Are the 49ers a more favorable matchup than Atlanta would've been?

[NCRAVEN]

I think I would have preferred Atlanta, if only because they are more predictable. I have no idea if San Frans D line will be great (as it was most of the season) or mediocre (last 4 games). I have no idea if Kaep will be the beast we saw against Green Bay, or the mediocre second year guy we saw versus the Seahawks and Rams? Will they be able to run on us? Will we be able to burn them deep?

I just don't know.

I agree Atlanta would be the easier to prepare for because they are predictable.

But to me, I don't think San Fran is that hard either. Keep Kaepernick in the pocket and force him to throw, he's got a good arm but their WR's are not the type that usually give us fits (small shifty Welker type guys).

And as far as attacking them , their secondary is pretty physical (especially the safeties) but they are not the greatest coverage team in the league. This is a game where I think we pass to setup the run.

[Bigfish]

The 49ers are the better team. Kaepernick is impressive. The guy is fast, has a strong arm and looks to have a bright future. As a pitcher he threw a 90+ mph fastball. The best approach is to try and exploit his inexperience, keep him guessing and hopefully force mistakes. Atlanta has the better offense, but the 49ers with the pistol is unpredictable and I would think more difficult to game plan for.

Defensively it's no even debatable, the 49ers even with Smith hurting is the much better unit.

Beating the Broncos(on a short week) and the Patriots in their house's in back to back weeks makes even the most vocal critics acknowledge the Ravens are the best team in the AFC. The Super Bowl winner will be the best team.

[alienrace]

Are you guys kidding me? I definitely think the Niners are the better matchup. Atlanta with it's big, fast receivers in a DOME would have smoked our defense much like they smoked San Fran's defense. I think we would have won, but it would have been a nail-biting shootout.

Now I think the Niner's are a tough, hard-nosed, well coached team, and they have a good young QB, but he is just that - young. The Niners also played the 24th ranked schedule to an 11-4-1 recored, we played the 5th ranked to a 10-6 record. We also dealt with a lot more injuries, so that record might be a bit misleading as to the team the Ravens are right now.

Don't underestimate the Justin Smith injury. Their pass rush has been anemic since, and they don't cover all that well in the secondary despite the physicality of the safeties.

The Niners didn't face a lot of tough defenses, but when they did, they tended to struggle. You have to believe that their #3 ranking on defense is a bit of a product of playing the 24th ranked schedule, and not a lot of high powered offenses.

Nah, I'm glad it's the Niners, and not just because I like them, but because it's a better matchup for us in many ways. They were not vastly superior to the Falcons, they would not have had a chance if not for Matty Ice falling apart in the second half. And Ryan's mistakes were very much self inflicted rather than good defense.

[bengtc]

Falcons are obviously the better matchup since Ryan sprained his shoulder

[kojo]

the giants O spanked the 49ers D, why not look at the tape it doesnt matter who the QB was....is that you cam?!??!!??!?!

Lol no Cam here. Read the espn summary article from that game. the lopsided win was due to the Giants D knowing what Alex Smith was going to do and turning those turn-overs to Points. Furthermore, the giants beat SF in week 6. That's a very long time ago, they've adjusted since then just as the Ravens have since the week 7 beating by Houston. I think a better example of their D getting exploited is week 16. Seattle creamed them even better than the Giants did, 42-13. In any case, I'm sure the coordinators know better than you and I and will be well prepared to go at SF regardless.