Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

For sure, Niner fans are still beaming over the 49ers 30-22 victory over the Packers this past Sunday.  As week 2 of the season approaches, with the Detroit Lions coming to San Francisco, here is one last thing to relish in the win: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers lost a bet to Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men and will have to wear an Alex Smith jersey.

According to gossip web site TMZ, Rodgers asked if Boys II Men would sing the National Anthem before the season opener in Green Bay.  The R&B group was happy to oblige the request but Morris, who is a diehard Niners fan, offered Rodgers a bet.  If the 49ers won, Rodgers would have to wear an Alex Smith jersey all week.  Had the Packers won, Morris would have to wear a Rodgers jersey all week.  With the outcome of the game, Niner fans are waiting for a Rodgers picture to show up of him wearing the #11 jersey.  The Packers play on Thursday night against the Bears, so the window is getting shorter for Rodgers to wear the jersey.  Niner Noise will keep you updated if any pictures or videos surface of him with jeresey.

After the packers lost to the 49ers, I doubt Rodgers will be making any more bets of this or any kind in the future.  It goes to show the confidence Rodgers had in winning the game.  Too bad he didn’t have confidence in his running game to help out the offense out.

What makes this bet all the more interesting is the history between Smith and Rodgers.  Both players were drafted in the same year.  The 49ers went with Smith as Rodgers was snubbed by the team, his childhood team growing up, and he had to go prove himself in Green Bay.  So far, the Packers and Rodgers got the better end of the deal with their prolific passing offense and a Super Bowl championship.  Although with the way Smith played last Sunday, the 49ers are starting to look like they made the right choice as well in the draft. That is if Smith can lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl.

Here is Smith’s comment on the bet,

I did hear about the bet, someone told me about it. I’ll have to call him and get a picture.

Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

UPDATED WITH GAME GOLD NUGGET AWARDS: The San Francisco 49ers picked up right where they left off last season, with a 30-22 win over the Green Bay Packers in the season opener.  Quarterback Alex Smith outplayed Aaron Rodgers all game which helped the 49ers maintain a lead for most of the contest.  Smith won the quarterback-rating battle over Rodgers, 125.6 to 93.3, which helped the 49ers snap the Packers 13-game home winning streak and won for the first time in Green Bay since 1990.

Great teams hold off for the win.  Despite the replacement referees, the 49ers showed resiliency and why they are strong contenders to make the Super Bowl this season by defeating a team that went 15-1 last season.  Not many people gave the 49ers a chance to win at Lambeau Field, nor did anyone think Smith would outplay his counterpart Rodgers, as he looked more like the reigning MVP QB in game.  The 49ers defense did its part all game and held off a comeback from Rodgers with less than a minute left in the game.  The 49ers Faithful could not have asked for a better performance by the offense, defense and special teams, as the team won in all aspects of the game.  Let’s hand out some Game Gold Nuggets awards.

Game Gold Nuggets Scale:

= OUTSTANDING

= VERY GOOD

= GOOD

= AVERAGE

= HORRIBLE

OFFENSE:

The most important stat to take away from the game for the offense was the 49ers scoring two touchdowns in two trips to the red zone.  The offense totaled 377 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and at one-point in the game, they scored points on five straight drives after opening the game with a three-and-out.  Another equally important stat for the offense was zero turnovers in the game.

Frank Gore (112 rushing yards, 1 TD) led the production on offense and the Packers defense did not have an answer for the 49ers running game which compiled 186 rushing yards.  The offense ran all over the Packers defense with Gore averaging 7 yards per carry in the game.

The 49ers two offseason additions at wide receiver made an impact in the game.  Randy Moss bested Mario Manningham stats, with four catches for 47 yards and one touchdown.  Manningham also had four receptions but for only 29 yards and zero touchdowns.  Moss’ lone touchdown, a 14-yarder, was the first of the day for the 49ers that put them up 10-0.  Moss was used sporadically, but when he was on the field he was effective.  Alex Smith’s second touchdown pass went to Vernon Davis for a 4-yard score in the third quarter, which put the 49ers up 23-7.

Michael Crabtree led the way for the receivers with 7 receptions for 76 yards.  Even though he did not score a touchdown, for first time in a game Crabs looked like a superstar receiver the 49ers thought they drafted three years ago. Smith and Crabs were in sync on plays and passing routes throughout the game.

DEFENSE:

We all know how great the 49ers defense was last season and we expected them to continue where they left off this season.  But, honestly, I did not think the 49ers D would dominate and stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers passing attack.  The defense did give up 303 passing yards, but they only surrendered 45 rushing yards.  Rodgers had 27 of those 45 rushing yards.

With Packers running back James Starks not playing because of a toe injury, the team had Cedric Benson running the football.  The problem is Benson has only been with the team for a few weeks, which rendered him ineffective in the game.  The 49ers D knew they could take advantage of the injury by dropping more defenders into coverage to stop all of the Packers’ receivers.  The defense dared the Packers to run the football by dropping seven defenders, all of them cornerbacks or safeties, into coverage.  Even with being outnumbered up front, the defense still stopped the run and had Rodgers scrambling all day, with the defense recording three sacks and five hits on him.  The Packers stayed with the pass all game by throwing 44 times versus running the football 14 times.

All of the secondary for the 49ers did an outstanding job.  The highlight from the crew was Carlos Rogers’ fantastic job of covering Greg Jennings all game by limiting him to just 5 receptions for 34 yards.

As well as the secondary played, the MVP on defense was linebacker NaVorro Bowman started off 2012 with a band, recording 11 tackles, two passes defended and, most importantly, had a huge fourth-quarter pick that changed the momentum back in the 49ers favor, after the Randall Cobb returned a punt for 75 yards.  Bowman’s interception led to Gore’s 23-yard touchdown, which put the 49ers up 30-15.

What is amazing about the 49ers defensive play was how silly they made Rodgers and his offense look at times in the game.  Last season, the Packers offense averaged almost 34 points per game and had not been held to under 24 points at home since 2010. The 49ers D held the Packers to just seven points through three quarters as they built a 23-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It was only fitting someone from the secondary, cornerback Chris Culliver, would make the play on fourth down that sealed the victory for the 49ers with 54 seconds remaining.

Here is the stat of the day for the defense:  The Packers ended five of their first six drives with punts.
SPECIAL TEAMS:

The special teams were almost perfect. If not for the Cobb’s 75-yard return for a touchdown, it would have been a perfect game for the unit. The highlight of course, was David Akers 63-yard field at the end of the first half that tied an NFL record.  Akers is the best kicker in the NFL today, but even I didn’t think he would make the long field goal.  As the kick hit the crossbar and landed through the uprights, you had to have known the 49ers were going to win the game.  After the kick, I tweeted, “The crossbar is my new best friend.”

Akers joined three kickers in the NFL record book, Tom Dempsey (Saints, 1970), Denver’s Jason Elam (Broncos, 1998) and Sebastian Janikowski (Raiders, 2011).

Oh, yeah, and Akers also made field-goal tries of 40 and 43 yards.

It should be noted that Kyle Williams fielded four punts and had zero fumbles!  He only returned one, which lead to Akers’ 63-yard field goal.

COACHING:

Jim Harbaugh and his coaches came up with a brilliant game plan for the Packers.  Offensive coordinator Greg Roman ran a balanced attack with 26 passes and 32 rushing attempts. The offense scored on both trips inside the red zone.  Roman used so many different formations and personnel groups, by using extra linemen in jumbo formations on some rushing plays that gained a lot of positive yards.  One was Gore’s 23-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that gave the 49ers a two score lead.

Harbaugh and Roman used Moss cautiously, but effectively in the game.  He was on the field for about 20 plays and showed he will block even if the play called is not targeting him.  Just to show the Packers respected his presence on the field, on one play in the third quarter Moss was lined up on the left side and ran a deep post.  The defense focused on Moss as Vernon Davis was on the right side and ran underneath Moss, allowing him to catch a 29-yard pass with almost no one around him.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knew his the Packers offense would not be able to run against his defense, so he dropped more people into coverage.  Even though it came at the expense of Patrick Willis not being on the field at times when they used four cornerbacks and two safeties for coverage, the strategy was hugely successful.

Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Sundays are once again glorious, Niner fans, with the arrival of week one of the regular season with the 49ers vs. Packers game. Niner Noise teamed up with fellow Fansided.com web site Lombardi Ave and Editor Ray Rivard for a Q&A about the game. Enjoy and go 49ers!

Q. With the way the Packers defense played last season, which position is the biggest question mark heading into Sunday that the 49ers offense could exploit?

A. Yes, the Packers finished dead last in defense last season and their pass defense was gashed each and every game. While the numbers were atrocious, there are many who believe those numbers were inflated because the Packers’ opponents were constantly playing from behind and literally utilized their two-minute offenses to try to get back into games.

While there’s some truth to that, the pathetic defense the Packers put on the field last year was gashed because of what happened (or didn’t happen) up front. The lack of a consistent pass rush really put the team’s defensive backfield in a bad spot.

With that said, I feel the 49ers will look to, first of all, soften the Packers’ front line with the run and then use the pass to hit for big plays. Whether that strategy is successful depends on the play of the defensive line and linebackers in stopping the run early and often. With the addition of rookies Jerel Worthy and Nick Perry to the front seven, the Packers are hoping their defense produces pressure and stops the run. That will be evident early in this game and could be the harbinger of the Packers’ success on defense the entire season.

Q. Last season, the Packers offense led the NFL in points scored with 560, averaging 35 points per game. The 49ers defense last season was ranked second in the NFL in giving up the least number of points, 229, averaging 14.3 points per game. What will the Packers’ offense need to do on Sunday to score against the 49ers’ stout defense?

A. That’s simple – They have to make sure that the offensive line keeps Aaron Rodgers upright and gives him enough time to complete the medium and long passes that have become the staple of the Packers’ offensive attack.

To do that, the Packers will have to utilize tactics they haven’t done in the past. In addition to working the no-huddle, the Packers will also protect Rodgers by running plays that include moving pockets, roll-outs, bootlegs and screen passes.

They won’t want to tie up their tight ends in pass protection, so they will also rely on the running back to pick up blitzing linebackers and defensive backs.

And we can’t forget about the running game. With the addition of Cedric Benson, Packers fans are hoping head coach Mike McCarthy works the rushing attack effectively. That means sticking with it early and being consistent in working it well into the fourth quarter. If the Packers can get 50-75 yards out of Benson, that would be a huge factor.

If they can pull all that together into a single offensive attack, they will have a good shot at slowing the 49ers’ potent defense.

Q. Who do Packers fans fear the most on offense and defense for the 49ers?

A. On defense, I feel it’s the tandem of the 49ers’ Smith boys, Justin and Aldon, who strike the most fear into Packers fans. Thow in Patrick Willis into that mix and you’ve got a trio of defensive stars who make plays and have the ability to disrupt even the best of all offenses.

To stop these guys – see my answer above. However, because of their pure talent, I see them causing the Packers problems throughout the day. If the Packers can contain them, Green Bay will be OK. If they can’t, it will be a long afternoon.

On offense, I think Frank Gore is the scariest of 49ers offensive players. The Packers have not been very good at stopping the run the past couple of years and if there’s anyone who could exploit that weakness, it’s Gore. He’s a star who could be a difference-maker.

Q. Which young player/rookie will have a breakout season for the Packers?

A. I would like to say that first round pick Nick Perry will have the best season of the team’s rookies, but I think that linebacker Dezman Moses (unrestricted free agent), and defensive backs Casey Hayward and Jerron McMillian could have excellent campaigns.

That doesn’t mean that I think Perry will be a bust. He will be a good player and could eventually be great, but he’s learning a new position and it’s going to take some time for him to become comfortable with his new role.

When you throw in Sean Richardson, another undrafted free agent, the Packers have a group of young players who could make an impact on the team for years to come.

Q. What is your prediction for the game?

A. This is going to be a dogfight. I believe that given it’s the first game of the season, both teams will spend the first 16 minutes feeling one another out.

By the second half, both offenses should be clicking and I feel a significant number of points will be scored – three TDs in the second half by both teams isn’t out of the question.

I feel this one could come down to turnovers and special teams, but in the end I just have the feeling that the Packers will somehow come away with one more big play to make the difference.

Packers 32 49ers 27

Check out Niner Noise’s answers after the jump.

]]> http://ninernoise.com/2012/09/09/49ers-vs-packers-qa-with-fan-site-lombardi-ave/feed/ 0