Playoffs 2012

Son Of A Vidic

Oh that was close.

Paully D

Manning said in his press conference he audibled into that 3rd and 7 run rather than pass late in the 4th quarter and that it's all on him. Wonder if he was just not throwing anybody under the bus by saying that?

Also, here he is 90 minutes after the game seeking out Lewis for a final chat after the game. The man is a class act:

eagle eye

If Jennings didn't duke he would have had that I think.

BlaasForRafa

The packers need a turnover now or hold SF on this first series, otherwise its over. The packers defence doesn't seem capable of doing anything special right now.

adrian522

davyjose wrote: »

Just think Harbaugh went about dropping him in a dickish manner.

Fair enough, but you can't say it was the wrong call.

polaris68

Rodgers looks sick as a dog - sinusitis according to the commentators.

cooker3

Assuming 49ers finish this off I hope Atlanta win. I'd think it would make a much better NFC championship.
I question if Seattle can win 3 in a row and come to SF and win it.

polaris68

Another 49ers score here and I can go to bed.

Son Of A Vidic

polaris68 wrote: »

Rodgers looks sick as a dog - sinusitis according to the commentators.

Not going to help. Who expected the 49'ers to have nearly double the total offensive yards of the Packers. And they'll probably go past it before the night is over.

matthew8

GB shouldn't have punted on their last drive.

davyjose

adrian522 wrote: »

Fair enough, but you can't say it was the wrong call.

Should have started him from week 1 then.

eagle eye

Well thats it now, just far too easy again for the niners there.

CoDy1

TD 49ers, game over!

Podge_irl

davyjose wrote: »

Should have started him from week 1 then.

No one would be complaining if it was a running back who was replaced mid season by a better performing player. QBs are not children, they're professional sportsmen. Kaep came in and did a better job and showed he was ready. And now he's leading the 9ers to an NFC Championship game.

poldebruin

41 rushes, 325 yards @ 7.9 per.

davyjose

Syferus wrote: »

I think they're - by a mile - the most lop-sided team left, actually.

9th in the league for points allowed, and the best O by a country mile. Not so sure what's lop-sided about that, except that their O is so far ahead. They've been more than adequate on ST too.

Edit: You're right, that O is so dominant, they couldn't be anything but lopsided. Still have a very good D though. And doesnt mean theyre not complete.

lavine7

Goodnight Green Bay! Enjoy the off-season!

Will be interesting to see how the other side of the NFC goes. Would probably prefer to bring the Seahawks to the 'stick.

Kylo Ren

Just found out a friend had 1500 quid on this game......on GB.

davyjose

Keno 92 wrote: »

Just found out a friend had 1500 quid on this game......on GB.

Either he's a very rich man, or he has a problem. Regardless of the outcome.

poldebruin

Podge_irl wrote: »

No one would be complaining if it was a running back who was replaced mid season by a better performing player. QBs are not children, they're professional sportsmen. Kaep came in and did a better job and showed he was ready. And now he's leading the 9ers to an NFC Championship game.

with hindsight it's obviously the correct call, but I just questioned why you would risk team chemistry while the team was performing nicely. Didn't Smith just have the best game of his career before being benched?

That said, if Kaeperneck throws a couple of ints in the championship or superbowl, and folks will be second-guessing again. He looks like Superman tonight though.

Paully D

Keno 92 wrote: »

Just found out a friend had 1500 quid on this game......on GB.

Jesus. I think it's bad when I lose €20 :pac: He'd have better off going in and throwing it on red or black in a casino.

eagle eye

Everybody can rave all they want about Kaepernick but, just like RGIII, his season, even his career, could end at any time. He is going to get killed on some running play someday.

I'd much rather have a pocket master than a rushing QB. Time after time we've seen these guys come along and they all get hurt and miss time. Its great when things are going good but all it takes is one injury and a team's season is over.

I'm just bringing a bit of realism to the discussion, I'm not dishing the guy in any way. He has been hugely impressive tonight.

Syferus

Podge_irl wrote: »

No one would be complaining if it was a running back who was replaced mid season by a better performing player. QBs are not children, they're professional sportsmen. Kaep came in and did a better job and showed he was ready. And now he's leading the 9ers to an NFC Championship game.

Smith was 157.1 in passer rating in his last full start and 143.8 in the game he was injured. He threw more TDs (4) than incompletions in those games (2). For the entire 2012 season he was the third overall in passer rating, having checked out with a rather ridiculous 104.1 rating.

Smith was on fire, to put it simply.

He lost his job for no other reason than he had the bad fortune of suffering a concussion.

Knaepernick didn't beat him out for the job, he was given it by Harbaugh for no other reason than he thought he had more upside. Harbaugh's handling of this whole affairs means other players wil lbe far less likely to admit to injuries in future because they will be even more afraid of losing their jobs than before.

A victory for Harbaugh, a loss for everyone else.

cooker3

Paully D wrote: »

Jesus. I think it's bad when I lose €20 :pac: He'd have better off going in and throwing it on red or black in a casino.

Well that depends on the odds he was getting. It may have been a great bet for all we know.

Paully D

That's that then. A fantastic night of NFL over. Cheers to everyone for the banter and discussion on here tonight, superb stuff. Bring on tomorrows action

cooker3

Syferus wrote: »

Smith was 157.1 in passer rating in his last full start and 143.8 in the game he was injured. He threw more TDs (4) than incompletions in those games (2). For the entire 2012 season he was the third overall in passer rating, having checked out with a rather ridiculous 104.1 rating.

Smith was on fire, to put it simply.

He lost his job for no other reason than he had the bad fortune of suffering a concussion.

Knaepernick didn't beat him out for the job, he was given it by Harbaugh for no other reason than he thought he had more upside. Harbaugh's handling of this whole affairs means other players wil lbe far less likely to admit to injuries in future because they will be even more afraid of losing their jobs than before.

A victory for Harbaugh, a loss for everyone else.

A victory for 49ers and 49ers fans as well. I don't get the big deal about replacing someone because of injuries. You play your best team imo.

Kaepernick has come in and performed better than Smith and can do things Smith can't do. If he does get injured, which is a danger, than bring in Smith who will prove an adequate replacement.

J. Football

Paully D wrote: »

Also, here he is 90 minutes after the game seeking out Lewis for a final chat after the game. The man is a class act:

Very nice of Peyton to bring Eli along to say hello. Class act.

Arawn

no excuses for the pack. Were well beaten.obvious what 49rs did good.

The bad gb wise.

. The muff. Stupid.

Constantly calling plays that gave kapernak 10+ yards of open field once the best o line in the league actually blocked. Which they did, every time.

This one is on mccarthy, If your D hasn shown up since maybe the first play in the first quarter and your down by 14 and are 4th and 5 it doesnt ****ing matter just ****ing go for it

I called for it last season and i repeat my calls, capers has got to go.


49rs well deserved the lead. I wouuld think itll be a 49rspats sb.

Podge_irl

Syferus wrote: »

He lost his job for no other reason than he had the bad fortune of suffering a concussion.

He lost his job because Kaep is a better quarterback. Everything else is just bull****.

Syferus

Podge_irl wrote: »

He lost his job because Kaep is a better quarterback. Everything else is just bull****.

If it was that simply why didn't he just win the job in pre-season? Why did Harbaugh bring Smith back when he could have easily let him go his own way and moved forward with Knaepernick?

The fact is there was no competition or even opportunity for Smith to show he deserved his job after his injury. The unspoken rule in sport is you don't lose your job through injury and when a player isn't even given a chance to show they should have it back you can expect a storm if that position happens to be one as high-profile as the starting quarter-back.

Knaepernick was anointed by Harbaugh and nothing more.

You may be fine with that sort of behaviour but the vast majority of fans of the sport and indeed players are not.

skeleton_boy

I never felt fully convinced with the Packers this season. Can't win in the playoffs with that defence and offensive line.

padraig_f

Syferus wrote: »

Knaepernick didn't beat him out for the job, he was given it by Harbaugh for no other reason than he thought he had more upside.

That's the coach's job: to pick the best players. Are you saying he shouldn't have picked who he thought was the best player?

I think it was the gutsiest coaching call of the season, delighted it's paying off. Too many conservative coaches would've gone for the safe option. The 49ers scored 45 points tonight, and 41 a few weeks ago against the Patriots. Gives them another dimension that Alex Smith couldn't give them, they can win shootouts now as well as defensive games.

CoDy1

49ers v Pats SB is 1/10 on Bf
49ers 5/2 to win the SB

Arawn

skeleton_boy wrote: »

I never felt fully convinced with the Packers this season. Can't win in the playoffs with that defence and offensive line.

The D is ok, it's the calls.was there not a ****ing spy Kapernak, after 50 yards, 80 yars, 100 yards, 130 yards

CoDy1

Syferus wrote: »

If it was that simply why didn't he just win the job in pre-season? Why did Harbaugh bring Smith back when he could have easily let him go his own way and moved forward with Knaepernick?

The fact is there was no competition or even opportunity for Smith to show he deserved his job after his injury. The unspoken rule in sport is you don't lose your job through injury and when a player isn't even given a chance to show they should have it back you can expect a storm if that position happens to be one as high-profile as the starting quarter-back.

Knaepernick was anointed by Harbaugh and nothing more.

You may be fine with that sort of behaviour but the vast majority of fans of the sport and indeed players are not.

Never heard of that one tbh and I've played team sports all my life and still do. Its called unlucky, nothing more. If your replacement comes in and does a better job than you had been doing, why would you change it?

Son Of A Vidic

Not surprised to see the 49'ers win, but I certainly didn't see the ease in which they did it. Thought it might have been a one score game.

padraig_f

Syferus wrote: »

If it was that simply why didn't he just win the job in pre-season? Why did Harbaugh bring Smith back when he could have easily let him go his own way and moved forward with Knaepernick?

Smith had plenty of chances. Harbaugh obviously thought he was the best option in preseason, but lost confidence in him as the season went on. The lost game against the Giants, multiple blown chances against the Seahawks.

He'd played Kaepernick in pieces up to then, then his first full start against the Bears convinced him.

Syferus wrote:

You may be fine with that sort of behaviour but the vast majority of fans of the sport and indeed players are not.

I'm a big fan of coaches who make brave calls to make their team better.

Son Of A Vidic

That 56 yard TD run by kaepernick, was one of the most shocking pieces of defense I've seen in a longtime.

J. Football

Syferus wrote: »

The unspoken rule in sport is you don't lose your job through injury and when a player isn't even given a chance to show they should have it back you can expect a storm if that position happens to be one as high-profile as the starting quarter-back.

Good thing for us Pats fans that's completely untrue.

J. Football

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

That 56 yard TD run by kaepernick, was one of the most shocking pieces of defense I've seen in a longtime.

It was the most shocking piece of defending I had seen in at least 3 hours, since Jacoby Jones TD.

mikemac1

Bring on the Patriots for AFCCG!

May the memories of Lee Evans & Billy Cundiff be wiped clean with victory

TO.

Syferus wrote: »

If it was that simply why didn't he just win the job in pre-season? Why did Harbaugh bring Smith back when he could have easily let him go his own way and moved forward with Knaepernick?

The fact is there was no competition or even opportunity for Smith to show he deserved his job after his injury. The unspoken rule in sport is you don't lose your job through injury and when a player isn't even given a chance to show they should have it back you can expect a storm if that position happens to be one as high-profile as the starting quarter-back.

Knaepernick was anointed by Harbaugh and nothing more.

You may be fine with that sort of behaviour but the vast majority of fans of the sport and indeed players are not.

No surprises it you post about the morality of it all. These players are Grown men and adults and are paid quiet well to be on the Pros. They know it is a cut throat business and know their position is never safe.

Harbaugh's job is simple. Pick the team you think is best. He did that and made the so called controversial decision to drop Smith and stick in Kap. Harbaugh doesn't care what the fans think about his decisions, he also doesn't care what other players think. What matters is how his team and guys around him think and im guessing by the way they play and the good locker room they have they all have no problem with his decision or have moved past it.

But the stupid thing is here people go on about it as if it wasn't common knowledge that Smiths future was unstable. The fact the 49ers considered taking in Manning to replace Smith showed everyone what Harbaugh thinks about his starting QB.

As to why he didn't start Kap from September on. They gave Smith a new contract at the start of the year. Harbaugh decided to roll with Smith in the end simple as. Kap then show in pre-season and practice that he has a future. Smith gets a concussion and bam Harbaugh has found a way to try out the kid. It worked out well and the better player keeps his spot simple as. Tough sh1t to Smith.

The unspoken rule in sport is you don't lose your job through injury and when a player isn't even given a chance to show they should have it back you can expect a storm if that position happens to be one as high-profile as the starting quarter-back.

Eh no its not. Where did you pull this one from? Talk about bullsh1t. Many players across many sports have gone injured and been replaced and then lost their spots permanently. It happens all the time.

vast majority of fans of the sport and indeed players are not.

I wouldn't say the vast majority at all. And I doubt many players feathers were ruffled. Get a grip.

Son Of A Vidic

J. Football wrote: »

It was the most shocking piece of defending I had seen in at least 3 hours, since Jacoby Jones TD.

That's true alright.

Syferus

J. Football wrote: »

Good thing for us Pats fans that's completely untrue.

And obviously the rule is broken at times.

What really sticks in my mind with this situation was that the injury in question was only a mild concussion and one that was totally cleared up less than two weeks later. Knaepernick hardly did anything in that time to say that he was deserving of supplanting Smith. No matter how good Knaepernick proves to be it was incredibly unfair on Smith to lose his job in that manner.

That it makes more players even more likely to lie about injuries only makes the whole affair feel very dirty.

J. Football

Syferus wrote: »

And obviously the rule is broken at times.

What really sticks in my mind with this situation was that the injury in question was only a mild concussion and one that was totally cleared up less than two weeks later. Knaepernick hardly did anything in that time to say that he was deserving of supplanting Smith. No matter how good Knaepernick proves to be it was incredibly unfair on Smith to lose his job in that manner.

That is makes more players even more likely to lie about injuries only makes the whole affair feel very dirty.

I don't think it is unfair. I think it boils down to something very simple. Smith was playing to a certain level and got injured. The player who replaced him played to a higher level than Smith was able to, and thus kept the job. Simple as that.

davyjose

padraig_f wrote: »

Smith had plenty of chances. Harbaugh obviously thought he was the best option in preseason, but lost confidence in him as the season went on. The lost game against the Giants, multiple blown chances against the Seahawks.

He'd played Kaepernick in pieces up to then, then his first full start against the Bears convinced him.



I'm a big fan of coaches who make brave calls to make their team better.

I'm not buying that. Smith was having his best season, there was no reason to drop him, but for an excuse to start Harbaugh's guy. I'll stand up and say Kaepernick looks like the better QB, but Harbaugh obviously either a) didn't know that, or b) didn't have the balls to make that call in preseason.

Either way it shines him in a bad light IMO.

Son Of A Vidic

Harbuagh made a tough QB call and got a fair amount of stick for it. I myself thought it was pretty brutal at the time. But if nothing else, he has been totally vindicated with tonight's result. He just seen something in Kaepernick that Smith didn't bring.

davyjose

J. Football wrote: »

I don't think it is unfair. I think it boils down to something very simple. Smith was playing to a certain level and got injured. The player who replaced him played to a higher level than Smith was able to, and thus kept the job. Simple as that.

But he wasn't playing better. Look at the stats: The previous game he went 18/19 and 3 TD's. The week he got hurt he was 7/8 and a TD. That was it.... the end of his career in SF.

TO.

Syferus wrote: »

And obviously the rule is broken at times.

At times? Try all the time.

What really sticks in my mind with this situation was that the injury in question was only a mild concussion and one that was totally cleared up less than two weeks later. Knaepernick hardly did anything in that time to say that he was deserving of supplanting Smith. No matter how good Knaepernick proves to be it was incredibly unfair on Smith to lose his job in that manner.

Kap has been with Harbaugh and the 49ers for two seasons. The coaching staff would have know enough about him to make the decision to put him in. His first start with Smith on the sidelines still injured he went 16-23 2 Tds and 0 Ints. He also played well against the Rams finishing out the game for Smith. He was doing everything Smith was doing and then some when you throw in the athletic ability and mobility. Easy decision for the coaches to make in my mind.

That is makes more players even more likely to lie about injuries only makes the whole affair feel very dirty.

Oh please.

Syferus

TO. wrote: »

At times? Try all the time.



Kap has been with Harbaugh and the 49ers for two seasons. The coaching staff would have know enough about him to make the decision to put him in. His first start with Smith on the sidelines still injured he went 16-23 2 Tds and 0 Ints. He also played well against the Rams finishing out the game for Smith. He was doing everything Smith was doing and then some when you throw in the athletic ability and mobility. Easy decision for the coaches to make in my mind.



Oh please.

All I can say is lol to describe that response from you. Night, fella.