerry Kramer and Chad Clifton as Hornung pulls up quick and fires a downfield strike to Sterling Sharpe who makes it into the end zone behind the block of William Henderson.

But the end of the road comes calling for everyone eventually.

This year the end of the road came in San Francisco. For many of the Packers, they may be facing the same fate.