Third Quarter Comments

Okay, so with just under 10 min. to play in the third quarter the New England Patriots have pretty much given away the game. So many people say, throw it out, with the sloppy conditions and all of the fumbles it was just karma from the game last week catching up with them. But how much of that karma was caused by the San Francisco 49ers defense? The interception that Hernandez gave up could easily be just a product of the big hit that happened the play before and would probably not happen again. When Rob Gronkowski comes back the New England Patriots offense will be much different than it is during tonight's game. Just the addition of Rob Gronkowski will change how the New England Patriots offense may play.

The big statement from this game so far has been the San Francisco 49ers defense and how they have been able to control Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense. The buildup of this game being a precursor to the Super Bowl may end up being justified; only time will tell, as I am sure the Atlanta Falcons will have something to say about that. However, the Falcons offense is very similar to the Patriots offense and if the 49ers defense can do this to an experienced quarterback like Tom Brady they should be able to control Matt Ryan as well. The exceptional job that Colin Kaepernick has done since being inserted into the lineup as the starting quarterback helps to push the 49ers football team ahead of the Falcons in regards to who is the best team in the NFC. The debate over who is better between Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick is still on but so far Colin Kaepernick has shown that he is at least as good as Alex Smith. The only problems he has had tonight has been on quarterback exchanges which is more than likely do to the wet ball in cold conditions.

Pats vs. 49's first half

So after watching part of the first half and listening to most of that on my drive home from dropping off my son it seems like the San Francisco 49ers offense has been able to push around the Patriots defense. However, the New England Patriots offense has not been able to do the same thing on their end. The Patriots defense has been able to stop the 49ers offense after a couple of the turnovers which has kept the game much closer than it actually should be. The one big drive that the patriots had included what sounded like a lot of short passes and quick reads by Tom Brady with a handful of runs by Danny Woodhead. It will be interesting to see if the New England Patriots defense can continue to stop the 49ers offense and allow Tom Brady and his receivers to move down the field.

If the 49ers defense front four are able to continually get pressure on Tom Brady without having to send linebackers or cornerbacks then it will be very difficult for Brady to connect with his receivers. The opposite is true for the New England Patriots defense if they can't get to Colin Kaepernick with their blitz packages. The scrambling ability of the 49ers quarterback and his poise in the pocket, even after the three dropped exchanges, has made it difficult on the Patriots defense.