San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers Could be a Preview of NFC Championship

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Senior Writer

Sunday will be full of story lines to start the 2012 season. Tom Brady and the Patriots are looking to make another run at the Super Bowl. Will Tim Tebow end up with the starting job for the Jets? A guy named Peyton Manning is back playing football, though with the Broncos instead of the Colts.

But perhaps the most intriguing game is a renewal of an old rivalry.

The 49ers visit Lambeau Field to take on the Packers Sunday afternoon, looking to take back the reigns in the NFC that they held for so long in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

It may only be the first game of the year, but the implications will last throughout this season. The two best NFC teams from last year (49ers 13-3, Packers 15-1) have a good chance of again being the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in this year’s playoffs.

Looking at each team’s respective records from last year shows both are capable of winning the Super Bowl. The Niners and Packers just happened to run into David in the eventual champion, the New York Giants in the playoffs .

But what makes the game on Sunday so special, as well as a potential matchup in the NFC Championship, are the contrasting styles of the two teams. It is old school versus new school.

The Niners under second-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, are a throwback to the days of running the football, controlling the clock and playing great defense. How great? Last season the Niners ranked first in rush defense and fourth in overall defense. They return all 11 starters from that defensive unit.

The Packers by contrast, have one of the worst defenses at least in the passing game, so they tend to give up big plays and big points. To counter this however, they have Aaron Rodgers, who has a cannon for an arm, laser-like precision and the ability to escape pressure and make plays with his feet.

Making this game even more interesting is wide receiver Randy Moss‘ return to Lambeau Field. Moss had some great moments over the years playing for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North, but will the results be the same this time around? Who knows.

Sunday marks the first game of the season and nothing much can be learned from the first game of the season. The Giants lost their opener last season and ended up with the Lombardi Trophy to close out the year.

But if there’s one storyline for fans to keep their eyes on, it’s this one. For each team looking ahead to a Super Bowl victory, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-1.

2012-09-07 04:52:40

Source: http://www.nationalfootballauthority.com/2012/09/san-francisco-49ers-vs-green-bay.html