A SHOOTOUT IN THE WEST

Kaepernick Torments Packers with Aerial Assault

Time for review.

The last time the Packers hooked up with the San Francisco 49ers the Packer D surrendered 579 yards in total offense, 181 yards rushing to QB Colin Kaepernick alone and over 100 to RB Frank Gore. And as the Niners ran wild they also ran the Pack out of the playoffs and wrestled away the crown as King of the Hill in the NFC.

Much was made of the 49ers Read Option scheme and how putridly the Packers performed against the run. Soft.. weak… confused… divisive. None of the adjectives were flattering and DC Dom Capers spent the off season planning for the first game rematch. Stop the run was the mantra. Stop the run. Contain Kaepernick and keep him in the pocket. Clog the lanes to try to slow down Gore. Get tougher. Younger. More athletic. Stop the run.

Stopping the run had become a theme as the Packers run defense was anything but good

last season. But lo and behold, the Packers did, in fact, stop the run. They held the 49ers vaunted running game in check keeping SF to under 100 yards rushing as a team and looked fairly stout against the very tough 49er offensive line. The front 3 and the Linebackers showed up to play. Kaepernick was contained. Stop the run? The Packers stopped the run with plenty to spare.

There was one flaw in the design.

The secondary, a supposed strength of the Packers D did not show up. Kaepernick did not execute the Read Option, mostly by design. The run was taken away from the 49er attack, but Kaepernick was superb as a passer going over 400 yards for the first time in his career in carving out a 34 – 28 win in a shootout at Candlestick Park. Over half of Kaepernick’s yards were hauled in by veteran acquisition Anquan Boldin who had a career day in his 49er debut. TE Vernon Davis also had yet another huge day with 2 TD catches and now it’s back to the drawing board for Mike McCarthy, Capers, and the defensive unit.

Whatever way the Packers plan and prepare has been met by yet another facet of the 49er offense. SF looked every part of the NFC beast most see them as. The Packers are clearly behind the 49ers now, but the gap isn’t so far as to be impossible.

While Boldin had an outing for the books Tramon Williams and Sam Shields had a day to

forget and will have nightmares after seeing Boldin run every way imaginable over them. Williams was toasted on a critical 4^th and 2 late in the game when he lost Boldin on an in route. Shields fared little better as Boldin also yanked down a 43 yard catch-and-run completion through the middle of the field earlier.

The Packers were shorthanded having scratched CB Casey Hayward and S Morgan Burnett with hamstring injuries. The safety slots were overmatched in this one. The loss of Burnett hurt the Packers and Hayward’s ball hawking presence was sorely missed.

The Packers were defeated but hardly deflated. They led late in the 4^th quarter by a count of 28 -24 but the Niners rallied behind Kaepernick and came roaring back to add 10 points very late to out their stamp on the season opener for both teams.

While the Pack lost the game there were several things that went right. Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb looked to be in step. Only another maddening clank off Jermichael Finley’s hands put a blemish on Rodgers stats. After hitting Finley the ball bounced off his hands and was grabbed by the 49er defense, a mistake that will put a check mark against Rodgers as an interception. But James Jones went MIA in this game and was persona non grata on the offense.

Turnovers, some very shaky decision making in the return game, penalties and another officials gaffe all played a role in the loss, but McCarthy offered no excuses. All Pro G Josh Sitton was flagged for three alone in the first half for his use of his hands. But McCarthy offered no excuses fo0r his teams sloppy play.

“That’s a good team over there (San Francisco)” said MM after the game. When asked about his decision to put the Niners back 5 yards after stuffing Gore on the 4 yards line leaving the Niners with a 4^th and 2 MM said “That’s part of the game. The ball doesn’t always bounce your way. He (Kaepernick) played very well from the pocket today. The emphasis was to stop the run, but he made plays from the pocket”.

Kaepernick’s 412 yards passing on a 27 for 39 day wasn’t lost on LB Clay Matthews,

whose late hit on Kaepernick threatened to turn this rivalry to nasty. As Kaepernick scrambled short of a first down at the Packer 6 yard line Matthews took off after him and launched himself just after Kaepernick scampered out of bounds. Matthews’ head high clothesline tackle brought a flag, a lot of fists, another flag, and more bad blood and, in what has become an annual tradition, yet another officiating blunder.

Kaepernick’s run left the 49ers with a 4^th and 2 at the Packer 6 yard line. “First off, it wasn’t a smart play” said Matthews after the game. “I had already committed to hitting the quarterback and I should have figured he’d step out of bounds. It wasn’t personal. But it wasn’t a smart play.”

Matthews hit drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct from referee Bill Leavy and brought the wrath of the entire 49er offensive line. LT Joe Staley was in the middle angrily swinging back after Matthews took a shot at him. When the flag was thrown against Staley and suddenly this already heated rivalry turned vicious. As both teams milled around when the dust settled the offsetting fouls left the Niners with a 4^th and 2.

At least it should have left the Niners with a 4^th and 2. Both fouls were committed after the play and were dead ball fouls as the infractions occurred long after the play was blown dead. By rule the play should have stood as both fouls were offsetting leaving SF with a 4^th and 2.

In the confusion that ensued Leavy and his crew deemed that the fouls were offsetting and

improperly allowed the down to be replayed which resulted in a scoring strike from Kaepernick to Boldin over the middle.

The Packers did play well enough to win. Nelson had 7 catches for 130 yards showing no ill effects from the knee surgery he had that kept him out of the preseason and Cobb had 7 more for 108 yards. But the 5 3-and-outs kept the defense on the field much longer and led to a staggering time of possession for SF at over 39 minutes. James Jones will have to find a way to get back into the mix. Turnovers and time of possession and 3 and outs will certainly be beaten like a

drum by the coaching staff this week. In the return game Jeremy Ross made some very shaky decisions with returning the ball from the end zone. Apparently Ross forgot preseason is over and his roster spot is secure. But if Ross continues to bring the ball out from 5+ yards deep on kickoffs and starts the offense at the 9 as he did against the Niners Ross may play himself of the roster. Rookie RB Eddie Lacy, the missing link in the Packers offense used the stage to look like a rookie.

Early in the contest Lacy coughed up the ball on the 5^th carry of his pro career, a gaffe that

drew the ire of McCarthy and plunked Lacy on the bench for the remainder of the half. When asked about his prize rookie McCarthy didn’t mince words. “Horrendous start” said McCarthy. “I pulled him (Lacy) out of the game. I thought he picked it up in the second half.”

To Lacy’s credit he didn’t sulk or brood but played well after being reinserted into the lineup. Explaining what happened Lacy said “I was fighting for extra yards and [the ball] was a little loose. I should have gone down and protected the ball more, but I tried to get extra yardage, and it was a mistake on my part.” Lacy’s fumble deep in his own end led to the controversial series of plays involving the penalties and referee error.

When Lacy was exiled he had but 4 yards on 5 carries and 1 fumble to his credit to go along with the 31 yards he tallied on a screen pass to set up the Pack’s first TD of the year. After coming back in the second half he rebounded with 37 yards on 9 carries that included his first TD as a pro that gave the Packers their only lead of the game at 28 – 24.

Lacy has a great head for the game and took his benching like a professional. Lacy had runs of 6, 7, 5, and 6 yards on the drive that led to his 2 yard score. “You have to put plays like that behind you” said Lacy afterwards.’ Because if you keep it in mind them most likely it will happen again because you’re thinking about it and you don’t want it to happen again. So I just put it behind me.”

The Packers have to put this one behind them and look to regroup against the dynamic Robert Griffin III next week in the home opener against Washington. While there were some strides made, much still needs to be done. The pass defense now needs to catch up to the run defense, which showed considerable promise. The pecking order has been established and San Francisco has proven to be the best in the NFC. Kaepernick has shown hen is much more than a running QB, he has a cannon for an arm. He also shows smarts and will be a tough one to corral. Will there be another meeting down the road? If the Pack D can settle down in pass coverage, it could happen. The run defense is there already.

But WR Randall Cobb summed it up best after the game. “At the end of the day there are no moral victories” said Cobb afterwards. “It’s still a loss.”