billbird2111 wrote: ↑18 Jan 2024 17:59
49er fan from Northern CA here. Thank you for allowing me to join. Looking forward to a good game, and any sort of game for that matter. It's been three weeks since the 49ers played a significant contest. This is both good and bad.
Hi Bill. I'm glad you would join us. No matter the outcome on Saturday night, maybe you could hang for a while, perhaps months to come. I'm sure the Packer/Niner rivalry will continue to grow.
On paper, the Niners fit your description pretty well, maybe even more. They clearly have the star power on offense. And their D is more than adequate, very capable of making turnovers.
The Niners and Packers will play pretty much the same offensive scheme, which you know already.
PackerNation is all guesses as to which Packer defense will show up. My view is that our Joe Barry D sucks every year until sometime in late November going into December and then it's pretty darned good for the most part. We are clearly past that point now. So, I'm thinking the better of our Jekyl/Hyde defense will be on the field. And they have also shown since early December, that they are capable of forcing turnovers.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the game will be what Kittle can do compared to Musgrave and Kraft. I'd actually like to see that. Kittle is a savvy pro, no doubt. But I don't know if there's a defense around that can hang with our TE from both sides. If they play up to their new expectations, I think we have a very slight edge there.
It really probably comes down to this. If our youthful Packers play down, then the Niners probably romp. But if they are still ascending, I think we have a legit chance of getting to the SB. The Niners are the known team. The Packers are the true wild card, but if they are right, they will compete now with anybody.
My deepest desire is that we play a smash-mouth game where both teams are getting worn down, to the point of obvious exhaustion. But my team would barely find another facet of their new identity and have enough to get a closely fought win. If the Packers weren't in it and the Niners played anybody else, I'd be for them to win it tho. Face it, with those stars, they need to. Their expectations are the highest. We'll see if that works for them or against them.