OFFICIAL Packers @ 49ers - Divisional Round

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ring-worry-free-playing-surface-come-saturday


They put in new turf, but Candlestick is built on what used to be a tidal marsh flat and the field is only a few feet above sea level.

Also, there is an extreme cold advisory in effect for Saturday, with it expected to only be about 52 degrees F during kickoff and possibly dropping into the 40s by the end of the game (Saturday could break the all time record for cold), and the possibility of rain.

So it could be a muddy, cold, nasty game. I'll be wearing my parka for this one and hoping the weatherman is wrong.

Weather report actual says it'll most likely be DRY, but you're right...very cold (at least for Cali...lol). I have a feeling peeps in Wisconsin will find the warning of "extreme cold" at 40 degrees rather amusing.

nah, just being realistic.

I could see the argument for Washington, because it freezes there, but generally lawns live through the winter in the bay area.

Yeah...I can't express this enough.

The pit in Fed-Ex has peeps going nuts about the natural turf in SF. Thats odd because the 49ers lost all of their players with serious leg injuries in New Orleans...on artificial turf.

The stick can sometimes get muddy because of rain in January and its proximity to the bay, but it has NEVER been a dangerous place to play.

Grass has more "give". Players don't get their feet stuck in the turf and get their knees all jacked up in the process.

Fed-Ex...wow....I dunno WHAT that was. It was like the field was wet and they just covered the entire thing with sand and then paited it all green.

I've been on the grass at the 'stick. Its almost like a putting green. There won't be any safety issues there.

With all the money Snyder has you'd assume he'd invest in some turf or somehow make that grass alot better..

Just needed to make sure I just read extreme cold advisory and 52 degrees F in the same sentence.

I don't think it is for the city so much as some of the suburbs, which are expected to get as low as 29 degrees overnight. If you combine that with the offshore storms which have a possibility of moving inland and there is a slight possibility of snow in some of the suburban areas. It happened once in the northern suburbs about ten years ago, and they had to shut down all the roads and wait hours for the snow to melt because there are no snowplows and nobody knew how to drive in it.

But even on a warm January day in the high 60's or low 70's, it can feel pretty cold at Candlestick once the sun goes down and those 50 mph sea breezes start blowing. It is not as cold as the Midwest, but if you are used to January temperatures in the 52-68 degree range, mid 40's probably feels to us what mid 20's feels to you.

20 degrees..."Time to put pants and a sweatshirt on"

Yeah...I thought you guys might get a kick out of that one.

between Akers and Crosby I expect about 15 missed field goals this Saturday...

Give me mid 20s any day during Late Dec - Early March. its the -20 that gets my bones a achin. But I get what you mean in the summer a 45 degree night seems COLD.

It's official, Akers named starting kicker for Sat

http://www.packers.com/news-and-eve...-quickly/188caef3-2c75-4a52-983a-b3dd123167bc

Only one more day till the big contest. Even though I feel our defense is a more formidable matchup than our Week 1 unit, I don't feel that the Packers will win this one.

If you take the season as a whole, the Packers offensive unit is very erratic, even within games. Likely due to the shuffling on the offensive line, but nevertheless when you add that to the at times curious playcalling I just don't think the Pack will score more than 17 points in Frisco.

Its all about matchups and even though the 49ers were destroyed recently by the Seahawks, that game will have little translation to Saturday night's contest. The Packers are finesse at their core and the 49ers are almost the polar opposite.

Will the recent optimism with Dujuan Harris at RB carry over into a good showing against the 49ers? I think the Packers offensive line will struggle agaisnt the 49ers with or without Justin Smith at full strength and in turn Dujuan will be relegated to little more than a marginal factor.

The one caveat that I will add is that the replacement refs basically let the 49er DB's and LB's mug our receivers for 3 quarters in that first game. Now that the game is ref'ed with more experienced referees, I don't think you will see our WR's curiously absent as they were for a large portion of that first game. This could be a huge determining factor of whether the Packer's offense can get rolling or merely scuttles along.

Lol 52 is golfing weather in shorts and a short sleeve. I would consider 52 a heat wave in janurary.

Very interesting... guy has had a terrible year, except against us week 1.
But we do owe him the Super Bowl XLV partly to him too, maybe he'll be so kind once again.

LMAO....C'mon son, that's BBQ/t-shirts/shorts weather if your from WI......lol....cold....

Over the last couple years I've not been concerned with Aaron Rodgers and how he will play but this week I am. News in Milwaukee this morning says he is under the weather, probably with that flu bug that was traveling through the locker room. Considering that fact, plus the fact that in 2 games in his career as a starter (yes one was pre-season I know) Aaron has had 2 of his worst games when 'going home' I'm much more skittish about this week than any other game this season. To me this could go either way, and be a rout or close game either way.

Good Points - Another thing that will win the game for the Packers is getting pressure - according to ESPN stats (I know...I know - take with a grain of salt) however, The Packers increased their sack total to a very respectable 47 this season, up 18 from 2011′s disappointing 29. At least part of that bump can be attributed to Dom Capers’ use of the blitz, which the Packers defensive coordinator called at a higher rate than just three teams this season. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Green Bay brought five or more rushers on 40 percent of the defensive snaps this season, good for fourth-most in the NFL.

Facing Colin Kaepernick instead of Alex Smith at quarterback likely means more blitzing from Capers. Whereas Smith completed almost 73 percent of his passes against the blitz this season (best in the NFL), Kaepernick finished under 57 percent and saw his total QBR drop by over 17 points when facing five or more rushers. With a young quarterback making his first playoff start, expect Capers to send even more blitzes than usual Saturday.

If the Packers get pressure and we can contain Kaepernick in the pocket and force mistakes we have a great chance.....GO Pack GO!!!

CRUD.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/186377141.html

Injury report: Boykin and (obviously) Worthy out, everybody else is probable with FP on the last practice.
Looks like everybody on the 9ers side should be good to go too.

WHO'S READY FOR A GAME?!?!?!

That's a releif