Five keys for 49ers in NFC title game vs. Packers
SANTA CLARA – The 49ers went 10-22 during the first two years of coach Kyle Shanahan’s regime. They have a mostly young roster, a quarterback going through his first full season a starter and a head coach appearing in the NFC Championship for the first time at his position.
Yet Shanahan’s team was noticeably relaxed this week. Receiver Emmanuel Sanders has continued to preach the 49ers have been in playoff-level games since early December. Cornerback Richard Sherman reiterated this is just another normal week of preparation.
Receivers Kendrick Bourne and Deebo Samuel continued to dance at the start of practice like they would if the calendar said October. Fred Warner and Kwon Alexander screamed across the field after stretching to encourage teammates on the offensive end bring their same energy to practice.
There were about five times the normal number of media members at the 49ers’ Santa Clara headquarters this week. Players were required to have podium sessions in the Levi’s Stadium auditorium. The FOX broadcast team was doing interviews in the swanky club for high rollers nearby the team’s locker room.
Suffice to say, the 49ers did all they could to treat this like a normal even though it’s anything but. Which leads to the first key to winning Sunday’s game that could give the franchise its seventh trip to the Super Bowl.
1. Pressure? What pressure? Shanahan takes a matter-offact approach when it comes to addressing his team. His speeches aren’t likely to get featured in movies to dramatic music. He tells it like it is, which is among
ABOVE: the reasons his players appreciate him.
He was asked this week about why his team is able to maintain a loose attitude despite the stakes Sunday being so high.
“Just keeping it real about what this is,” he said. “It’s a football game versus a very good team, which is what you pretty much have to deal with every Sunday. And that’s what we have to deal with this Sunday. It’s not getting caught up with, if you sit and watch TV all week or you read your phone all week, you might start to realize, oh my gosh, that’s one of the only games on, everyone’s talking and maybe you get caught up in the wrong stuff.
“But that stuff has nothing to do with football. It’s all what happens on the field, and whether it’s a preseason game, the first game or this game. I think that’s how our guys have attacked it all year.”
Yes, we’ve heard this stuff in professional sports before. One game at a time. The same process every week. Ignore the noise. Control what you can control.
To a man, the 49ers appear to be living that mentality right now. Not much has changed knowing a trip to Miami to play on sport’s biggest stage is on the line. Perhaps that’s why San Francisco has risen to almost every challenge so far this season, which has gotten them to the point where they’re 7.5-point favorites as hosts in the conference
title game. 2. Slowing Davante Adams – even if it’s not with Richard
Sherman The 49ers allowed two running backs to have over 100 yards on the ground this season – Christian Mccaffrey and Kenyan Drake – and they still won all those games. The only other rusher to eclipse the century mark was Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the loss in Baltimore on Dec. 1.
It would be a surprise to see Packers running back Aaron Jones be the reason for San Francisco’s downfall on Sunday. The defense will likely key on Jones on first and second down hoping to set up passing situations on third down, which would allow Dee Ford and Nick Bosa to pin their ears back like they did against Minnesota.
Which means stopping top receiver Davante Adams should be priority No. 1.
Adams had 180 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Seahawks. Adams in the regular season was targeted 127 times by Aaron Rodgers despite appearing in just 12 games. Jones was second on the team at 68 targets and tight end Jimmy Graham was third at 60.
“He’s very strong. He’s a very good route runner. He’s got great hands,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said this week. “He’s got a salty to him where he’s really good in double moves. He just kind of lulls you to sleep. But, he’s savvy, and him and Aaron have a really good relationship.”
There’s a strong chance it will be up to second-year pro Emmanuel Moseley, who will line up almost exclusively on the right side of the defense (assuming he maintains the starting job over Ahkello Witherspoon). Sherman is unlikely to travel with Adams throughout the game, which means he’ll be camped on the left side of the defense. Expect San Francisco to roll safety help over to Adams side of the field as long as he goes against Moseley.
The 49ers last time these teams played allowed just 81 net passing yards while getting five sacks. 3. Slow the Smith Brothers
The 49ers used to have Justin and Aldon Smith (no relation) rushing against Rodgers when the two teams played in the playoffs after the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Now it’s the Packers who have a pair of Smiths bothering opposing quarterbacks, Za’darius and Preston, who were both added in free agency in the offseason.
“I think we went against them last year and they were a tough defense,” Shanahan said. “Bringing in those two new guys has made it that much tougher.”
Za’darius racked up 11 pressures and two sacks against the Seahawks. Preston had seven pressures and two sacks. To be sure, San Francisco’s offensive line is superior to Seattle’s, but there’s no doubt the 49ers will need strong games from tackles Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey.
The Packers’ best chance at the upset has to include forcing turnovers. San Francisco’s best chance at taking care of the ball will come with blocking the Smiths and preventing them from bothering Jimmy Garop
polo into making errant passes or knocking the ball from his hands. Garoppolo turned the ball over 18 times in 17 games this season.
4. Jimmy Third Down The 49ers won’t need much from Garoppolo if the defense plays like it did against the Vikings, which would mean the defense would be playing at a similar level as the November blowout over Green Bay.
If that’s the case, Garoppolo can play conservatively. The 49ers will need him to avoid turning the ball over and keep the chains moving on third down. In fact, Garoppolo’s third-down play has been one of his best attributes throughout the season.
Garoppolo converted exactly half of his thirddown passing attempts (65 of 130) during the regular season as San Francisco finished fourth in the NFL on third down by getting first downs on 45% of its attempts. The Packers limited Seattle to just 3 of 9 on third down last week and finished the season ranked 12th at 38% defensively. 5. Kittle over the middle Kittle has a clothing line called KOTM (which stands for Kittle over the middle) which is where he should make his living against the Packers defense. The Vikings have been one of the best teams in the NFL at slowing tight ends and that was evident last week when Kittle was held to just three catches for 16 yards, a season low.
Middle linebacker Blake Martinez allowed 84% of passes in coverage to be completed, according to Pro Football Focus, which could allow the 49ers to create opportunities to put Kittle in position for the mismatch.