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http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20140105009&home=9&vis=25

 

(AP) -- While the return of Aaron Rodgers has the Green Bay Packers feeling confident offensively, the challenge falls on their much-maligned defense to contain Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers.

 

That's something the unit has failed to do against the dual-threat quarterback, who hopes to lead the defending NFC champions to their seventh straight victory Sunday in a wild-card game at Lambeau Field.

 

Although he denied rust was a factor after missing seven games with a broken collarbone, Rodgers struggled in the first half Sunday, going 14 of 22 for 145 yards with two interceptions at Chicago.

 

The three-time Pro Bowler, however, came back strong in the second half, connecting on 11 of 17 for 173 yards with two touchdowns - including the go-ahead 48-yard TD pass to Randall Cobb with 38 seconds left.

 

"My arm felt good. Mentally, I felt good," Rodgers said on his weekly radio show. "I prepared hard all week, but there's always going to be some sort of re-indoctrination period, if you will. It was kind of like the preseason for me."

 

Despite going 0-4-1 during a stretch in which Rodgers was injured in a loss to the Bears on Nov. 4, the Packers (8-7-1) rallied to win three of their last four to claim a third straight NFC North title.

 

Green Bay, though, has struggled defensively over the past nine weeks, ranking 29th with 30.0 points, 30th with 404.2 total yards and 31st with 157.2 rushing yards allowed per game over that span.

 

Making matters worse, pass-rushing linebacker Clay Matthews will not play after breaking his right thumb for a second time this year.

 

"We're a playoff football team," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Our identity has changed. This team has embraced it, and we know it's going to take the full game to get it done, and that's the way we play."

 

Kaepernick is playing well heading into this meeting, completing 61.8 percent of his attempts for 1,395 yards with 10 TDs and one interception during San Francisco's six-game winning streak.

 

He's proved to be a nightmare matchup for McCarthy's defense, accounting for 895 total yards and seven touchdowns in two career starts against the Packers.

 

The third-year pro ran for a quarterback-record 181 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-31 victory over visiting Green Bay in an NFC divisional playoff game Jan. 12. Kaepernick then threw for a career-high 412 yards and three scores to lead the 49ers (12-4) to a 34-28 home win over the Packers in the Sept. 8 season opener.

 

Anquan Boldin had 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown in that contest en route to a team-best 85 catches for 1,179 yards and seven scores on the season. Vernon Davis added two TD receptions in the opener, and finished tied for third in the NFL with 13 scores.

 

"Green Bay is a completely different team than the team we saw in Week 1, as we are," Boldin said. "For us, we would like to carry that momentum. We are in a six-game winning streak."

 

Frank Gore was limited to a season-low 14 yards on 13 carries in a 23-20 win at Arizona on Sunday, but he could play a prominent role against Green Bay's poor run defense. He's rushed for an average of 91.7 yards while scoring in each of his last three meetings with the Packers.

 

A sprained right ankle has bothered Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy, but McCarthy said the rookie came out of Sunday's game in better condition than he did the previous contest. He finished with 66 yards and a touchdown, giving him 356 yards and five scores over his last four games.

 

Lacy was limited to 41 yards on 14 carries with a TD in first meeting of the season with the 49ers, who have the league's fourth-best run defense at 95.9 yards allowed per game.

 

Rodgers threw for 333 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in that matchup, while receivers Cobb and Jordy Nelson combined for 14 catches for 238 yards and two scores.

 

Cobb had missed 10 games with a broken shin before returning Sunday. Though he caught only two passes in his 37 snaps, both went for touchdowns.

 

Rodgers has connected on 66.7 percent of his attempts for 1,535 yards with 12 touchdowns and three picks in five career meetings with the 49ers, though Green Bay has dropped the last three.

 

He'll face another difficult test against a San Francisco team that ranked third in scoring defense at 17.0 points and fifth in total defense at 316.9 yards per game.

 

Linebacker NaVorro Bowman has been playing at a high level alongside Patrick Willis with three sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in December.

 

Cornerback Carlos Rogers remains optimistic he'll play after injuring his right hamstring against the Cardinals.

 

"In terms of a challenge, our guys know the challenge," said coach Jim Harbaugh, who hopes to guide the 49ers to their sixth Super Bowl title. "Being in the playoffs is a chance at the ultimate chance."

 

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Projected high of 0 degrees, with a low of -18.

Frank Gore gonna run for 300 yards.

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Niners have owned the Packers the last two times... and I think they might just be a bit overconfident and overlooking their opponent. The Pack are dangerous with A-Rod back.

 

:49ers: 24

:Packers: 27

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Last three times, I think.. lmao :(

They average like 500 yards against us, and that is only a slight over exaggeration.

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Kaep in the cold? I'm thinking Packers.

 

:Packers: 24

:49ers: 14


Kaep in the cold? I'm thinking Packers.

 

:Packers: 24

:49ers: 14

 

 

lol I'm just kidding :). The Packers aren't very good, with or without Rodgers.

 

:49ers: 31

:Packers: 21

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Heard on the radio today that Eddie Lacy is dealing with a pretty bad ankle sprain and while he will play, it will be significantly less than 100%. Doesn't bode well for us.

Also, obviously I want to win. And I am going to "predict" we win every game until we lose... And I also think losing would be a huge disappointment. But to be honest... I think it's a win / win situation. We win, and it's onward to and through Carolina. Lose... And there is probably going to be overturn on the defensive side of the ball -- which probably helps us significantly in the long term.

I want to win... badly, but losing doesn't have to be so bad.

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I was pleasantly surprised by holding the 49ers to a last second field goal win.

 

I'm hoping that Capers doesn't get fired. He's gotten most of the blame throughout the past few years for the defense's bad games and until this year I was against him. Now I see that the task set before him creates a situation where it's highly improbable to field a defense that can successfully match up against any team at any time. We have most of our DB can't tackle except for Williams and after the way he closed out this season I'm content letting him keep his salary on this team, even though I'd still prefer he takes a paycut. But I'm more concerned that he stays on the team instead of leaves.

 

The defense played their hearts out tonight and kept one of the best teams in football to a mere 3 point victory in a low scoring game. They did lose it for us in that last drive, allowing SF to get into FG range but the blame of the loss falls heavily on the offense. They had many more good scoring chances than the 9ers and they couldn't do shit. I recall they were given the ball on our 49 yard line once and failed to capture a 1st down.

 

I hope Jones is cut/not signed. He dropped 2 potential big plays. I've never really liked him and I'm hoping the major mistakes tonight cost him his job. Boykin is more than sufficient replacement, and I'm sure we can draft somebody who's as good or better than Jones within 1-2 years.

 

Rodgers took far too many coverage sacks tonight. Scramble or throw the ball away, $25m man. Eddie Lacy is still the man. Marshall Newhouse needs to fuck out of Wisconsin. Hopefully the offensive line improves with Bulaga returning and a bit more experience for Barclay and Bakhtiari.

 

All in all good season for the very weak, heavily injured and completely outmatched Packer team. We lost so many players it was a miracle we even made it to the postseason. Hell we lost 3 starters during this last game alone.

 

And while I'm on the subject, hats off to Matt Flynn. We had a shitstain of a QB situation when the thrice-cut backup stepped up to the plate to come back against the Vikings for a tie, then come back against both the Falcons and the Cowboys to even get us into POSITION for playoff contention. I hope he's given a fair shake at being backup again next year. I'd take him and Tolzien as the backups.

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It was definitely a shallow victory for the Packers today. It could have been a lot worse -- probably should have been. But the team hung in there. They were undone, once again by not taking advantage of circumstances. The 49ers played well enough to win, surely... but the Packers had their chances and blew them. We weren't a great team going in, and the better team is moving on. Simple as that. That game and the way we lost is just so fitting.... Guys making mental mistakes (James Jones dropping two deep balls). Guys not being disciplined (Jarrett Bush letting Kaep break contain on that final run). Guys not taking what is given to them and making the opponent pay (the 2-3 dropped INTs).

We came oh so very close... But we just weren't good enough (the GW FG going through the arms of a Packer defender)... That's our season in a nutshell. It's crazy how poetic the NFL can be when they dish up a side of justice.

 

I will say though, regardless of how this season ended... That NFC North title game was still awesome and those are memories I will keep with me forever.

Unlike Badgers... I think Dom Capers has to go. Reportedly his contract is up, and it's just time for change. I agree the defense wasn't the reason we lost, really. I wouldn't totally pin it on the offense either.. but neither unit was good enough to win. In that regard, I suppose he did fine in this game... but that doesn't make up for 5? years of suck... The Super Bowl can only carry him so far, and that defense is long gone.

If he had a year left on his contract, I wouldn't really see much point in firing. But if his contract is, indeed, expiring... There is no way Ted or Mike can justify extending him. None. I thank him for all he has done, it was a great run (for 1 year at least) and I wish him the absolute best of luck moving forward.

 

One thing I mentioned before this game... I wanted to see heart. I wanted to see some passion. A hunger... We have lacked that desperately over the last couple of years, and the players seemed to have that back tonight. I hope they don't lose that and keep fighting for another Super Bowl title.

 

This offseason, IMO, is going to be brutal. We have too many FA's and not enough money to bring them all back. We have to lock up our center, EDS... Sam Shields really deserves to stay. BJ Raji is probably on the way out.

 

James Jones is a solid receiver, but my guess is that his run has ended in Green Bay. We don't really have the money... We have a nice young WR, Jarrett Boykin... And my guess is some other team is willing to pay just a little more than we will. I love James though. He's evolved his game throughout his Packer tenure. When we brought him in, he was a young raw talent with brick hands and possessed the uncanny ability to fumble at will. He's grown so much. And outside of tonight's unfortunate results, I would like him back if the price is right.

 

We are in desperate need of a NT, S, and LB depth. I expect this draft to be defense heavy. I would love to pick up J. Byrd out of Buffalo in FA... Pick up the TE, Ebron out of UNC in the 1st round of the draft would be sweet. I don't think it's a top need, but he looks pretty special to me, and I would like the chance to make him special. Assuming J-Mike is done.

The biggest change we probably need is in the weight room. The conditioning staff fails the Packers every single year. I don't know the numbers, but they have to be of of the most oft-injured teams in the league. I am not using that as an excuse for our shit-awful play -- I never do. But it is something that needs to be addressed moving forward.

Also, Matt Flynn is awful and I hope he is flown far far away from Green Bay -- never to return.

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It was a good game and it sucks to see that the Packers were soo close yet couldn't capitalize on those few plays. We have a lot of young talent and with a few more additions, the team could be dominant if it stays healthy.

 

Gonna be an interesting offseason and hopefully the Packers can retain a few of their FAs and potentially make a splash in FA. If Capers' contract is indeed up, then he shouldn't be extended. There are a few DCs out there that can be had, and GB does have the personnel to switch to a 4-3 if needed.

 

Still proud of the Packers that they won the division for a 3rd straight year even though Rodgers was out for 7 games.

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not gonna say much. wait when do i post lengthy stuff anyway. my laptop is messed up and i have to use ps3 for internet which is slow and freezes. Good game Pack. I was wouldn't have minded a Packers-Panthers matchup lol

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