Pete Carroll Has A Pocket Full Of Kryptonite

Many 49ers fans consider Colin Kaepernick to be just short of Superman.  It that's the case, Pete Carroll must be Lex Luther and have a pocket full of kryponite.  For the second straight game in Seattle the Seahawks made Kaepernick and the 49ers offense look below average.  As Carroll said his post game press conference, "They took every shot they could at us, with their scheme.  We've worked really hard to understand it.  They got nothing done.  What did Anquan do tonight?  Their quarterback threw for 450 yards last week.  He threw for 107 tonight."

Kaepernick ended the night with a QB Rating of 20.1.  The Seahawks blitzed the 49ers only 5 times, and on those plays Kaepernick had a rating of 111.5, however on his other 30 dropbacks Kaepernick's rating was a paltry 11.5.  Kaepernick was right on the money though after the game when he said, "We're not going to win games if I play like that."

This goes beyond Kaepernick as well.  In the 5 matchups between the 49ers and Seahawks since Harbaugh's arrival the Seahawks have held the 49ers to an average of 16.2 points per game.  If you take away the two Ted Ginn kick returns for touchdowns in the 4th quarter of the 2011 season opener, the average points per game for the 49ers over the 5 games is 13.4.  That's ownage.

Now on to the answers to this weeks 5 Burning Questions:

1)  Can the defense slow down Marshawn Lynch?

The answer was an emphatic no.  To say that Lynch owns the 49ers defense is no understatement.  Over their past 85 games the 49ers have allowed only 9 runners to go over 100 yards, and Lynch ended the night 2 yards short of putting up his fourth straight 100 yard rushing performance against the 49ers. That's ownage, and it doesn't stop with Lynch.  The Seahawks as a team ran the ball only 4 times fewer than the total number of plays by the 49ers offense (47 to 51).

2)  Will the defense be able to contain Russell Wilson?

The answer was a mixed bag.  The 49ers defense ended the night with 4 sacks and held Wilson to only 8 completions on 19 attempts, and 33 yards on 10 carries.  The problem is Wilson made some key runs to keep drives moving along in the 2nd half, and his average completion went for just under 18 yards.


3)  Can the 49ers offense stay ahead in the count?

The answer here is another mixed bag.  The 49ers did a good job of this the first 3 times they had the ball.  On the opening series of the game they had 3rd and 6, but a poor pass from Kaepernick to Bruce Miller resulted in not converting for a first down.  They did a good job again on their 2nd series only to have it end with Kaepernick trying to force a ball to Vernon Davis, and once again the pass was off the mark, resulting in a tipped pass and interception.  Then on their 3rd series they started well, until a false start on Boldin put them in a 2nd and 11 situation.  From that point on the 49ers offense was routinely behind and their next three possessions netted -5, -6, and -11 yards.

4)  What will Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis do for an encore?

Almost nothing.  Davis ended the game on the sidelines after tweaking his hamstring with a total of 20 yards on 3 receptions, and Boldin ended the night with 7 yards on 1 reception.  Boldin now has a total of 3 receptions for 29 yards in his last 2 games in Seattle.  The Seahawks changed things up a bit by having Richard Sherman shadow Boldin everywhere on the field, and Sherman owned the matchup all night long.


5)  Guinness Book of World Records?

Not sure if they reached their goal, but the crowd was it's usual self.  The 49ers had their chances early on to quiet them, but could not convert.


Prediction Time:

For my prediction this week I am going to do the same thing this week that I did prior to the week 7 meeting between these two teams last season.  If the Seahawks are able to get their ground game going and Marshawn Lynch ends the day with 25 carries or more the Seahawks will win.

In the instance that Lynch comes away with fewer than 25 carries I will predict a 49ers victory by the score of 19-17.