San Francisco 49ers gearing up for New Orleans Saints – NFL Playoffs Update
When New Orleans Saints' quarterback, Drew Bress, finished with 466 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to send Detroit Lions packing, pressure began to mount on San Francisco 49ers' coach, Jim Harbaugh, whose team will be Brees’ next target.
The Saints will face the 49ers in a divisional playoff game next weekend on Saturday, January 14, 2012, in which the winner will qualify for the National Football Conference (NFC) championship final.
The 49ers coaches and players gathered at their headquarters on Monday and discussed their prospects against the Saints.
In his address to the media, Harbaugh appreciated Brees and Saints’ offensive line saying that it would be a big challenge for the sturdy 49ers' defence to stop their opponents.
When asked about how he felt about the Saints performance against the Lions, Harbaugh said:
“It makes me go to bed and sleep like a baby. Wake up every hour crying.”
The 49ers earned a first-week bye and a home-field advantage by winning 13 games in the regular season, topping the NFC West division.
In the regular season, the 49ers have only lost one game and won seven on their home field.
They played their last home game against Pittsburgh Steelers and limited their opponents to a single field goal.
On an average, the 49ers have scored 28 points on home field, while giving away 10.5 per game.
To make their impressive home record more special, the 49ers have always received support from the fans, having showed massive numbers to lift the players’ morale.
Now when they host the Saints for the crucial tie, tackle, Joe Staley, has urged the fans to once again fill the Candlestick Park and support their team.
“The fans have been great this whole season,” Staley said.
“I expect the atmosphere to be even greater than when we saw the Steelers on Monday night when it was a packed house and everyone was really into the game. We really need them to come out and get loud when the defence is on the field and really create that
home field advantage for us.”
The Saints also have an impressive away record. Although, they have lost all their three games of the regular season on road, their average stands as proof of their brilliant performance.
On an average, they have scored 27.25 points on road while allowing the opponents to score 24.5 points per game.
49ers' safety, Dashon Goldson, who was also present in the 49ers’ locker room on Monday, has predicted a strong contest between the two sides.
“It’s all about who’s going to be swinging the hardest the longest this week,” Goldson said.
On paper, an interesting matchup is set. Statistically, both the teams are equally competitive and it is impossible to pick up a winner.
The only deciding factor will be how the teams control their nerves on the field during game day on Saturday.
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