Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jim Harbaugh and his San Francisco 49ers are down 24-14 to the Atlanta Falcons half-way through the NFC Championship game.
While it wasn’t a terrible first half for the 49ers, it certainly wasn’t good either. The offense finally came to life in the second quarter as Colin Kaepernick led the team down the field on two convincing touchdown drives. But what seemed odd to me was that he didn’t do it with his legs. In fact he only ran one time in the first half for a total of 23 yards.
But maybe this was by design? Maybe Harbaugh is waiting to go all in with his speedy quarterback? If he was trying to conserve his energy, mission accomplished.
So in the second half, I’m looking for Kaepernick to make more plays with his legs. At minimum they need to roll him out of the pocket more often, and at least give him the option to run. Down ten points though, the 49ers will need to get something going quickly in the third quarter. They get the ball first, so look for them to come out and try to make a statement right away. A Kaepernick-keeper to the house would be just what the doctor ordered for San Francisco.
The closer they keep the game, the more they can continue to run the football.
On the other side of the ball, they’ve got to put some pressure on Matt Ryan. He’s standing in there and just tearing up the 49ers defense so far. The coaching staff must dial up some more blitzes to force Ryan into some bad throws.
Let’s see what Jim Harbaugh has up his sleeve in the second half.
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