Larry Ness' 10* PERFECT STORM (15-5 s/NFL 2011)-Saturday
My 10* PERFECT STORM is on the GB Packers at 8:00 ET.
I played the Packers last weekend at home vs the Vikings in a quick turnaround from their Week 17 loss in Minnesota. I loved the Rodgers vs Ponder edge and got an even bigger break when Ponder never made it to the post due to a triceps injury. Joe Webb was the emergency starter, becoming just the 4th QB to make a postseason start after not making a single start in the regular season (first since Buffalo's Frank Reich did so in 1993). Webb was the first to make a postseason start having not attempted a single pass in the regular season. As all know, Webb had a “tough night” in Lambeau last Saturday, completing 11-of-30 for 180 yards with one TD and one INT (QB rating of 54.9). Green Bay’s lone defensive ‘hiccup’ in the game came late, when leading 24-3, Webb threw a 50-yard TD pass with about 3 1/2 minutes left. As for Rodgers, he connected with an NFL playoff-record 10 receivers as he threw for 274 yards in his first playoff victory at home (23-of-33 with a TD and no INTs / 104.9 rating). Just how good is Rodgers? He was last year’s MVP as the Packers went 15-1 (a year removed from a Super Bowl title), completing 68.3% for 4,643 yards with 45 TDs and just six INTs, giving him an NFL single-season QB rating record of 122.5. He came back this year to complete 67.2% for 4,295 yards with 39 TDs (eight INTs) for a 108.0 rating (led the league for a second straight season). Rodgers is a northern California native (Chico) who is returning to face the team he grew up rooting for as a kid and the one that bypassed him in the 2005 draft. On top of that, the Packers well-remember the 49ers winning in Week 1 of the 2012 season 30-22 at Green Bay. The Packers opened 13-0 last year but then fell at KC. Green Bay won is final two games but the team came out flat in the postseason in the Division Round, losing at home convincingly to the Giants (eventual Super Bowl champs). However, the feeling here is that the Packers are peaking at the right time this season, recovering from a 2-3 start which included that infamous MNF ending with replacement officials at Seattle plus a 30-27 loss at Indy, in which the Packers let a 21-3 halftime lead slip away. Rodgers ‘saved’ the season the following week in a SNF game at Houston, tossing six TD passes in a 42-24 win over the Texans and the 49ers enter this game having won 10 of 12 games (including last weekend), posting a 9-3 ATS record. The 49ers edged the Packers for the No. 2 seed and that means this game will played in Candlestick. I’ll argue that hardly matters, as most remember Green Bay winning three straight road games before beating the Steelers to win the Super Bowl title in 2010. Jim Harbaugh turned the 49ers around in 2011, taking over a team which had gone 6-10 in 2010 and hadn’t made the postseason since 2002. The 49ers ended the regular season with a 13–3 record, earning the second overall seed in the NFC Playoffs. In the Divisional Playoffs the 49ers defeated the New Orleans Saints 36–32, reaching the NFC Championship for the first time since 1997, and faced the New York Giants, losing 20–17 in overtime. Alex Smith had five wasted NFL seasons prior to Harbaugh’s arrival but he completed 61.3% last year for 3,144 yards with 17 TDs and just five INTs (90.7 QB rating). He’s a “game-manger” at his best and this season, lost his job after suffering a concussion in a Week 10’s 24-24 tie vs the Rams. Colin Kaepernick started the the 49ers’ Week 11 MNF game against the Bears and led San Francisco to a 32-7 win. Harbaugh had a a tough choice to make and he decided to stick with Kaepernick, even when Smith was cleared to play. I’m NOT sure what the right decision was but how many times has a starting QB, 19-5-1 over his last 25 regular season starts plus having gone 18-of-19 for 232 yards with three TDs and no INTs in his last full game, lost his job to an injury (concussion)? If the 49ers lose here, especially if Kaerpernick plays poorly, Harbaugh will be HUGELY second-guessed. Green Bay has been bolstered by the return of star linebacker Clay Matthews, who has played the last four games after missing four with a hamstring injury, plus former Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson returned last weekend after the cornerback was out since Oct 21 with a collarbone injury. As for the San Francisco defense, DE Justin Smith has been dealing with a triceps injury and missed the final two games of the regular season, which has hampered the effectiveness of LB Aldon Smith, a solid candidate for Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Justin Smith was wearing an elbow brace and has been practicing this week and should play (listed as probable for Saturday). The 49ers need to get a “A-effort” from their defense, not what we saw in Week 15 up in New England (34 points, 32 FDs and 520 yards allowed) or in Week 16 in Seattle (42 points allowed). Both kickers struggled in the regular season (49ers’ David Akers was 29 of 42 and the Packers’ Mason Crosby 21 of 33) but it’s the Niners who could have a new kicker Saturday, after signing Billy Cundiff last week (Akers has missed seven of his last 18 FG attempts). A QB switch and now a possible last-second PK switch with Cundiff, who famously missed a potential game-tying 32-yard attempt in last year's AFC title game for Baltimore against New England (are you kidding me?). I'm taking the points but expect the Packers to be playing in next Sunday’s NFC championship game.
My 10* PERFECT STORM is on the GB Packers at 8:00 ET.
I played the Packers last weekend at home vs the Vikings in a quick turnaround from their Week 17 loss in Minnesota. I loved the Rodgers vs Ponder edge and got an even bigger break when Ponder never made it to the post due to a triceps injury. Joe Webb was the emergency starter, becoming just the 4th QB to make a postseason start after not making a single start in the regular season (first since Buffalo's Frank Reich did so in 1993). Webb was the first to make a postseason start having not attempted a single pass in the regular season. As all know, Webb had a “tough night” in Lambeau last Saturday, completing 11-of-30 for 180 yards with one TD and one INT (QB rating of 54.9). Green Bay’s lone defensive ‘hiccup’ in the game came late, when leading 24-3, Webb threw a 50-yard TD pass with about 3 1/2 minutes left. As for Rodgers, he connected with an NFL playoff-record 10 receivers as he threw for 274 yards in his first playoff victory at home (23-of-33 with a TD and no INTs / 104.9 rating). Just how good is Rodgers? He was last year’s MVP as the Packers went 15-1 (a year removed from a Super Bowl title), completing 68.3% for 4,643 yards with 45 TDs and just six INTs, giving him an NFL single-season QB rating record of 122.5. He came back this year to complete 67.2% for 4,295 yards with 39 TDs (eight INTs) for a 108.0 rating (led the league for a second straight season). Rodgers is a northern California native (Chico) who is returning to face the team he grew up rooting for as a kid and the one that bypassed him in the 2005 draft. On top of that, the Packers well-remember the 49ers winning in Week 1 of the 2012 season 30-22 at Green Bay. The Packers opened 13-0 last year but then fell at KC. Green Bay won is final two games but the team came out flat in the postseason in the Division Round, losing at home convincingly to the Giants (eventual Super Bowl champs). However, the feeling here is that the Packers are peaking at the right time this season, recovering from a 2-3 start which included that infamous MNF ending with replacement officials at Seattle plus a 30-27 loss at Indy, in which the Packers let a 21-3 halftime lead slip away. Rodgers ‘saved’ the season the following week in a SNF game at Houston, tossing six TD passes in a 42-24 win over the Texans and the 49ers enter this game having won 10 of 12 games (including last weekend), posting a 9-3 ATS record. The 49ers edged the Packers for the No. 2 seed and that means this game will played in Candlestick. I’ll argue that hardly matters, as most remember Green Bay winning three straight road games before beating the Steelers to win the Super Bowl title in 2010. Jim Harbaugh turned the 49ers around in 2011, taking over a team which had gone 6-10 in 2010 and hadn’t made the postseason since 2002. The 49ers ended the regular season with a 13–3 record, earning the second overall seed in the NFC Playoffs. In the Divisional Playoffs the 49ers defeated the New Orleans Saints 36–32, reaching the NFC Championship for the first time since 1997, and faced the New York Giants, losing 20–17 in overtime. Alex Smith had five wasted NFL seasons prior to Harbaugh’s arrival but he completed 61.3% last year for 3,144 yards with 17 TDs and just five INTs (90.7 QB rating). He’s a “game-manger” at his best and this season, lost his job after suffering a concussion in a Week 10’s 24-24 tie vs the Rams. Colin Kaepernick started the the 49ers’ Week 11 MNF game against the Bears and led San Francisco to a 32-7 win. Harbaugh had a a tough choice to make and he decided to stick with Kaepernick, even when Smith was cleared to play. I’m NOT sure what the right decision was but how many times has a starting QB, 19-5-1 over his last 25 regular season starts plus having gone 18-of-19 for 232 yards with three TDs and no INTs in his last full game, lost his job to an injury (concussion)? If the 49ers lose here, especially if Kaerpernick plays poorly, Harbaugh will be HUGELY second-guessed. Green Bay has been bolstered by the return of star linebacker Clay Matthews, who has played the last four games after missing four with a hamstring injury, plus former Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson returned last weekend after the cornerback was out since Oct 21 with a collarbone injury. As for the San Francisco defense, DE Justin Smith has been dealing with a triceps injury and missed the final two games of the regular season, which has hampered the effectiveness of LB Aldon Smith, a solid candidate for Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Justin Smith was wearing an elbow brace and has been practicing this week and should play (listed as probable for Saturday). The 49ers need to get a “A-effort” from their defense, not what we saw in Week 15 up in New England (34 points, 32 FDs and 520 yards allowed) or in Week 16 in Seattle (42 points allowed). Both kickers struggled in the regular season (49ers’ David Akers was 29 of 42 and the Packers’ Mason Crosby 21 of 33) but it’s the Niners who could have a new kicker Saturday, after signing Billy Cundiff last week (Akers has missed seven of his last 18 FG attempts). A QB switch and now a possible last-second PK switch with Cundiff, who famously missed a potential game-tying 32-yard attempt in last year's AFC title game for Baltimore against New England (are you kidding me?). I'm taking the points but expect the Packers to be playing in next Sunday’s NFC championship game.

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