I know that a lot of folks are upset about the blown call on the Clay Matthews hit play. It's easy to forget that they would not have been in that situation had Mike McCarthy declined the penalty that gave the 49ers a second chance at 3rd down. Maybe the 49ers would have gone for it on 4th... I don't know. That's a chance they should have taken. Apart from the touchdown, the entire sequence gave Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick a chance to play the martyrs that they want to be. It's a shame that two men with such talent have to muck it up whenever they open their mouths.
On the plus side, the defensive front held up relatively well. Kaepernick still did his thing, but it was a far cry from the thrashing from the playoffs last year. We didn't see much of the read option, so it's you to say if the Packers fixed that particular issue. Still, it's an encouraging development.
Less encouraging is the performance of the secondary. Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin had their way with the defense. The Packers were didn't have Morgan Burnett at safety, which probably didn't help. Still, the frequency with which those two were running free speaks to a real problem with assignments yesterday. Maybe it will take some time for the secondary to gel, and they better. Performances like yesterday would probably be papered over against inferior teams. The front seven was good enough, it not good enough for a deep playoff run unless the secondary improves.
For the most part, the Packers played pretty well yesterday. They lost to a good team. As annoying as they are, the 49ers are a good team. They aren't the defending NFC champions for no reason. The Packers have work to do if they're going to make it to and win a rematch this season, but yesterday's loss represents progress. When was the last time we could say that a out the Packers?
