Packers at 49ers: 2013 NFL Playoffs Game Preview

2 of 6

Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

@craigballard77

This season Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick each had 218 pass attempts. Smith was replaced by Kaepernick due to injury, but when Smith returned to health he remained sidelined as head coach Jim Harbaugh made the practically unprecedented call of staying with Kaepernick. Smith losing his job despite returning to health was a stunner, but he was sacked 24 times and Kaepernick was dropped just 16 times. Harbaugh prefers a quarterback that can beat you with his running ability if/when a play breaks down.

Kaepernick went 5-2 as a starter, and 3-0 at Candlestick Park. He had four touchdowns (three passing and one rushing) with zero interceptions at home. His quarterback rating at Candlestick is a very impressive 109.4. In the Niners week one win over the Packers we saw Kaepernick have one rush and it went for 17 yards.

Michael Crabtree had a career season, and he is a BFF for Kaepernick. The second year quarterback looks for Crabtree way more often than any other 49er pass catcher.

In the 2012 NFL Playoffs we saw Vernon Davis carry the day. He was awesome, but Kaepernick-to-Davis is not exactly on fire. When Kaepernick throws to the tight ends he is actually awesome, but the 49ers are just not targeting that position in their passing game lately. #RML in this game will be let's see id Davis can be effective in this game. I would think that they will need multiple key catches from Davis in this game. Davis does appear to be over any concussion issues so hopefully he can get going with Kaepernick.

The Packers pass defense is no joke. They are ranked #11 overall vs the pass, and they have eight interceptions on the road which is top-10 quality. They have dropped the opposing quarterback 47 times, 22 of those on the road.

Clay Matthews is back, and he has 6.0 sacks in his last four games (including 2.0 sacks on wild-card weekend). For the season he had 13.0 sacks, 5.0 of those were on the road. Green Bay will need Matthews to be the guy disrupting Kaepernick's rhythm.

Rookie cornerback Casey Hayward leads the Packers with six interceptions, and incredibly all of those have come on the road. The Pack won four road games this season, and Hayward had one interception in all of them (two in a win at the Houston Texans).

craigballard77@myself.com

Source: http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/2013/01/10/packers-at-49ers-2013-nfl-playoffs-preview/

ted nugent veep los angeles kings earth day timothy leary jonathan frid pujols