Shawn (3-0) — By week 9 of this season, the Green Bay Packers are going to have their fill of read-option quarterbacks, having already faced Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton by that time.
In round 1 against Wilson, the Packers earned a C against the read-option in my book. They concentrated on stopping Marshawn Lynch and were successful at doing that. However, once Wilson decided to just keep it and take the edge in the second half, big gains followed.
Wilson is an elusive guy, but he isn’t as quick as Colin Kaepernick, who will really challenge the Packers’ ends at the edge. The Packers’ way of defending the read-option against Seattle showed no revelation on how to stop it. They basically just left it to their unblocked end to keep the edge without giving up a huge gap for the running back. That is a tall task when the quarterback is quicker than you are. Wilson took advantage of it, and Kaep will look to do the same.
Of course, the Packers’ focus against the Seahawks was to stop Lynch; whereas, their likely focus against the 49ers will be to stop Kaepernick. The Packers should be about as well equipped to do that as any team in the league, since they’ve drafted for speed and athleticism on defense ever since Kaepernick embarrassed them in the 2012 playoffs. With Letroy Guion back, the Packers have their full compliment at defensive line, a unit that has been playing well. They will look to contain Kaepernick, which they didn’t do in 2012, while still getting some pressure on him, which they didn’t do in week 1 of 2013.
The big difference in this matchup versus prior ones is that San Francisco is no longer the strong defensive challenge that they used to be. Navorro Bowman is about the only defensive star they still have. Most of the rest of the defense is a work in progress. They have especially struggled in the last two weeks at stopping the pass and that is an onerous Achilles heel to have with the Packers and Aaron Rodgers coming to town.
San Francisco is also not the physical challenge that they used to be. The Packers should be the bully this time around and I expect the Packers’ offensive line to establish that early.
Kaepernick and the 49ers have looked so bad in the last two weeks that everyone seems to have forgotten week 1 when they handled the Minnesota Vikings pretty easily. I don’t think Kaepernick or the 49ers are as bad as some people are thinking, and I know Kaepernick is yet to play a bad game against the Packers.
However, I think the Packers offense should be too much to handle for that defense, and I think the Packers’ defensive front seven can handle the run and put too much on Kaepernick’s shoulders. He might make some plays, but it ultimately won’t be enough.
Packers 27, 49ers 19
Andrew (2-1)
All this offseason and preseason, we heard a lot of chatter about the Packers wanting to get off to a fast start. Well, heading into week 4 and looking to remain undefeated, the Packers should be thanking the NFL schedulers for setting them up for a great chance at success in the first quarter of the season.
From a motivation standpoint, what more could a team ask for than what the Packers were given? A division rival on the road, followed by the most hated of all rivals in the revenge game of a lifetime, followed by a team that has constantly given the Packers fits, spoiled a perfect season and was previously 3-0 at Lambeau Field.
And now Green Bay faces a San Francisco team that dominated the Packers for several years, eliminated them from the playoffs in consecutive seasons including one at Lambeau Field and have owned them in an ugly series of 4 straight losses the Packers have yet to avenge.
Yet.
A struggling Colin Kaepernick has been waiting roughly a season and a quarter for this game. There is little doubt the once highly touted prospect and Super Bowl quarterback is giddy with excitement at the opportunity to face the Packers and scorch them with his legs and arm as he has done with tremendous effectiveness the last three times these teams met.
The game plan to beating the San Francisco 49ers offense should be easy, but the Packers typically don’t like doing things that way. Every time the 49ers run the read option, the nearest defender needs to attack and crush Colin Kaepernick over and over and over again. Let Carlos Hyde get some early yardage and let him enjoy it. But at every turn, as he poses a threat as a runner with every fake or keep, Kaepernick is fair game for the Packers to pound that prick with aplomb until the read option is no longer an option.
That probably won’t happen though so the Niners will find some offensive success, but I don’t see the San Francisco defense having many answers for Rodgers and the Packers either.
Although I don’t like the idea of the Packers being such big favorites on the road, I can’t think of a better scenario for them to be tremendously motivated to play a ten point dog. It’s in Aaron Rodgers’s back yard. It’s one of two teams in the NFL that he hasn’t beaten. And it’s against a quarterback that is 3-0 lifetime against Rodgers and the Packers.
Anyone think ARodge might have been marking this game on the calendar right along with Kaepernick?
It’s on.
Packers 37, 49ers 27
Monty (3-0) — Col-in-Kaep-er-nick.
Lick-my-ball-a-sack.
Seriously, fuck this fucking fuck.
Sooooooooooooooo tired.
Yes, Colin Kaepernick has burned the Green Bay Packers before. Those will be this fucktard’s ONLY career highlights.
He’ll be sitting around when he’s 80, telling his grandkids, “Listen, I was a total shitbag as an NFL quarterback, but on a few occasions, I totally fucked the Green Bay Packers. Hahahahahahahaha!”
And that will be true, but the point here is this. The 49ers bet that fuckface was an NFL quarterback and they bet wrong.
They need to look no farther than directly across the field on Sunday to see what an NFL quarterback looks like.
His name is Robert Paulson. I mean, Aaron Rodgers…
That’s what an NFL quarterback looks like.
He doesn’t run the fucking read option. He throws the fucking football.
Aaron Rodgers throws the football. Colin Kaepernick sucks a cock in the Tenderloin.
Yes, he’s had his moments, but that ends now. The Green Bay Packers, on this day, will put an end to the myth that Colin Kaepernick is an NFL quarterback.
I know very well that Dom Capers has no clue how to defend the read option, but the Packers defense has too much pride to let a repeat performance of past Kaepernick aberrations happen again. They’ll contain his running and he can’t pass for shit, so the 49ers are fucked offensively.
And on defense — no Justin Smith, no Aldon Smith, no Patrick Willis.
No stopping Aaron Rodgers or the Packers running game.
I’ll be at this game and my biggest concern is trying not to get stabbed by some shitbag 49ers fan.
Packers 38, 49ers 17