Yesterday the 49ers were three-point favorites to beat the Falcons. Today, the 49ers are four-point favorites. Take away the three-point home field advantage, and the odds makers are saying the 49ers are a touchdown and an extra point better than the Falcons.
The consensus around the league is the 49ers will go right into Atlanta and beat the Falcons rather easily.
That’s a tremendous slap in the face to the No.1 seed, a team that’s only lost two meaningful games all season, a team with excellent players and coordinators.
As an intellectual exercise, can you come up with a scenario where the Falcons win this game?
Or are they hopeless?
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Jim will find a way to convince the players they are the underdog. Actually – Grant – what was the line in last years NFCCG?
49ers by three. They thought it was a toss up beyond home field advantage.
Thanks. Hopefully they realize being favored means nothing.
The 49ers also get, on average, 1 point due to the number of fans in Nevada.
Basically Vegas saw the 49ers as a 1 point underdog last year.
Clem – In NFCCG last year Niners opened as 1 – 2 point favorites in most Vegas sportsbooks. My brother (who lives there) placed my bet on game day at caesars palace and Niners were 2.5 favorites.
I remember because I lost my ass. I was so pissed I pummeled my defenseless garbage container and then tossed my Crabtree jersey in it. I dug the jersey out the next morning (for real).
I stopped wearing the Crabtree jersey this year after we barely beat Seattle at home. Crabtree has played great ever since. I don’t go near that sucker now! I just wear team gear now and it’s working.
Sorry to ramble on there…..Beat those dirty birds!
The only way the Falcons win is if Heaven Forbid the 49ers go on a Turnover Marathon.
That being said it will not be as easy as some seem to think but the 49ers win this game.
Falcons win if their O-line plays outstanding and their D-line can get push up the middle. Both of those things will not happen and they need both to win. The Niners fronts are too strong and will dominate this game. They will overplay Kap and he will beat them with his arm.
Nolan is the wild card. He had a master scheme against Manning and the Broncos earlier. A lousy coach he is an excellent D-coord.
His D dominated Seattle in the first half.
And niner team is getting a healthy dose of Freddie P Soft from all of the media.
Amendment to the post….a lousy “Head Coach”…but a great ‘D’ Coordinator
You look at how the Falcons celebrated their ‘emotional’ win (a game they should have lost), and Mike Smith’s ‘care-free’ attitude in the locker room, having the guys show up Wed (while ours are showing up Tues)… they’ve reached their proverbial plateau. Seriously, they won their SB, ours will be in New Orleans next month.
Excellent point. I hope the Falcons are emotionally drained too.
Exactly what I was thinking. They have succeed by getting that proverbial playoff monkey of their backs. They think they’ve won now. Their won’t be that 3rd game letdown by us this week. We’re focused on that “quest for 6″.
6 of Atlantas home games were against Denver, Carolina, Oakland, Dallas, Arizona and Tampa. They never won any of them by more than 6 points. Carolina gave the game away, Raiders had them. Do you know they played exactly every other game at home? That aint close to what we went through. They’re not battle tested!
During or before that Pack/Vike game, I said our easiest schedule that I was rooting for was Pack, Falcons, Pats. Might have to switch that to Ravens. We’ve got this. Howling rushed for 130 on these guys and look at their O-line. We’ll kill them in the trenches!
Guys, the 9ers have a 5 hour flight to ATl on Friday. ATL can still be practicing while the 9ers are in flight. The advantage of the #1 seed. Not as bad as it sounded with ATL returning to practice on Wednesday.
Look at how Nolan attacked the Seahawks. He will come at us the same way. We need to look at what Seattle was successful with and use some of that in our game plan.
Nolan likes to dial up the blitz too. Kaep needs to recognize the blits. And we need to run at Abraham if he’s in there. And if he isn’t, we need to run at his replacement.
Cover Gonzalez and don’t get beat over the top by Roddy and Julio….
I agree, it’s like they’re just happy to have the monkey off their back of playoff futility. They may have problems getting amped up enough to pose any serious threat this week. Remains to be seen.
I think getting that monkey off their back is going to be the very thing that releases any doubt of ability. They have released said monkey and are now free to go in at 100%… to WIN!
Actually Bay, this was supposed to be in response to SnakePlissken!
i too am very interested in how nolan responds to this clearly known threat in read option….he would get a major plume in that tom laundry like hat of his if came up with a scheme to nullify the read option or at least to get it under his defense’s control so that alanta offense can compete against the superior niner defense….alanta will have to switch it stripes to beat the niners …probably nigh of impossible….
as a league there is going to be a major shift in how teams next year prepare for the next season…defenses will have a noticeable shift to them at times….defenses will have to be nimble in how they go about changing their look from game to game and sometimes from series to series….just like how offenses do when they go to no huddle…drafted players will have to exhibit numerous somewhat cross skills in the LB core to keep this defense competitively dominant…
also CK recognizing blitz or a perceived blitz will assume there will be 1-1 somewhere and will look behind the blitzer to fire a shot into probably what will be man coverage…..
disguising the blitz or multiple looked blitzes and thereby maybe forcing a channeling of CK focus towards a double coverage…..
CK is still pretty green…..he isn’t young per se ….. what is he 24 almost 25 just a couple of three years younger than AS….so i do expect him to throw into coverage and take his chances with his confidence …..at this point in time don’t have enough info to figure CK out mentally so everyone is reacting to his physical game….interesting is see how CK mentally evolves a couple of years down the road ….1% better everyday….
pretty sure JH has shown incredible returns in how he gets a QB’s game ready…..he recognizes physical attributes that can transforms a postion but also knows how to mold a reasonably capable QB to being a top of the league competitor…..that is a coach of the year candidate if i ever heard of one
Wow!!!!!!!! Thats a mouth full. You basically should have said you all need to play football ….. long story short no brainer …falcons will upset 9ners
Oh fer chrissake, STFU! Your team (The Atlanta Village People) will take it on the chin. Eat it.
Unfortunately, the season pattern has been two strong games followed by a stinker. While Arizona wasn’t a very strong game, certainly Green Bay was. Is the stinker lurking?
I hope not.
I hope YALL beat the doo-doo out of ATL just put the tape on from the saints falcons game in New Orleans and u will get UR answers on how to beat this garbage ATL team all season they have gotten the breaks they have played an easy scheduel and FINALY they did not play a team with a winning rec until the very end of the year Please please beat these playoff pretenders THEY ARE FRAUDS they should not have BEATIN SEATTLE blame that on Pete CARROL and finally we will welcome the 49er nation with open arms here in Nola but please beat these frauds
Michael Turner is a load. The Niners will have trouble stopping Roddy White and Julio Jones. Matt Ryan throws a tremendous rainbow ball. Tony Gonzales never drops anything.
Colin Kaepernick fires darts to his receivers, but the hot potato scalds them, so they toss them into the air, and the ball hawks DeCoud and Samuel each have 2 pick-6s. Frank fumbles at the goal line on two occasions. Kaepernick throws past the LOS from the endzone but gets called for intentional grounding and costs the team a safety.
Atlanta wins by 10.
Wanna bet?
Dude, it’s just a hypothetical response to Grant’s intro. Do you really think that I, of all people, don’t think Kaep and the Niners will shred the Falcons?
Prime Time says:
January 14, 2013 at 5:27 pm
“Wanna bet?”
LoL Welcher Time! Have you paid up on your $100 bet with Adam707 yet?
Speaking of bets prime. You have my 100
Rams Win…:)
I am worried about the 3 game pattern all season where we win the first two and lose the next game. This is the third one once more after beating Arizona and Green Bay. Hope this is not the case.
Kind of feels like the first “win” given we had almost 2 weeks of no football with the bye. Yes, you can point out that pattern continued through the bye week during the regular season but I don’t see it happening. As you saw from this weekend’s games EVERYONE gets up for Playoffs and they all come to play. I don’t see an emotional and physical let down at all (Which is exactly what happened in St. Louis, Minn, Seattle).
That pattern seemed to happen when every one was back to thinking the Niners were the best and then they lay an egg.
Once again they are the favorite. THIS has to be the main motivation for the team to rise up!
can you come up with a scenario where the Falcons win this game?
Well, every third game, the 49ers have come out flat and seemingly uninspired. The NFCCG will be the third game.
Yep. If they are to reach the SB, that string has to end this week.
As to how the Falcons can beat the 9ers, it’s not that hard really. Unlikely but not out of the question. It comes down to their pass protection and their ability to keep Kap in the pocket. Those are the keys to the game for them. If they protect Ryan and give those big WR’s time to get downfield, they’ll rack up some big time yardage. On the other side if they keep Kap in the pocket and force him to beat them solely with his arm, that is their best chance.
I think the 9ers are going to win this game, but Atlanta isn’t the top seed by accident. They are a pretty good team with some big time skill position players who can change a game in a hurry.
I find it REALLY hard to believe a team, any team, will come out flat in the NFCCG.
So do I, but a trend has been set.
Claude great point. The consistency to play well in three straight games has t been there once this season. That is THE only thing that scares me about this game. If they play like they do in 1 and 2 game spands NOBODY beats them.
Isn’t it punter’s money that drives the point spread? The wise guys set the initial spread at 49ers -1. Of course, I’ve never bet on a sports event. What do I know?
The initial spread is set by bookmakers, and they pick the number they think half the bets will go each side of. If 90% of the money on the initial spread comes in on the 49ers (which is what happened), then the spread moves, to try and even the betting, which is what the bookies like. The spread is an indication of general public opinion.
Incidentally, Vegas has lost a crazy ton of money this year on public favourites (eg. New England, GB) covering all season. It’s been a wild year for the sportsbooks.
Falcons have a high powered offense and two big physical WRs who are difficult to cover. And the greatest Te to ever play the game who is having arguably his best season yet. Don’t sleep on the falcons or think this game is an easy one. That being said I’m still putting 100 on the Niners
Well reasoned. ATLs WRs scare me. Matt Ryan did serve the ball up for the D in the Seattle game and I’m hopeful he’ll do more of the same against the niners, Too close to call for me
Adam707,
Just don’t bet Prime Welcher!
Hope he mans up eventually.
This is a team that can put up a lot of points with their QB and three receivers. If the game turns into a track meet, which it might, the team with the fewest turnovers wins. So one way the Falcons can win is to take the ball more than they give it up (GB lost that battle 3-1 and lost by 2 TD – do the math). The second way to beat the Kaep attack is to be patient on defense and stay in your lanes during the zone read. Much easier said than done, but it has been done this year as neither RG3, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton or Kaep went undefeated this year.
By three receivers do you mean 2 wrs and te
Yes they do have triple threat recievers. Cause when the best duo recievers are in double coverage that leaves harry douglas a hugh threat.
Mr. Everything (see above) sez: Atlanta Falcons will win by 10 points.
Yet awhile back he lavished praise on Colin Kaepernick:
” a new and sublimely omnipotent icon has arrived. ”
(a) Mr. Everything flunked high school math/statistical analysis
or
(b) He just underwent surgery and is now Mrs. Everything.
Which is it? Does this mean he bets his 10 bucks against the niners?
Single Tiny Mind
Can you read? If you believe you can read, then read Grant’s intro to this thread, then sit down and think, think really, really hard!
I mean really hard!
And see if you understand. And if you don’t understand, maybe ask your caretaker for some help to understand.
Yawn…
Let’s not forget Goody faced these guys twice a year every year as a Saint. I’m sure he has good insights on personnel, while our own team should have good insights on scheme (Nolan).
does anyone know what day the team flies out to Atl??
Friday
right on claude.. as i’ll be heading to santa clara for some autographs this week.
Enjoy. Sounds like a worthwhile way to spend your time.
Were doomed Grant picked the Niners to win…..God damnit!
ah-aH-AH!! You stop right there, Grinch!!! Grant absolutely did not predict a 9ers win!! He said that was the “consensus”. Don’t jinx it Grinch!! Don’t go jinxing it or coaxing Grant into making a prediction! For the love of GOD you stop right there!! Don’t be puttin’ on the bad juju’s, man!!
Grant,
huge favor please don’t give a prediction this week. And if you do, please don’t predict the Niners in a blowout…….
I’m sure others will agree with me. Us football bans are superstitious.
Yes for the love of God don’t predict a blowout Grant… Don’t you do it
http://youtu.be/mFEzW1Z6TRM
Mr. Everything has a little problem. He thought that Grant Cohn was looking for humor. The “thread” needs real-deal prognosis on how the niners can lose. Is that possible? Of course. So other fans emailed in some serious what-if ways for that to occur. You on the otherhand are so convinced of San Francisco’s “omnipotence” (call it an obsession) that you could only go comedic on us.
Now, read Grant’s question again and think… really…. hard.
Give us a plausible game plan which beats the niners next Sunday.
Please include everything you have seen this season, including concussions and knee injuries (with apologies to Colin, huh?)… Ready? Go.!
P.S. Leave the parody/satire/humor/comedy for the professionals. (Hint: We masquerade as single tiny minds to confuse the overly serious types)
The Niners will not lose this game. CK is not a running QB and will not suffer an injury, but even if he does, Alex will come in and beat the Falcons.
The Falcons don’t stand a chance. Their #1 seed is the fruit of the easiest schedule in the NFL, and they got lucky that Seattle didn’t pound them. If Pete hadn’t made any one of his 3 major blunders, this weekend’s game would be at Candlestick.
The Falcons are a soft team with a baloney defense. Matt Ryan will fall this weekend.
Three words: Any Given Sunday.
I like the Niners to win this game, but the Falcons will bring a head of steam to this game, and when Julio Jones is your #2 WR you’re loaded at the position. We’re going to have to earn this one.
Re: “any plausible scenario”, just how far back do we have to go before we get to outright pain? Seattle mopped the floor with us, and I dont want to hear any excuses, we got beat in every phase and on both sides of the ball. After we blitzed NE, they mopped the floor with us too. Turnovers alone can dictate a game, we dont even need to relive Roddy White running away from our dbs a couple of years ago. We’re better than that now, and that’s while we win, but as soon as you give up your humble heart and assume a division and playoff winner is your patsy, you’ve already let Freddie Soft into your building, and more importantly, into your heart.
I’m a tad worried that the 49ers are the media darlings this week.
Last week the media darlings were Seattle, Green Bay, Denver and New England. They went 1-3.
Hopefully Harbaugh has a plan to keep Freddie P. Soft away from Santa Clara this week.
The chickens and the 49ers are about as close as you can get on paper and they certainly didn’t just walk into Atlanta and come out with a win obviously. Given the 49ers apparent inability to win more then three games in a row and the fact that a team that is nearly our twin in every regard wasn’t able to go down and get a victory I’d say the odds should be considered against us. Our arguably best defensive player is still far from 100% and our secondary hasn’t exactly proven to be unstoppable.
After watching Seattle’s game I’m expecting this to be hard fought and closely decided.
Good post. Clemons was out, though, so the chickens got no pressure at all. Clemons is to the chickens as Smith is to the Niners. Smith will be in good form.
That said, the Falcons looked good. Their rungame looked diverse and powerful, and their TE is the best ever.
This will come down to the Niners superior coaching, superior QB play, superior offensive explosiveness, and superior overall defense.
9ers are a better road team than Seattle. 5-3 vs 3-5.
The stats guru Nate Silver has predicted the Falcons will win this game.
He also predicted Green Bay would win I believe.
Not sure who he predicted in that game. I know he predicted the Seahawks would beat the Falcons.
So we’re hearing about his prediction…why?
Dear Mister Everything:
A. Reread Grant Cohen (above)
B. Reread fesnyc (any given Sunday) and
Coffee’s for closers (odds against us/hard fought)
C. See below (my prognosis)
1. Last play of first quarter, Kaep gets tackled & blows out his knee.
2. Alex Smith subs in (throws 3 TDs and runs for six points as well).
3. The niner defense holds and with 2 minutes to go Atlanta punts.
4. The San Francisco deep man fumbles on the run back.
5. With time running out, the Falcons score a touchdown to go ahead.
Final: Falcons 45 and Niners 44
(and Alex had the 4 pt spread covered)
Ho ho ho
Anything is possible in the NFL, They are all proffessionals and nobody likes to be taken lightly, Remember, Grant, it was me that said do not sleep on the rams and most peoples take including yours is that the Rams are hot garbage. Lots of holes but young building blocks in place and great draft picks the next two years. I fear the wr’s for the falcons but I believe in Harbaugh and my guess is we win 35-21 but anything can happen!
You guys are not scary by any stretch. Colin may be in his second year, but he is still a rookie to the field. Don’t think you will see the samething out of this Falcon defense twice. You an this who’s got it better than us mentality will be tested Sunday at 3:00p.m. Just remember we have faced read-option alot this season and only lost once against it. So come with your best shoot. We will cause you to turn the ball over multiple times.
That’s pretty comical. The Falcons have been totally shredded by read option QB’s. It’s accurate to say the Falcon D is the complete and total pregnant dog of every read option QB they’ve faced. The problem with those other teams is they played poorly on defense against the Falcons. That won’t happen with the 49ers. You’re about to see what it’s like to get shredded on defense and to have your offensive players checking to make sure their head is still attached to their bodies each time they touch the ball.
Houston,
That was some good stuff right there. The dirty south is in for a rude awakening.
Falcon
Your team is light in body and mind. You got your win. Your team is ready for golf.
Falconfan,
You and the entire Falcon franchise was just elated to finally win a playoff game. Your team doesn’t even care about winning the Super Bowl. You simpletons are satisfied with your minor reward. Tony Gonzalez said it best. He had given up hope. He thought you all lost this game. You all responded like you won the Super Bowl. Even your coach in his post game locker room speech to the team was still in shock.
Your team can’t win because the city of Atlanta and the Falcons are just thankful not to have been eliminated in the 1st round. Matt Ryan is not the guy. he never will be. Don’t wait for him to arrive. He’s not coming.
Have you all noticed that if you read any Atlanta paper or online article, none of their players are mentioning that the playoff game victory wasn’t the goal? You don’t hear them say anything about the ultimate prize. They got what they wanted. A playoff win. They may consider wanting a Super Bowl in 2 years.
you are a Yankee ass faggot. Come on down here to the south.and we will stomp ur ass
Like you did to Sherman?
Bobo, i wish you the best, by the way did you take geography while you were drinking moonshine!!! Don’t act so tough behind your keyboard we are just fans cheering our team. GO NINERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Bobo,
Been to the south, not impressed. I found out that they call it the dirty south for a reason. Faggot? I’ve been to Atlanta, some of us know what the men are about down there. Atlanta is king of the men on the down low. That’s not a good look BOZO! Not good at all. Respect the Niners and this blog, BOZO!
No class 23. Never could take the high road could you?
by the way BOBO don’t forget the Yankees beat your southern a$$ many years ago! Why are you so angry!
Prime please kiss and make up with Jord! lets all support this team and forget about the old news
Prime,
You talking about class. I’ve never kissed the bloggers azz before. What about you. I’ve never beefed banned and jumped though an open window every chance I got to get back in. I’ve never had my posts blanked out but kept posting to irritate the blogger and the entire blogs posters. if I were you, I would never use that word again son. Clearly, you don’t know the definition of it. You have the least respect of anyone on this entire blog. You’re a nuisance.
Go away clown before I really humiliate you. You are beneath everyone here. Find out where BS went and join her.
Claude,
Zounds! I just realized who the “Sherman” was that you were referring to. Not the defensive back…..
@ Angus:
Yeah, as I hit the Post Comment button, I realized I should have typed “General Sherman.”
Anyone who uses “Yankee” (referring to a northerner, not to the baseball team) as an insult can usually be shut up with a quick reference to the Civil War.
U may have faced the read option alot this year but I’ll tell you what, it beat you up everytime. You might have won those games but the were against inferior teams. Alanta gives up more ypc to quarterbacks then any team in the league and your about to face the best running qb in the league. Niners by 13
If a man such as Mr. Everything really believes his own shtick
(that is a Yiddish word for your routine, your gimmick or gag or bit),
then he will go out and bet the farm.
We do not need to know the name of your bookie
or the casino where you lay down your dough,
but please tell us, Mr. Everything, given your prescience…
your drop-dead certainty that San Francisco will prevail…
how large is your wager gonna be? X dollars….?
Come on, big fella. “walk the talk”
We wanna know.
After all, it’s money in the bank, right?
You’ve had your fill today. Enjoy the rest of your night. Go find some other tree to bark up. Ciao.
Mr. Everything:
While I enjoy the rest of my evening, whatsay you watch a movie.
Howzabout Training Day with Denzel Washington.
Pay attention to the scene in the kitchen at the card table.
The three gangsters ask the cop a simple question.
He has no answer. Just like you. Fear factor?
Reach in your pocket; pull out your wallet. Throw down!
Call. ………. How much is your opinion worth???
Let it go, dude.
On defense, 49ers will play 2 safeties over the top, taking the deep pass away. The front 7 will easily handle the run game, and focus on Gonzalez underneath. Lots of nickel defense, even on standard downs, make’em run the ball. Once the 9ers get a lead in the 3rd and 4th qtrs, it’s all nickel and dime, and the bloodletting shall commence.
On offense, 49ers run-blocking will eventually overwhelm the d-line. Falcons will have to keep a spy on Kaep, and if they start bringing an extra guy up to the box, they’ll get killed with passes to Crabs or play-action to VD/Walker/Miller/Gore/James.
Only way Atlanta can win is if they win the turnover battle (by a couple at least), and get some big plays on special teams and passing game. I predict 38-27, with some garbage time scoring by Atl making it look closer than the rout it actually was.
“can you come up with a scenario where the Falcons win this game?”
Sure, they feed the ball to Turner and Rodgers, mix in play action, and convert on third down. If the Falcons can run the ball 25 times they will win.
Anyone can come up with something like that. I mean, if they throw a bomb 10 times to Julio and he catches all for td’s they will win.
They cant win with their O watching. Did anyone see the 1st half TOP in the GB game? It was pathetic. The only thing that kept them close was the pick 6 and the refs marching them down the field before half. Falcons D is as bad as GB’s. The only realistic scenario is if we show up with that 3rd game down syndrome! I’m betting we dont. We may set a playoff record for points scored. We no longer have to hope and pray our D shows up. Our D is now a bonus! We can win a shootout but I dont think it will happen this week. Falcons are going down! Hard!!!
A few things MM16. First, the scenario I laid out is exactly what has happened in every loss this season. Second, this team has yet to win 3 games in a row this season. Third, the last time the 49ers put up 45 in a game and rushed for 300 yards they followed it up by scoring a grand total of 3 points.
If I recall correctly, the consensus last week was there was no chance that Baltimore would beat Denver. No chance at all considering how Denver blew them out in Baltimore.
This has the potential to be a very tough matchup for the 49ers, especially if they struggle shutting down Turner and Rodgers. It may be a simple key that anyone can come up with, but it is the truth.
Uh oh…another cause for concern…this weeks Sports Illustrated…
Jack – You forgot the picture of Kap on S.I. cover. :)
http://sigroup.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sf-cover-1-21-13.jpg
@ Jack:
Is the print article identical to this article?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130113/nfl-playoffs-49ers-packers/
The biggest worry I have is Gonzalez. We have struggled with TE’s all year (especially in the redzone) and Gonzalez is one of the best in the league. With those two wideouts, he will be covered by Willis or Whitner, both who have struggled in redzone coverage
Grant Atlanta is the number one seed for a reason! They have a great offense and a very good special team/ Defense. Can Atlanta beat the Niners? Of course they can beat us! Atlanta will beat us if they can establish the run and force our secondary to come up to provide support! Or if we have several key turnovers or bad calls going against us! This team better be ready to fight because Atlanta is not going to hand us a W! In addition we must put pressure on Matty Ryan! I would like for Aldon Smith, Brooks and J Smith to have a great game with 8 sacks. By the way Grant would you please take the Falcons to beat us for this game! PLEASSSSEEEEEE
GO NINERS
We may just serve doughnuts in the DOME. Like we did giants …sprinkles and glaze ….we ready. I here all this Kapernick talk
…funny must think falcons defense will be on vacation …we gone punish the rookie like we did other one. Experience gotta count for something
Sco, good thing Kaep isn’t a rookie.
“As an intellectual exercise, can you come up with a scenario where the Falcons win this game?” Of course.
Scenario #1 … The Falcons can exploit a problem going back to last August… 49er injuries at OLB. Haralson and the two OLB draft picks were injured in preseason. Dobbs (4-3 edge rusher) is out for the year. This forced Aldon to play for more snaps then planned over the regular season.
By season’s end Aldon Smith’s legs are ubber-tired. Due to lack of pass rush, the Falcons attack deep with their two 1000+ yard receivers. They especially go after Culliver, who slows dramatically when turning to locate the ball on fly patterns. (He has given up several long passes on initially covered receivers due to his technique flaw)
The Falcons score early and often on long bombs over Cully. The domed crowd goes nuts. The 49ers press, and abandon the running game too early.
Note: I had three scenarios but the Press Democrat’s auto-refresh is going crazy. I had to re-type this three times already. No fun when you have arthritic hands.
Scenario #2 Kaepernick has multiple ball security issues. He drops a shotgun snap, and fumbles on a run play.
Scenario 3# The Nolan does what so many fail to do… scheme as much as possible to cover Davis and Crabtree. The practically dare the 49ers to throw to guys like Ginn.
They especially sit on Vernon’s seam routes, forcing him to alter his routes and make adjustments.
You mean force him to throw to Randy Moss, Delanie Walker and Frank Gore. Ginn is on the field very little. The Falcons are in a tough spot. Their coach said they’ll have to keep all eyes on Kap. That means zone defense which will put a lot on their line and linebackers to handle the run.
My angst is that CK had a great game against Chicago then sucked the next week. Had a great week against NE and sucked the next week. Had a great game against GB and…………….???????????
The trend is he will not have a great week. We have to hope defense and special teams are excellent this week.
That’s all I’m saying…..
He beat the saints in the superdome after he beat chicago and didn’t suck.
Woody,
You aren’t saying anything other than the fact that your logic is senseless. What does one game have to do with the next. He beat Arizona and had a great game against GreenBay. See how that works. It’s all about matchups and game planning. It’s about Atlanta, nothing else matters. Either he plays well, plays okay or he plays poorly. That’s why there are a few other guys on the team.
dude what are you talking about! can you please provide facts to back up your statement! Even if you statement was true, CK is a ROOKIE with 7 games of experience!!!
Every once in a while, we encounter stories like this that makes football blogs and the accompanying blogger bickering seem trivial. I wish the best for Stuart and all others struggling with this horrendous disease cancer:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/the-turnstile/espn-stuart-scott-announces-cancer-returned-030452684.html
+ 1 he is one of the best in the business stay strong Stuart.
Are you all nuts? Of course the 49ers could lose. A fumble, and interception, a penalty, bad play calling, divine intervention. Any given Sunday. And this isn’t the Rams we’re playing, this is the #1 seed in the NFC.
The consensus around the league is the 49ers will go right into Atlanta and beat the Falcons rather easily.
Does anybody on here believe that statement? I sure as hell don’t. The 49ers better not either. If they do, they’ll get owned. Matty ice is hungry. He’s been trying to get that playoff monkey off his back for the past 3 seasons. DON’T SLEEP on the Falcons
I agree J
I think the 49ers win rather easily. Of course, I thought that Denver would paste Baltimore…I thought that Houston would cover the spread against New England…..I’m beginning to think I know nothing.
Any given Sunday is really all I think now.
I said it before Atlanta scares me they have 3 1000 yard receivers and a pretty good running back in Michael Turner who had 800 yards rushing and they are home in a dome. Can we beat them yes but San Fran better bring everything they have Sunday in all 3 phases of the game if they want to win. My keys dont get in a 14 to 0 hole and they need to win the turnover battle I think +2.
I dont understand this blog. We are mostly all 49er fans, I would assume mostly adults and you 300 threads and more than half of it is bickering. Our team is 1 win away from the Superbowl, I dont know about you but I have been a 49er faithful all my life and all I want is them to win. Not trying to get all Rodney King here but seriously some of these comments have nothing to do with football or how great it would be to celebrate #6. My wife asks me all the time why do you get so nervous or anxious for these games and my only, answer I can give is I love sports and I guess its bragging rights I just want all my teams to win. By the way this is coming from a Islander and Mets fan.
Michael,
Do you remember the glory years of Bossy, Gillies, Goring, Trottier, Potvin, et al.? Great dynastic team. I was a little kid and grew up watching them beat the crap out of everybody…..until the Great One arrived.
Yep I was 6 in 1980 they were awesome than. I still have a autographed Trottier and Bossy hockey stick that we got signed at a event.
Two things worry me. A) our tendency to play badly every third game, B) how CK copes with the crowd noise & whether he can make the appropriate adjustments at the line. HOWEVER overall I see far more reasons to expect a 49ers win. Atlanta have a lot of talent but they strike me as mentally weak. The unnecessary interception Ryan threw in the 4th quarter showed a lack of clear thinking under pressure. Their capitulation against the Seahawks showed they struggle to dig in when the chips are down. I also thought their head coach looked very nervy on the sidelines. When they got into field goal range at the death, they should have run the clock down to 1 second before calling timeout – thus making the kick the last play of the game. Instead, they gave the Seahawks an outside chance of coming back by leaving 13 secs on the clock. They then compounded that error by fluffing that kickoff short, which again showed an inability to think soundly. I think the falcons were in a state of panic for much of the 4th quarter. I expect the 49ers to play the key situations better.
James, I don’t think the media is even mentioning that timeout call with 13 seconds left. Why you would leave any time on the clock for Seattle is crazy. Mike Smith just about hung his team with that.
Saints fan??? Gone!
Seahawks fan? Gone!
Que the Foulcons fan!
Screw Atl there SB WAS YESTERDAY they were defeated by SEATTLE and by the grace of god they got lucky again it’s been the theme of their season if u wanna beat THE CLOWNS. As us saints fans call them put on the tape of the saints FALCLOWNS game when we beat them in New Orleans they have gotten all the breaks this year and they have played prob one of the easiest schedules in the leauge !!!! MATT Ryan is not an elite QB. And Atl def is Garbage please beat these guys so their fanbase can jump ship again!!!!
I distinctly remember Seattle being down 20-0 at halftime and rallying back. If they were supposed to lose, why did they jump out to huge lead? Because they are a lot better than obviously everyone notices. They let their guard down and allowed Seattle to come back. And when they needed it most, even with Seattle having all the momentum and against the #1 ranked D in the league, were able to move the ball at will. Come on man. The Falcons are definitely capable of winning.
Of course the Falcons can win. Any given Sunday. I know the Vikes and Rams were on the list of 0% chance of winning vs the Niners this year.
2 good outside threats, a great TE, and a good QB. They have some ball hawks in the secondary and home field is important.
That being said, the game comes down to the trenches as it usually does. Can the Niners find their pass rush again and stop the run? Can they run the ball and protect Kaep? I like the Niners chances in this game but by no means do I think it’s a sure thing. Those don’t exist in the NFL.
There are innumerable scenarios in which the Falcons win. Just look at how much better Seattle was and ATL still won the game.
SEA had 3 first half drives that gained 60 yards and they didn’t score.
I don’t think ATL will win, but a concensus for one team is a very long way from saying that the other team is hopeless.
The Falcons have been under-estimated all year. Nobody really is giving them respect now. They only had the best record in the NFC two out of the last three years. They only RARELY beat themselves. They only have the BEST WR combo in the league and a deadly TE to boot. They only have San Fransico’s old head coach who is familiar with almost all their impact players. But just keep on underestimating them. Watch where it gets you. A trip back to California wondering what happened and watching a team you thought you would crush play in the Superbowl.
The Niners have been underestimated all year too William. They have the BEST LB combo in the NFL, the BEST safety combo in the NFL, the BEST OL in the NFL, the BEST pass rushing combo in the NFL, the BEST punter in the NFL, the BEST dual threat QB in the NFL, shoot KAP has the #1 rated QBR in the past 9 weeks too and we have a deadly TE that we don’t even utilize. Care to retort?
Which poses a question.Is it harder to win when everyone expects u to?..or easier if nobody expects u to win at all?
I think one advantage the 9ers will have this week is game planning time. By playing sat it gives them one extra day and with atl’s opponent being a team we already played twice it would’nt surprise me if Harbaugh and staff were’nt working on an Atl game plan starting at about 5:00 sunday morn. When Harbaugh has a long week to game plan he usually has great success
With McCoy taking the HC job in San Diego, DC Ray Horton becomes leading candidate for Arizona job.
Or dare I say it….Greg Roman?
Further evidence that the media has Harbaugh all wrong:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/jim-harbaugh-john-harbaugh-im-half-coach-he
Further? Where’s the previous evidence?
@ Cfc:
Just about every one-on-one interview he’s ever done.
I think the media gets frustrated with him because secrecy as to scheme and loyalty to his players are much more important to Harbaugh than the media’s need to produce stories for public consumption.
I also think that the media (and many fans) mistakenly believe Harbaugh is disingenuous. I don’t think he is at all. He may be goofy, he may be short tempered at times, he may struggle with his words on occasion, but I believe that he is genuine. Putting aside disinformation for the sake of competitive advantage, I think Harbaugh says what he means and means what he says.
Claude,
Couldn’t agree more. It’s obvious Harbaugh doesn’t like doing the press conferences. He’d rather be doing something productive towards winning a game than answering questions. I think people make too many assumptions based on too little information. He is a former player and now a HC. He does not give meaningful information to be analyzed by others. It’s about his family, his players and his Coaches. He could care less about the rest.
Falcons can’t beat Niners
Anybody remember Freddie P Soft? Anybody remember some heartbreaking last second losses down in Atlanta over the years (well, ok, regular season, but still)?
Over confidence is a killer. The media are falling for it. Some fans are falling for it. Hope the coaches and players aren’t. Atlanta can absolutely beat SF; nothing less than a top-notch performance by SF will prevail.
The Niners have to stop the run, and Rogers and Turner present separate challenges. If the Niners don’t get pressure on Ryan, the birds will probably win.
I think Freddie P will be on the sidelines this Sunday in Atlanta just as he was in the Falcons locker-room after the game. He is also known as Mike Smith. Could you believe that speech?
Can the Falcons run the ball like they did against the Seahawks who looked gassed in the 1st half when that was really the only time in the game they were being effective running? 49ers defense will be fresh for this game and #94 will be out there. Falcons best chance is rushing the ball, having sustained clock-eating drives and no turnovers to have their best chance of winning. That’s kind of funny because that’s why we are usually saying about the 49ers when facing QB’s like Rodgers, Brees and Brady. Now the Falcons are the ones that are going to have to keep Kaepernick off the field!
Can the 49ers lose? Of course very simply come out flat on O and D like they have every 4th game this yr. thats how
Coach, last time after a bye, the 49ers tied the Rams. After this playoff bye, which is really as good as a win, the 49ers pounded the Packers. The trend is over.
Spaceborn – Is your band rockin this Sunday? What is the theme song for NFC Championship?
I blasted AC/DC “Whole Lotta Rosie” before Packer game. Also, I watched this live video and I swear the late Bon Scott looks like Drew Brees to me. Check it out and tell me if you see what I’m seeing. Brees is Bon Scott’s son. Lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQWJog7eYqY
Crabs, oh, yeah! In fact – have to make this short – gotta guitarist that just pulled up to work on original stuff – true badazz from the old LA scene and played at OzFest with two different bands.
Met him last week and we played “Personal Jesus” in tribute to Kaepernick in a jam that went on forever after the game! Later!
@ Crab15:
I always thought Bon Scott was trying to look like Keith Richards circa Black and Blue. And he did, sort of.
It looks like the Rams have hired Rob Ryan as their new defensive coordinator (who was fired by the Cowboys on Wednesday):
http://tracking.si.com/2013/01/12/rams-hire-rob-ryan/?sct=obnetwork
On another NFC coaching note, the Seahawks may lose their DC – Gus Bradley – to the Eagles.
Isn’t their OC a candidate for HC as well?
I think that’s correct
It’s a NEW season so it will only be the second game.
Matt Ryan has been lucky all year throwing interceptions, losing the turnover battle and still winning the game. Two interceptions against the seachickens and they still won. As long as we are able to score points off his turnovers, this game will be wrapped up. Law of averages eventually evens out, as we learned first hand in last years NFCCG.
The Niners defense is actually at the bottom of the league in yards per rushing attempt 6.5 avg. For some reason most teams just decide not to run the ball on them as evidenced by their league best of only 16 carries per game by apposing teams.
The teams who decide to stick with the run and especially those with bruising running backs like Jackson, Lynch, Peterson and others can hurt us. Backs don’t break long runs, as the longest against the Niners is 19 yards and teams usually just aren’t patient enough. however, that’s how St. Louis stayed in the game and made a play here and there each time and eventually won.
If Atlanta stays patient and makes a few big plays from time to time they have a serious chance. It will be up to their defense to play disciplined enough to make Kaep be patient as well.
There’s no way the Niners can be complacent. This ATL team is no joke. They are the number one seed for a reason.
They beat New Orleans too you know! It was in ATL, but it was late in the season when NO was supposed to be playing well and they held them to just 13 points.
They have it in them, so don’t sleep…take out last years frustration with the Giants on the Falcons!
Where did you get that 6.5?
2012 regular season
407 att. 1507 yds. 3.7 avg.
Eb niner you are wrong! 3.7 ypr buddy
My bad…I saw the number on NFL.com under run defense avg. it said clearly 6.5. Must have been referring to something other than per carry.
Never the less…teams with big backs who are disciplined have more success. Those were the games we lost and tied.
@ EB:
You were looking at the postseason numbers. The NFL.com stats page defaults to postseason stats once the playoffs start.
The hood birds will lose. Wake up. We have already seen this play out before. 1998-1999. The niners will absolutely crush the falcons and its not even going to be close. “Nine niners in the pro bowl”. NUFF SAID!
Jpsaint…stop. player hating ….I know n. U know u wanna join a winning team …just gone by u some black n red since u trying to find a ban wagon to jump on …n funny u say falcons had easy schedule …right we had to play saints …too easy
Oneniner is back!!!!
Out of the 92 teams to play in the 46 superbowls, bird mascotted teams have been represented … 5 times. Ravens might possibly make it. Falcons? Not a chance.
Out of the 92 teams to play in the 46 superbowls, bird mascotted teams have been represented … 5 times.
What a coincidence. So have prospector-mascotted teams.
Out of the the 92 teams to play in the 46 Super Bowls, teams that never had at least one winning streak of at least three regular season games have been represented….0 times.
Party pooper.
Well there always a first time for everything
Grant I love it please pick Atlanta to win, pleaseeeeeeee
Grant shock the world and dont make a prediction, leave everyone hanging.
Did any of those teams have the 2012 version of David Akers???????
Didn’t think so….
The obscure (and probably meaningless) stats thread… keep them coming!
I like yours claude.
Why niners fans need to take us more seriously:
1: Seattle’s read option did nothing for them. All of wilson’s scrambles came because recievers were locked up. our d ends made sure he never pulled the ball, and that was big part of Kaeps day
2: Richard Sherman batted down many balls. Look at the replays and he was burned on almost every one, late throws by Matt Ryan. He won’t miss this week (hopefully)
3: Mike Turner is fresh and has much to prove in this game. Bonus-Quizz Rodgers is a matchup nightmare. Him and gonzales on the field will create a mismatch with linebackers
4: Our offense put up 30 on the #1 scoring D in the league
5: Is Staley healthy? Highly doubtful, the man is a real soldier though
6: We are playing with no pressure now. No one expects us to win, so we can go play loose and have fun. In reverse that pressure now goes to the niners to not fail again in the big money game
Will be great game. Good luck niners fans
Good post and pretty reasonable argument! I believe Atlanta is a good team with a lot of talented players. Your wideouts and TE are one of the best in the NFL and your QB has been play very good football, however keep in mind this niner team is extremely HUNGRY! This is not seattle or north carolina! They will fight in this game for a victory with or without injuries.
May the best team win
Go Niners
Seahawks lost due to being a young-fatigued team and they had some costly turnovers early in game vs Atlanta.
Niners have more “key” veterans than Hawks and Niners surely are not tired. The bye week helped Niners more than Atlanta (Justin Smith recovered).
Falcons played easiest schedule in NFL this season, that’s all you need to know.
All arrows up for a “dirty bird” spanking!
Good post Crabs. Throw in the fact Carroll made some dumb coaching decisions in that game, AtL escaped in my opinion.
This game to me comes down to physicality and coaching. Is Mike Smith’s staff smarter than Harbaugh’s because to me each team is equal in talent.
Prime – I think Mike Smith is more suited for being a HC in college. I mean it in a positive way. He’s incredibly nice and is a very uplifting guy. The college kids need someone to teach them about life lessons and how to respect others. Smith has coached in college but never as a head coach. I love Mike Smith and I feel bad in advance for what’s about to happen to his team Sunday.
Niners are too powerful in the trenches for Falcons to hang for 60 minutes of football. With Gore having fresh legs, it’s going to be very quiet in the Georgia Dome Sunday.