49ers tidbits: Overconfident Packers? Are the GB linebackers a liability? Bad advice from a former Packers player

Saturday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers will feature the NFL's youngest team (Green Bay) going on the road to battle the league's second-oldest team (San Francisco). Who will prevail? Will it be the young, speedy, up-and-coming Packers, or the experienced, physical, and uber-talented 49ers?

The game promises to be a good one, with the winner moving on to the NFC Championship Game. If the 49ers win, they will host that game next Sunday. If the Packers win on Saturday, they will travel to whoever wins Sunday's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions.

The matchup between Green Bay and San Francisco includes two young quarterbacks, Brock Purdy and Jordan Love. Both have played very well in 2023 and can light up the scoreboard. However, both are young, and in the playoffs, sometimes young players fold under pressure. This will be Purdy's fourth postseason start, while Love will be making his second start in the playoffs.

Here are some 49ers tidbits as we look forward to another 49ers and Packers matchup:

NFL record 10th postseason matchup

According to Nick Wagoner, Saturday's game between the Packers and the 49ers will be their 10th postseason matchup, a new NFL record for most playoff meetings all time. The 49ers hold a 5-4 advantage and have won four in a row against Green Bay in the postseason. Past QB matchups have included Steve Young versus Brett Favre, Colin Kaepernick against Aaron Rodgers, and Jimmy Garoppolo facing off with Rodgers. Saturday's game will feature the youngest QB matchup in the series, as well as the least number of postseason games played between the two quarterbacks.

Deebo Samuel making history

Wagoner also reported that WR Deebo Samuel went over 1,000 rushing yards for his career during the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams. Samuel has 4,122 receiving yards and 1,007 rushing yards through five NFL seasons. He joins Hall of Famer Charley Taylor as the only players in NFL history to hit those marks that quickly.

Samuel is a special player, and he plays his best when the games are the biggest. I expect a huge game from the 49ers "wide back."

Are the Packers' linebackers a liability?

There have been a couple of defenses that have given the 49ers trouble this season. The Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. And the 49ers moved the ball well on the Ravens (429 yards), but they also turned it over five times.

Those two teams have something in common. They both have good linebackers. The Packers do not. And that could be a problem for Green Bay.

The Packers' defense has not fared well against running backs in coverage this season (27th in DVOA) or against tight ends (26th in DVOA). Enter Christian McCaffrey, the league's best running back, and George Kittle, the league's top tight end. The Packers linebackers, who are two of the lowest-rated LBs in the league, while in coverage, might be a liability this week.

Overconfident Packers?

Green Bay defensive lineman, Devonte Wyatt, seemed a little overly confident this week when talking about Purdy. According to Packers beat writer, Matt Schneidman, Wyatt said, "When D-linemen just get pressure into him, he's always throwing off or it's behind them or it's overthrown or short...when you get pressure on him, it's a guarantee we'll get a turnover." But as Schneidman put it, "Purdy led the NFL this season in passer rating when pressured."

And as pointed out by Akash Anavarathan, it's hard to understand where Wyatt is getting his information. Purdy, when under pressure, since Week 10, is number one in yards per attempt, number one in completion rate, and number five in PFF (Pro Football Focus) grade. Is this a sign that Wyatt and his teammates are too confident? Or maybe they lack confidence and have started making things up to raise their level of confidence.

According to John Chapman, of the 49ers Rush Podcast, it makes sense for Wyatt to talk about the 49ers passing game because he is terrible against the run in 2023, with a 44.6 PFF grade. You can bet Kyle Shanahan has found Wyatt on tape and will attack him in the run game.

I've also seen a lot of Packers fans who are very confident their team will win on Saturday. One Packers podcaster called IKE Packers Podcast (they call themselves "The #1 rated Packers podcast in the world"), has been putting out a lot of negative content on Purdy, highlighting his interceptions. Purdy threw 11 of them in 2023. Interestingly, so did Love.

On Wednesday evening, I was a guest on a Packers podcast that featured four Green Bay fans. Each of them believes the Packers will upset the 49ers, based on how well they have played in recent weeks, how badly they beat Dallas, and how well Love is playing. He and the Packers have indeed been good down the stretch. But beating the 49ers will be much different than beating the Cowboys, Bears, Vikings, and Panthers.

One of the Packers' fans on that podcast mentioned that he believes the key to the game will be shutting down McCaffrey and forcing Purdy to do what he does, which is dink and dunk and throw screen passes. I was polite and professional (mostly), but couldn't pass up on the opportunity to dispel the "Purdy is a dink and dunk QB" myth and point out that on deep passes, which are passes of 20 yards or more, Purdy leads the NFL in completion percentage (63.8%), yards gained per attempt (9.6) and is second in QB rating (138.1).

Bad advice from a former Packers player

On Wednesday, former Green Bay tight end, Mark Chmura, suggested that the Packers need to be physical with the 49ers, especially with Purdy, even if it results in a 15-yard penalty. Forget about the fact that it sounded like Chmura was advocating for the Packers' defense to take cheap shots at Purdy, but it's just terrible advice. If your game plan is to go in and bully the bully, you're going to find out why the 49ers are considered the bully. You can't out-physical the 49ers.

The Packers have a real shot to win this game, but not if they try to play the 49ers style of football. They need to play their own game, which includes using the young speed they have. Fortunately, very few Green Bay fans condoned Chmura's take, with many of them calling him out and letting 49ers fans know that he doesn't represent them. I respect fans who can keep things in perspective that way.

You may recall that Chmura was acquitted of sexually assaulting a former babysitter. Chmura's accuser, who used to babysit for Chmura's two sons, accused the former tight end of pulling her into a bathroom during a party in 2000. The teenage girl said Chmura pulled down her pants and had sex with her without her consent.

Now Chmura spends his days giving out bad advice and saying dumb things on the radio.

• Marc Adams
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