This and that from today in Santa Clara:
• The 49ers have typically left right tackle Anthony Davis on an island this season, with mixed results, but the rookie will receive some assistance Sunday.
And it’s not hard to understand why.
Packers second-year linebacker Clay Matthews, who leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks despite missing a game, moves around the field and will no doubt see snaps at left defensive end, opposite Davis. Matthews has 21.5 sacks since he entered the league, ranking second behind Minnesota’s Jared Allen (22).
Asked about the Davis-Matthews matchup, Johnson said help would be provided.
“We’ll have to be ready as a protection group,” he said. “So it’s
not going to be solely on Anthony Davis. It’s going to be a group effort
to try to make sure that we get these guys blocked in a passing
situation.”
• If you had a big-deal-let’s-see-what-happens-in-Green-Bay response to
Monday night’s 27-6 win over the Cardinals, you weren’t alone.
Linebacker Takeo Spikes he and many of his teammates were already prepping for the Packers on the flight back from Phoenix.
“As much as I wanted to enjoy that game — I’m not going to say it’s
like we didn’t win but it was like ‘Hey we won,'” Spikes said. “We did
what we were supposed to do. Let’s go.”
Spikes said he and his teammates began watching film of Green Bay on
their laptops on the plane. The breakdown of the Packers didn’t include
their loss at Atlanta last week, but featured cut ups of their
tendencies from their first 10 games.
“This is a big challenge,” said Spikes, in his third year with the
Niners. “This is the biggest challenge up until this point since I’ve
been here.”
• Those DeShawn Wynn fans in the audience shouldn’t get too excited about his promotion to the active roster this week.
The Brian Westbrook-Anthony Dixon backfield doesn’t appear as if it will morph into a three-headed monster any time soon.
I think offensive coordinator Mike Johnson would recognize Wynn in the
locker room. But I’m not positive after Johnson’s offered this when
asked to describe the fourth-year running back.
“Well, I don’t know much about him,” Johnson said. “He’s here and he’s
helping us out right now, but the guys that I’m focusing on right now
are Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon.”
• Tarell Brown has stepped in as the third cornerback with Will James
out the past two games due to a concussion. Manusky didn’t dismiss the
suggestion that Brown, who had four starts last year, might be playing
the best of his four-year career.
“Probably. He’s had a couple of pretty good games lately,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll have another one on Sunday.”
• The forecast in Green Bay at kickoff: 25 degrees, 13 mph winds, 10 percent chance of snow.
Freezing temps, but no frozen tundra. The field at Lambeau has been heated since 1996.
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