Playing with Fire – Green Bay vs. San Francisco – NFL Saturday Night Pick – Divisional Playoff

Colin Kaepernick leads the San Francisco 49ers against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Here is the Pick for Packers vs. 49ers

Green Bay: 12-5

San Francisco:  11-4-1

‘

Packers vs. 49ers -  The San Francisco 49ers were in this same position last season and advanced to the NFC Championship game.  They still have a great defense like last year, but this time they have a new QB.  Then their QB was Alex Smith and he was praised for improvement in the regular season, and his play during the playoffs.  But this season Smith has been benched and the 49ers are now led by his replacement at QB, Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick has played well and the 49ers have gone 5-2 during his time as the starter.  But the playoffs are a different animal, and the lessons that Alex Smith learned last season will have to be learned again by Kaepernick.  Head coach Jim Harbaugh took a bold gamble by making Kaepernick the starter, but if it works out, this could be the move that elevates the 49ers to Super Bowl Champion.

However, on the Green Bay Packers side of things, they already have a QB who knows how to get a team to the Super Bowl.  Aaron Rodgers has been playing as well as any QB in the league the second half of the season, and he’s done it with little running game to speak of, and with a defensive unit that has only now become healthy.

And going on the road and executing in the playoffs is how the Packers got to the Super Bowl in 2010, so there will be no intimidation about being the visiting team.  Where as the 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs last season on their hme field by the New York Giants.  So playing at home brings no guarantee the 49ers will move on.

The 49ers will need a big game from Aldon Smith to make Rodgers uncomfortable and try to force some mistakes.  The Packers will need the same from their great pass rusher Clay Matthews.  Kaepernick’s mobility will help him in avoiding Matthews, but even though he may not be a agile as Kaepernick, Aaron Rodgers scrambling ability is underrated, and is one of the things that makes him so hard to stop.

Jim Harbaugh has risen up to be one of the top coaches in the NFL in a short period of time, but the Packers Mike McCarthy is a Super Bowl winning coach, so this will be a great chess match.  Ultimately during the playoffs, it comes down to which QB’s make the plays and which one’s don’t.  And as much as I like Colin Kaepernick, I like Aaron Rodgers more.  So I think the Packers will move on.      28-24 – Packers

Ravens vs. Broncos – pick

Seahawks vs. Falcons – pick

Texans vs. Patriots – pick

Related Articles

• Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers Divisional Playoff Preview (bleacherreport.com)
• Niners expecting Smith to play vs. Packers (espn.go.com)
• Golden Nuggets: Colin Kaepernick under the microscope (ninersnation.com)

Top Stories