Jeff Garcia spoke on 95.7 The Game Monday morning. Here’s what he said about Colin Kaepernick.
GARCIA: He looked outstanding. He did a great job. The kid is extremely athletic, but he just has that confidence, that swagger about him. I think that’s a major reason why Harbaugh went with Kaepernick when he did, because he saw that personality to him. The kid just really believes in his abilities. He has tremendous abilities. The players believe in him. They’ve rallied around him. And he went out there and he made plays.
Obviously he had the one hiccup early in the game, but he responded. He put it behind him. He moved forward and he was outstanding.
Q: What happened to the Green Bay defense?
GARCIA: Green Bay defensively hadn’t really been strong all year long. Obviously there were weaknesses in that defense. Come playoff time, you hope that you can fix certain things. But the 49ers truly did exploit them in many ways. And Kaepernick exploited them with that read option, reading that end at the line of scrimmage. They just were lost in trying to defend that.
The first touchdown that he ran for, the Packers were in man-to-man defense and they tried to bracket one of the players – that’s a lot like Cover 2 Man. A quarterback with running ability loves to see Cover 2 Man or some sort of bracket man because they don’t put anybody on the quarterback. And that’s exactly what happened. He took off on a 20-yard run to the end zone. It was a big play that sparked kind of everything that they had going at that time. And it didn’t stop.
Q: Does Atlanta have the tools to do any better against Kaepernick? They haven’t done well against quarterbacks who can run this year.
GARCIA: As we saw with Russell Wilson yesterday, he definitely was able to make some big time plays with his feet, whether it was running for yardage or getting outside the pocket and buying time and getting the ball down the field to his receivers to make plays – that’s something that Atlanta has shown to be vulnerable in that situation.
Obviously, they’re going to have somewhat of an equalizer with the hometown crowd, but Kaepernick and the Niners, they’ve been in that situation, they’ve been in that sort of hostile environment – going down to New Orleans. It’ll be a couple decibel points louder in Atlanta, but they’re capable of going in there and winning, especially with that defense.
That’s what it comes down to – they’re such a well-balanced team. You look at the 49ers – they’re strong on the defensive side of the ball. They hit you. They don’t miss tackles. They don’t have breakdowns in the secondary. They’re offensive line is so strong, so active. They run the ball well. They pound it at you. They have a real mix of things from a team standpoint that gives them an edge when they step on the field.
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I hope we can do this. On paper we should but the only thing i worry about the that away noise that Kap has had issues with in Seattle and and NE. Hopefully they can get to the line early enough to make adjustments and with more experience, Kap will be OK. Once again, if Gore get 100 yards rushing we should be good.
Also, I cant wait until Kap can get on page with Moss on that down field throw that he keeps missing long by a foot. One other thing that he’ll need to eventually get is putting a little more arc on some of his passes.
The weather in NE played a part in all those fumbles. Kap may have some miscues, but he recovers quickly.
His explosive big play ability more than makes up for his picks/fumbles/whatever
Grant,
No grades for the coaches? Is that because you would have to give a Roman an A+? :)
Learn how to use the internet bro.
http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/2013/01/inside-the-49ers/49ers-divisional-playoff-grades-coaches/
My bad.
The crowd noise is always a disadvantage for visiting teams, so it will be important to jump to a quick lead to nullify the noise level.
I see us jumping to a lead and then managing the clock by sustained drives.
Garcia makes one point that scares me just a little. My one and only concern regarding CK is his game management ability especially on the road. If the 9ers can take the crowd out of it early i feel very good about our chances but if CK has to deal with rabid [in a dome] fan noise he scares me just a bit.
As they say, been there – done that – NE, NO
IMG the game management in the 2nd half of the NE game when the crowd seemed to come to life was not good. Thanks for reminding me.
Uhhh – Seattle?
What about the Rams loss?
Old Coach
Game management is my primary concern about CK as well. I thought he did a great job against the Packers, however its a skill that is mastered with experience and one that I am sure he will master once he gets more games under his belt.
the Seahawks game is an example of the crowd noise disrupting the offense. When the play comes in late, CK was basically screaming the plays out in the huddle. Couple of timeouts were taken due to the crowd noise. I see this as more significant factor than the play of the seahawks defense. The league should really do something about the unfair advantage of that stadium.
We have to win this game. I do not see any lack of preparation from the coaches standpoint. A big thing will be covering both Jones and White effectively. The bigger question here is can we win a playoff road game. The media does not think so nor does ESPN as per John Clayton. The argument seems to stand that we were blown out by the Seahawks and that the Falcons beat them. The Falcons stamped them for 167 on the ground. Is our D line better than the Hawks without their star pass rusher? I know we have to wait for Grant’s take on this, but not a lot of faith out there for us winning this game. We cannot be this team that cannot get past the championship game.
At this point – our front 7 >> Seattle’s front 7. Bruce Irvin was a big time liability.
Seattle was probably worn out a little from playing the wild card game and an early road game at ATL.
I have to admit I was impressed they almost pulled it off.
Seeing how poorly Atlanta’s defense played in the second half gave me more confidence playing them though.
John Abraham is hurting. That will definitely weaken the ATL defense.
“They don’t have breakdowns in the secondary.”
I’m not sure about that one Jeff but everything else sounds spot on.
They get a couple here and there, but when’s the last time you saw a total bust and a guy way behind our D for a TD?
Like the Broncos D or Dreadlock Dick Sherman ;~)
A couple of things. First, how big of a deal is it that John Abrahams might not play this weekend. He had 10 sacks this year and forced a few fumbles. Vocal leader too. He vows to play on his tweaked ankle. I hope he actually plays myself. I say we go right after him if he’s on a bum ankle.
2nd. One thing I’d like to see Kaep improve on is sliding and staying in bounds when we are trying to run the clock out. At the game in the 4th quarter he took off on one of his last runs. It was a nice gainer to the left side. He needs to be aware when we are trying to run the clock out to stay in bounds and the coaches need to be in his ear about it too.
On your second point true, but it wasn’t as important saturday because they were so far ahead. Kap’s sliding mechanics are great though, must be the baseball.
As far as Abraham goes, he tried to play against Seattle and re-injured his ankle. If he plays sunday the same thing will probably happen. The niners should run a read option play straight at him and see how he handles changing direction during the mesh.
Can you say snap! Broken ankle.
As for the crowd the noise, pretty sure they will be working on the silent count all week with the speakers blaring.
Has ATL seen a defense like ours this year? That division does not have one physical defense compared to ours. The only thing I fear with ATL is their big play capability and some how some way they always squeak out those last second wins.
I don’t see Kap being able to run against the Falcons like he did against the Packers (who would?), but I think he can run for around 80- 100 yards and more importantly a few first downs and maybe a touchdown. If Atlanta shifts their Defense to stop him, that opens up the middle for Gore. If that happens Frank can run for 125-150 yards. I do think the other receivers besides Crabtree have to step up and get open and make some catches because Nolan will try real hard to take MC away.
While Jones, White and Tony G are great receivers are they better than the Packers as a group? I have my doubts. Putting pressure on Ryan and change the looks on defense so he does not get comfortable is the key. Can we pressure him without blitzing more than a hand full of times is the real question?
I am concerned about Turner. Big backs have caused the Niners some problems this year.
Should be a great game.
Has anyone heard how Staley is doing?
heard its just bruised should be fine
I do think Jones, White and Tony G are better than the packers receiving corps. They are all tall, fast and can make athletic plays as evidenced by the game yesterday. That is my biggest concern with this matchup, but I have faith that the 49ers defense can come out and play big. I could see Goldson laying some wood next week!
Looks like Harbaugh is a favorite by 2.5. Hope he has complete faith in Akers. A field goal could be it.
He has tremendous abilities.
Yes, he does. He most certainly does. That was a performance for the ages.
The 49ers have a budding superstar at QB, the best offensive line in the league, and a defense featuring 6 Pro Bowlers (4 of whom are first team All Pros under the age of 30). They also have on staff some of the best, most innovative coaching minds in the NFL
The rest of the league just felt a shiver go down its collective spine.
On PTI today, Tony Kornheiser choice Luck as his young QB, and i think Wilbon went with RG3.
There have been alot of running/throwing QBs: Vick, Vince Young, JeMarcus Russell, Cam Newton, CK is a great situation because not only is he on a SB contending team, he has a great O-line. More than anything, he’s a bright, smart kid. Good head on his shoulders.
That’s the main reason he will excel over other athletic QBs.
This is a little off-topic, as we’re already looking forward, but for those of us who really LOVED the Packers game, it’s available from iTunes for $3. Based on my enjoyment of last year’s Div game against the Saints (probably watched it 7 times, and it NEVER gets old!), that’s a pretty good bargain. If you’d like to see the game again, but don’t want to shell out any $$$, Saturday’s win over the Packers will re-air on NFL Network’s “NFL Replay” on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Linebacker Patrick Willis was wired for sound.
Nice!
Atl isn’t ready. period. we’ll have that crowd of theirs quiet by halftime.
Its our year.
Dangle:
You might be right, but I think the Packer receivers are close and Rogers is much better than Ryan.