Green Bay Packers-San Francisco Niners: Grades and Analysis

Green Bay's victory over the San Francisco 49ers put them in the playoffs...for now. The 6-4 record ties us with the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, but by virtue of a tie-break edge over New York (and Philly's edge over us), we are the sixth seed as of this moment.

But it came at an incredible cost, with both Aaron Kampman and Al Harris tearing their ACL with virtually no contact and away from the play; they are lost for the season. Kampman was having his best game (four tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed), and Al Harris is one of the top No. 2 corners in the league—on most teams, he'd be their top guy.

This has convinced me that it is time to make a change...to the field. Playing on Lambeau Field is hazardous to any player's health, and we play seven more games there than any of our opponents. The vast majority of injuries in Packers games this season, whether to us or to opponents, have occurred at home.

I am guessing this was the case last season, when the team suffered more injuries than any other. However, I did not start tracking it until they started happening again this year.

When you have a recurring problem spanning 26 games, it cannot be chalked up to bad luck. After last season, Rock Gullickson and the entire strength and conditioning coaching staff were blamed and let go. Perhaps the best strength and conditioning coach in the business, Dave Redding, was hired to replace him.

Two seasons, two coaches—it's gotten better, but it's still bad. The Packers have lost the following key players to injury for the season:

1. Will Blackmon, the primary kick and punt returner and dimeback—he is the only player on this list to go on injured reserve after a road game

2. Aaron Kampman, OLB and the team's best pass rusher

3. Al Harris, the team's second-best cornerback

4. Jason Spitz, starting center and back-up guard

5. DeShawn Wynn, the team's third-down back

Currently, the Packers have 17 players listed on their injury report—only New England has more. By contrast, the division-leading Minnesota Vikings have just nine players on that report.

Before asking Tightwad Ted to get some free agent help for the team this off-season (if he remains, which he is likely to since I believe the Packers will win at least half of their remaining games to finish with a winning record), maybe we should ask him to upgrade the field and maybe even the grounds crew...

Here is my assessment of the Packers performance against the San Francisco Forty-Niners: 

Quarterback: A-

Aaron Rodgers was 32-45 for 344 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks (a 108 rating—he is now the fifth-ranked passer in the league) against a pretty good pass defense. He was only sacked twice, although he was called for a borderline intentional grounding because he had a little too much faith in his feet to get him out of the sack.

And why not? He is the leading rusher among quarterbacks. Thanks to those yards, he trails only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in yards generated by quarterbacks (303/game).

His 22 total touchdowns are second only to Drew Brees' 24; his seven turnovers trails only Kyle Orton and the Old Guy (proof that what I had been saying all along was true—if he ever stayed within the system rather than taking unnecessary chances, he'd be easily the greatest of all-time) among quarterbacks playing in every game this season.

Running Back: A-

Ryan Grant had 129 yards on 21 carries (6.1 average) with a touchdown against the third-ranked rush defense in the NFL. Brandon Jackson added 16 yards on four carries to give Packers backs 145 yards on 25 carries (5.8 average).

Jackson also had 65 yards on six catches and Grant had two for 16 yards. That means that in all the backs generated 226 yards on just 33 touches (6.8 average), with one score and no turnovers. Those are good numbers against the Cleveland Browns, much less the formidable Niners linebacking corps—rarely was All Pro Patrick Willis even mentioned.

Receivers: C+

This might have been better were it not for the tight ends, both of whom had drops. Jermichael Finley led the team with seven catches despite the drop, but just 54 yards; Donald Lee had no catches and the other drop, and I never saw Spencer Havner.

To some extent this is due to the incredible linebackers of the Niners, but the running backs were able to overcome that, and unlike backs, tight ends sometimes get to go up against safeties.

The wide receivers were led by Greg Jennings with five catches for 126 and a touchdown. But the rest of the unit had just 12 receptions for 83 yards (6.9 average) and a score (by fourth receiver Jordy Nelson). In their entirety, the receivers generated 263 yards on two dozen catches for an average of 11 yards.

Offensive Line: C+

As previously mentioned, the line gave up just two sacks against the Niners—just over the 1.89/game pace. Take away the three kneeldowns by Rodgers and the line helped pave the way for 162 yards on 29 carries (5.6 average). While a lot of that is on Grant, including breaking a tackle for a 21-yard gain, there were plenty of holes to make it easier for him.

Defensive Line: B-

The line was run over when the Niners bothered to hand the ball off—ten carries for 69 yards. The problem was that the Packers jumped out to such a lead the Niners could not afford to run, and that is a big part of why the unit managed just four tackles and no assists collectively.

The reason is that in the first half Alex Smith had no time to pass. Usually, the line just paves the way for the pressure, Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji combined for two of the team's three sacks and were instrumental in hurrying the former top pick.

Linebackers: D

Kampman led this unit despite playing less than a full game, generating a sack and four tackles. The rest of the unit got just six tackles and three assists, and Vernon Davis torched them for 108 yards in six catches with a touchdown. Furthermore, Frank Gore had three catches for just nine yards, but most of it came on a fourth down touchdown. That's nine catches for 117 yards (13 average) and two scores.

Defensive Backs: B

Alex Smith completed fewer than half of his passes, and while Michael Crabtree caught a 38-yard touchdown, but outside of that play he had a pedestrian thre catches for 39 yards. The wide receiving corps as a whole managed just seven catches for 99 yards and that one score. The defensive backfield generated a dozen tackles, an assist, and an interception (by Nick Collins) setting up the lone Packers score in the second half.

Special Teams: D+

Once again, the Packers gave up a long return, this time a 76-yard kick return by Josh Morgan (his other return was for 24). The rest of the coverage was better, as the other two returners managed just 18 and 13 yards and punt returns averaged only about two yards.

Tramon Williams had punt returns of 27 and five yards, and Jordy Nelson averaged about 21-yards on his four kick returns. Mason Crosby got five of his six kickoffs into the endzone, two of which were touchbacks, and hit on all six kicks, albeit none over 27-yards away. Jeremy Kapinos had five punts with a 38-yard net average including two that were stopped inside the 20.