No Reason To Panic

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/david-bakhtiari-one-of-many-reasons-not-to-panic-b9994928z1-223241311.html

Feels the OL looked solid, the DL looked stout, felt Burnett was truly missed, liked the attitude.

But the one thing to take away from Sunday that projects the Packers as a solid team was their attitude. I liked it when McCarthy lashed out at a moral-victory question. I wasn't crazy about Clay Matthews' late hit on Kaepernick, but it's pretty clear the Packers were sick of the "soft" tag applied to them after the San Francisco playoff experience that ended last season.

Tighten up the secondary, and this team is going to be a handful.

[HarveyWallbangers]

The games against San Fran remind me a bit of us vs. the Giants a few years ago. One year we crushed them 45-17. We got the better of them the next year, but it took a late FG to beat them on the road. The gap had narrowed considerably, and the Giants beat us handily in the playoffs. Hoping to see the reverse with the 49ers.

[mraynrand]

The games against San Fran remind me a bit of us vs. the Giants a few years ago. One year we crushed them 45-17. We got the better of them the next year, but it took a late FG to beat them on the road. The gap had narrowed considerably, and the Giants beat us handily in the playoffs. Hoping to see the reverse with the 49ers.

The Packers neutralized the niners run game, and Kap's RO. The sacrificed some in the passing game to do it. Boldin and Packer safeties are the key. Boldin is a older dude, and he's never gonna feel as good as he did Sunday; there's a good chance he will fall off as the season goes along. Packers recover their safeties and the one mismatch the niners have goes away. Similarly, on the O-line and at rb, the Packers have youth and inexperience; the niners have age and experience. That gap should narrow as the season progresses. A playoff meeting between the two teams seems inevitable and should be epic.

[George Cumby]

Hunt always seems to bring a reasonable and measured perspective. I like his writing a lot.

[denverYooper]

The Packers neutralized the niners run game, and Kap's RO. The sacrificed some in the passing game to do it. Boldin and Packer safeties are the key. Boldin is a older dude, and he's never gonna feel as good as he did Sunday; there's a good chance he will fall off as the season goes along. Packers recover their safeties and the one mismatch the niners have goes away. Similarly, on the O-line and at rb, the Packers have youth and inexperience; the niners have age and experience. That gap should narrow as the season progresses. A playoff meeting between the two teams seems inevitable and should be epic.

Good points. There is something to be said for a younger roster and the Packers are probably ascending a bit again where the 49ers might decline slightly. I've thought for a while that next year and for 2-3 years after that is truly this team's window and wondered if they might put it all back together by the end of this year. Next year, though, is where I feel the defense will be in the sweet spot on the age/experience continuum and Rodgers should still be in his prime. If they get some good years from Lacy and stable tackles... watch out.

As far as the D goes, they weren't just trying to stay young just because it was cheaper. It seems they've been trying to build a good core group that will play some solid ball as a unit for years. That's pretty much how the 9ers D evolved. First you note the talent, then you note that they are up-and-coming, and then their core gels and becomes known as a stout D. It won't surprise me to see that happen with the bunch that the Packers have.

I keep waiting for the Bears D to fall off because some key guys are getting up there. I guess they did at the end of the year last year. The Steelers started showing those signs 2 years ago and this year is finally looking to be a disaster.

[Upnorth]

Now is time to panic.