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With the NFL Week 1 early games out of the way, it was time for the national spotlight to shine on the afternoon games. Here's a look at how they went.
Packers 28, Niners 34
When Nnamdi Asomugha signed in San Francisco this off-season after being released by the Eagles, there weren't any Philadelphia fans shedding tears.
Asomugha never lived up to the hype in Philadelphia despite being heralded as a major free agent acquisition in the summer of 2011. Asomugha lacked skills in coverage and missed a number of tackles. Some speculated Nnamdi's decline was due to the fact the Eagles weren't using him in press coverage. A look at the numbers would indicate that wasn't the case:
Nnamdi was lined up in press 54.5% of coverage snaps. 4th highest in the NFL (2012)
In the 49ers first regular season game, Asomugha's decline was on fully display. The 49ers got Nnamdi'd! Stop me if you heard it before but he looked bad in coverage and missed tackles. He clearly looked like the weak link in their defense. To his credit, he did have a few plays where he played his wide receiver well and forced the incompletion. But the negative seemed to outweigh the positive.
There was a reason Asomugha received a contract with no guaranteed money in it, and it wasn't because he declined it. It was because he's not very good. Well, and because the Eagles are still on the hook for $4 million of his salary in 2013...
Thankfully for San Francisco, they won the game anyway. Colin Kaepernick is still very much a good player. That Aaron Rodgers guy isn't too shabby either. Anquan Boldin (!) seemed to be more than worth that 6th round pick the Niners gave to the Ravens to acquire him. Clay Matthews tackled Kaepernick out of bounds and then punched 49ers OL Joe Staley. I'm not sure how he wasn't ejected. Maybe Cary Williams isn't the only one who can avoid ejections?
Both of these teams look to be very good in 2013. They are major threats to not only their division but the entire NFC.
When you think of the NFC West, the 49ers and the Seahawks are the first teams that come to mind due to their recent success. The Cardinals and Rams may be clearly below those teams, but they are still capable of holding their own. The NFC West should be very interesting.
I didn't get to watch as much of this game so enjoy this fat guy TD GIF instead.
