Panthers open at PK against the Niners at home

[italianbandit]

Vernan Davis was also out in that BS regular season game. SF won't lose this game.

[Tommy Blingshyne]

Rodgers has been far from himself recently, Packers O hasn't exactly been dominant since like week 7

San Fran didn't find the endzone the last time they played Carolina and that was in San Fran.

Cam isn't going to have to do much, just not fukk it up.

they also lost davis and didnt have crabtree 1st time around...both will be playing next week...2 huge offensive weapons

[inTomWeTrust]

Pure guess

There is zero capping in these playoff games

Turnovers usually decide it

I capped them pretty well and went 3-0 and Also capped the Over 52.5 in colts and pats and will win

[lakerboy]

All the early sharp money was on sf. Its another coming down to a fg game.

[Big Bear]

All the early sharp money was on sf. Its another coming down to a fg game.

then why did Carolina open at +2.5 and almost immediate jump to a pick'em?

[VegasInsider]

then why did Carolina open at +2.5 and almost immediate jump to a pick'em?

Dude, the game opened at PK and went to SF -2

Not the other way around.

[DOM-Ganador]

These 2.5 to pk to -2.5 swings etc., all keeping w/in the 3 key # seems to me one way Vegas is just trying to balance the books on a game they don`t want to have a "side".
If they are fairly sure game will be decided one way or the other by 3 or less, who are we to argue.

[thechaoz]

Cam Newton ain't no Rodgers

[RonPaul2008]

I did NOT open as a pick em. BOL opened SF -1 and then Pinnacle opened with SF -2.5 -110.

[Big Bear]

Cam Newton ain't no Rodgers

They say for the playoffs they are going to "unleash Cam"

meaning let him do what he does best running the fooball

[RonPaul2008]

Dude, the game opened at PK and went to SF -2

Not the other way around.

Wrong. BOL opened -1, Pinny -2.5 -110. It wasn't terribly long before Pinnacle moved to pick em, but then it went back to 49ers being favored.

[BigdaddyQH]

For those of you who do NOT have the ability to get the lines the minute they come down, Carolina opened at -2 1/2. It took about 45 minutes for that to drop to a pk. San Fran is now -1 1/2 to 2 at all Vegas Shops. To me, the easiest play here is taking the under, which currently sits at 42-43 points. There is going to be a lot of running in this game. The last game ended up 10-9 and this game will NOT be much different.

The winner goes to Seattle to have their season ended.

[RonPaul2008]

There is going to be a lot of running in this game.

Maybe, but you have to remember that the 49ers did not have Crabtree or Davis in that game.

[cane]

The Niners beat Carolina, Seattle, and whoever comes out of the AFC imo. I really like the look of this team, they can run the ball, play solid defense, and the X factor is Kap's ability to make plays with his feet. There's nothing more demoralizing to a defense than to have a QB make a big run on third and long. Yep, I think this is their year.

[Big Bear]

For those of you who do NOT have the ability to get the lines the minute they come down, Carolina opened at -2 1/2. It took about 45 minutes for that to drop to a pk. San Fran is now -1 1/2 to 2 at all Vegas Shops. To me, the easiest play here is taking the under, which currently sits at 42-43 points. There is going to be a lot of running in this game. The last game ended up 10-9 and this game will NOT be much different.

The winner goes to Seattle to have their season ended.

early forecast calling for rain. ofcourse its waay to early to rely on that

[byronbb]

When Cam runs into adversity he folds up like a cheap tent. Niners will drive him crazy, game over.

[Big Bear]

When Cam runs into adversity he folds up like a cheap tent. Niners will drive him crazy, game over.

nah man. When his offensive coordinator wants to play it safe with play calling
thats when the Panthers fold up.

if you watch the film of the last carolina loss which was
at New Orleans you will see that the play calling was way too conservative.

Panthers gotta be aggressive or they won't win.

They gotta get Ted Ginn the ball in space and Cam needs to rush for atleast 60 + Yards

[MoneyIsWater]

Niners HUGE.

[byronbb]

Cam is more of a prima dona than a euro soccer player.

[Potentate]

Cam is more of a prima dona than a euro soccer player.

Really? I don't get prima donna from Cam.

[odog11]

Forget about the regular season meeting and home/away BS. In these close games, look at the big picture, and ask yourself who is the better team? 3 criteria make this up (in order of importance)...

1. Head Coach
2. Quarterback
3. Defense

Harbaugh over Rivera every day, Kaep and Cam is a push (id say Cam, but Kaep's playoff experience makes them even for this particular game), and defenses are a push too.

SF has more recent playoff experience, and more overall playmakers on offense, so I like SF to win this game.

Flaw here is that defenses are not even, Carolina is better and San Fran O/Kaep not really impressive against banged up weak GB D. Throw in home field and seems like Carolina with points or plus money only play that makes sense here.

[Big Bear]

Really? I don't get prima donna from Cam.

haha what about his First Down gesture or his superman thing in the endzone

[MoneyIsWater]

I have Niners for $2k -1. The line is now -2.

[suicidekings]

Given the difference in quality of Panther & Packer defense, and how well the Packers performed overall on D yesterday, I think it's really tough to play SF in this game. The one thing the Packers really did wrong yesterday was allowing CK to escape the pocket multiple times for big gains and key first downs. If not for that broken containment, we would likely be talking about the Pack right now instead of the Niners.

The Panthers are substantially tougher up front and the speed in their sideline to sideline pursuit will likely not allow CK to escape downfield in the same way. There are obviously other differences as well, but that's a huge game-changing aspect working against SF here. This is a much tougher game for them to win on the road.

[Potentate]

haha what about his First Down gesture or his superman thing in the endzone

Well yeah, but I think it takes a little more than a TD/first down celebration to be a prima donna.

[warbux]

I have Niners for $2k -1. The line is now -2.

lines still -1 on 5dimes,

gonna pound the fucc outta the 49ers also just waiting to see which way the line moves.

[STAX]

I don't think it gets much tougher on the road than winning in Green Bay in sub-zero temps. Kaep is a big game QB. He wont win your fantasy league but he comes up big in big games. Its easy to dismiss this fact, but Kaep going sleeveless told everyone in that stadium who the tougher team was. 49ers have quietly been the best team in football this year. @GB, @ CAR, @ SEA to get to the Super Bowl where they will lose to Denver. Only SF and DEN are capable of beating SEA this year, and I wouldn't totally count out INDY either

[Parligod]

Am I mistaken that V. Davis, M. Crabtree and Aldon Smith were all out vs. Carolina's 10-9 loss? Granted the last match-up was in Candlestick so now home field is reversed but if you gave me the option of SF -6 reg season with the above players out vs. -3 in Carolina but I get Crabtree, Davis and Smith back I'd take the -3 in a heartbeat.

I think the public is going to pound 49ers this weekend but will turn out to be the right play anyway. 49ers coming out of Green Bay with a win was impressive - that's not an 8-7-1 team they played yesterday (if Rogers played all season they would've gone 10+ wins easy). That Packers game could've gone either way IMO, I see Panthers game as a breath of fresh air compared to the conditions just faced in GB.

Edit 2: Safety Eric Reid was also knocked out with concussion vs. Panthers. So that's 4 key players back for SF in full force.

[dshaffe4]

Coming from a Carolina fan going to the game Sunday so take my analysis with a grain of salt... The Panthers have the perfect recipe to contain an offense like the 49ers. Scheme wise it couldn't get any better for us and it showed in the first meeting. We play a zone based coverage about 90% of the time. Are defense is rare in the fact that it can generate so much pressure with only 4 down linemen while dropping 7 back in coverage. For this reason it is very hard for a mobile QB to exploit us which his legs. Kap was able to run wild on GB because they tried to play man coverage across the board for most of the game. They had to bring extra men in order to create pressure on him. Kap was able to exploit this by stepping up in the pocket and taking off. Rarely did GB spy him and therefore he was basically an uncovered runner throughout the whole game. Take into count that Kap struggles heavily going thru his progressions and usually looks for only his primary target before deciding to take off and run. With the amount of pressure Carolina will create with just 4 linemen, Kap will be forced to abandon his progressions quicker than normal and then try to run into a 7 man zone coverage. This was evident in the 1st matchup when Carolina held him to only 16yrds rushing. I agree with you guys about Crabtree being back, but when your being pressured they way he will be, it will be very tough for him to find Crab or any receiver for that matter if they are not his primary read. Dropping back and seeing 7 guys in coverage will make it very difficult for him to pass to anyone especially if you can't stay in the pocket and go thru your progressions. This was clearly evident in the 1st matchup and Kap became extremely frustrated by it. Honestly I can't see them putting up more than 14-17 pts against us.

For Carolinas offensive side of the ball... We like to implore a lot of 3 WR sets similar to what GB did and where they found a lot of success running the ball out of. This forces SF to spread out and play more of their nickel coverage where I can see us having some success both running in between the tackles and throwing against a nicked up CB crew. I could see SF playing both man and zone coverage throughout the game. Playing man with a nicked up CB crew could cause problems for them with speedster Ginn and also allowing Cam to take off and run if no one is open. Playing zone could also be problematic relying on younger CB's to stay with their assignments against a mobile QB and the intricate route combinations Carolina likes to use. Cam has showed all season that he is willing to take what the defense gives him. If your gonna play man, he will make his reads and takeoff is no one is open. If you play zone, he will go thru his progressions and check down if necessary with the upmost importance in not turning the ball over. This is not an extremely potent offense but I do see it being a lot more successful then it was in the 1st matchup. It will be tough on SF playing a extremely physical team after just playing an extremely physical game in GB. I also loved how the SF players acted after the win in GB. It seemed like they were so confident in the way they played and seemed extremely happy like they had just won the Super Bowl even though they were inches away from probably losing that game(dropped interception by GB). Kap really pissed me off when he never congratulated or mentioned how well our defense played in the 1st matchup and then yesterday day all he had to say was "we owe them". I just think this team and their coach is a bit too confident right now and already not respecting their opponent. Throw in the travel miles, the Ric Flair effect(Google it), and the fact that everyone is loving the 49ers for this game already, I'll take the home playoff underdog 24-16 all day.

[STAX]

Carolina will contain SF, I agree, but Carolina will still have to find the endzone at least twice to win and I dont think they can do it, not enough firepower on offense. SF wins 20-10

[Parligod]

@ dshaffe4 - while I disagree with some of your conclusions (it's rare for any team to make a big play vs. SF and I see similar struggles offensively for the Panthers), I very much appreciated your analysis as to play style of both teams and a lot of it is spot on.

[dshaffe4]

Carolina will contain SF, I agree, but Carolina will still have to find the endzone at least twice to win and I dont think they can do it, not enough firepower on offense. SF wins 20-10

Yes I absolutely agree with you about this offense, but I find it will be extremely difficult for SF to score points on this defense that only allows 12ppg at home and for the above matchup problem I laid out above. Like I said, I see SF scoring between 14-17 points and that may be being a bit lenient. With the total posted around 42, the points have to come from somewhere else. I don't see SF doing anything special teams wise because Gano won't allow a return and our punt team is exceptional on coverage. Don't see a defensive score from SF because I believe the ball will be protected at all cost in this game. So the the other 25 or so points must be accounted for by Carolina. And I could easily see a defensive score from Carolina and a kick/punt return from Mr. Ginn to account for those points. So it's not just about Carolinas offense, you have to look out for their ability to score on defense and speedster Ginn to take one to the house on his former team. I guarantee you this place will be rocking come Sunday and I just don't think SF can pull off another victory on the road against this defensive scheme. BOL to you guys!

[smitch124]

Given the difference in quality of Panther & Packer defense, and how well the Packers performed overall on D yesterday, I think it's really tough to play SF in this game. The one thing the Packers really did wrong yesterday was allowing CK to escape the pocket multiple times for big gains and key first downs. If not for that broken containment, we would likely be talking about the Pack right now instead of the Niners.


The Panthers are substantially tougher up front and the speed in their sideline to sideline pursuit will likely not allow CK to escape downfield in the same way. There are obviously other differences as well, but that's a huge game-changing aspect working against SF here. This is a much tougher game for them to win on the road.

Good points here, when Kaepernick was running in GB game it looked like there were a bunch of guys wearing cement shoes chasing him. Panther defense has much more speed.

[Monitor-Tan]

No one mentions the fact that 49ers just went into the tundra played game that'll take a toll on their body in that temperature, got a FG win, and goes back home, and now has to go east and play in Carolina against even tougher team? And Carolina is getting points at home??

I don't know.. Feel like this game is a coin flip and rather get the points and the home team..

[TheKLB]

Easy 10 point win for SF. People saying Panthers beat 49ers in SF so they will win at home make me laugh. Take CIN and SD for example, that has nothing to do with the current matchup. Throw the season stats out the window. Compare the current teams, coach, etc.

SF was really banged up when the lost to CAR. They have nearly all their big playmakers back. Are on a roll. Offence did a good job in GB in sub-zero temperatures.

I would sell points on this one. SF -2.5 or even -6.5