Who Has The Advantage This Weekend?

This post was written by Jack Niemuth, an aspiring sports writer who roots for the Packers and asked to write for the Green Bay Packers Blog. Hopefully it will be the first of many. Brandon

The Packers, coming off their nice wild card win over the Vikings, will head to Candlestick Park to face the 2 seeded 49ers. Although this game should be in Green Bay(Week 3's Seahawks game), the Packers will still have to play hard and hope they outscore San Fran. As always, the home team has an automatic advantage. But I still have faith that the Packers can pull it out. Here I've pointed out some advantages and disadvantages that the Pack have this weekend:

First, the enemy. The 49ers will be playing on a field where they went 6-1-1
this year. They obviously know how to play football, so the location doesn't help. The Packers will need to deal with the boos. This isn't Lambeau.

Another disadvantage would be the Pack's rush defense again Frank Gore. Gore doesn't have very many 100+ yard games this season(3), but he did have 112 yards in the 49ers week 1 win in Green Bay. The Packers had a lot of trouble stopping Peterson in week 17 and gave up a few big plays last week as well. I think they've improved, but it could still be a problem.

The final San Francisco advantage goes to their passing game. The Packers have a horrible pass defense because they give up a lot of big plays and I don't feel confident that they can win with defense. However, they were given a break last week thanks to Joe Webb. Webb could barely throw the ball, much less throw it with accuracy. They probably have practiced this, and I expect them to be ready.

Now, Green Bay. The Packers have looked pretty good ever since they beat the Texans in Week 6. They've had a few bumps in the road, but I think that they have more momentum at this point. Besides that, I think that the Packers have the better special teams. We've all seen Ross return kicks, and it looks like the Packers have some lightning in a bottle with him. If they can just block, they might not even need Rodgers.

I guess their other advantage would be their offense. Rodgers has been here before while Kaepernick has no playoff experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kaepernick fall apart this weekend. Rodgers just seems like the better quarterback and I don't see him playing any worse than last week. Even in week 17's loss, Rodgers had 4 touchdowns. I think if the 49ers win, it'll be because of their defense.

I think the Packers have a slight edge over the Niners. I think the Pack will win a high-scoring slug fest by a field goal. Rodgers will find some holes in San Fran's defense, and Crosby will fix his kicking game. I can't guarantee a win, but I would be more surprised to see the Pack lose than the 49ers.