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PACKERS (11-5) at 49ERS (12-4)
Running game
Packers run offense vs. 49ers run defense Advantage: Packers This is an area of weakness for the 49ers. They can rush the quarterback with Chris Doleman and Roy Barker. But if you keep the Niners defense off balance, they won't know whether to tee off on Brett Favre or stop the run. That makes it a huge advantage for the Packers. The 49ers have to be able to jump out in front of the Packers to be able to stop Levens and the running game. Their best defense is their offense. Levens isn't back in the mode he was before he got hurt, but he's getting stronger each week. With Darick Holmes as well, the Packers have a 1-2 punch. And the loss of Bryant Young kills the 49ers in terms of being big in the middle.	49ers run offense vs. Packers run defense Advantage: Even Garrison Hearst has had a dynamite year, but you're talking about some big boys on Green Bay's defensive line, in Reggie White, Vonnie Holliday and Gilbert Brown. They are stout. Let's hope they are in better condition than they were in the Super Bowl last year. They got worn out against the Denver Broncos. I'd call this matchup a toss-up, because I think both teams will have to win using the pass. Hearst is good, but the Packers can offset him. The 49ers need to win on the perimeter, and that can very easily happen.
Passing game
Packers pass offense vs. 49ers pass defense Advantage: Packers Wideout Robert Brooks and tight end Mark Chmura are supposed to be healthy. Antonio Freeman is 100 percent, and Levens is back. If you get Levens in the open field on any linebacker, he's very difficult to cover. I like that matchup for Green Bay. The 49ers are very suspect in their secondary. They have big hopes for rookie R.W. McQuarters. Veteran Marquez Pope has been hurt all season, and Darnell Walker actually has played the best for them. The safeties, Merton Hanks and Tim McDonald, are good, but they're not cover guys. They won't cover too many receivers. Everybody figures the Packers are a team that likes to push the ball down the field, but they're not. They like to use Levens on those short routes out of the backfield, which force the linebackers to stay at home. That opens up the tight end over the top or the guys downfield. Favre will dump the ball several times to suck in the linebackers and safeties before going to Freeman or Brooks on a deep post. That's how the Packers manufacture big plays. I do, however, expect the Packers to challenge the 49ers deep at least six times because they may either get pass interference or a home run. The only way the 49ers have a chance against the Green Bay passing game is if they get to Favre. If the Packers protect Favre, he should have a field day.	49ers pass offense vs. Packers pass defense Advantage: 49ers Whenever you have three very good receivers like Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice and J.J. Stokes, very few teams have three really good cornerbacks. The 49ers use all three of those weapons, and they are as good as you'll find at running after the catch. They catch and they explode. Craig Newsome is back at cornerback for Green Bay, and the Packers have LeRoy Butler at one safety, but he's not a good cover guy against receivers. He's like Hanks and McDonald, a physical run stopper who will cover tight ends. They won't put him in man-to-man coverage on a receiver. The Packers can't stop the 49ers receivers with a third cornerback, but Green Bay's biggest edge is its pass rush. The whole key to Green Bay's defense is Holliday. If you double-team White, Holliday is being blocked by one man. The rookie has been a great complement to White because you can't double-team both of them. If he's healthy -- he missed five weeks with an ankle injury and returns to action this week -- Holliday can be a difference-maker in this game if he's single-covered a lot. Defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur coaches well against the 49ers and has given them fits, but Steve Young is the most accurate passer I've ever seen. If the receivers are open, Young will find them. But the problem is, the 49ers will have to outscore the Packers.
Special teams
Advantage: Packers The kickers, Ryan Longwell of Green Bay and Wade Richey of San Francisco, are fairly even. Longwell knows how to kick in bad weather. In the return game, the Packers get a decided advantage with Roell Preston. He's a threat to go all the way. We saw what Desmond Howard did two years ago to go through the 49ers and get the Packers all the way to the Super Bowl title. This game could come down to a long return.
Coaching
Advantage: Packers Because he's been there more and he's a little more experienced, Mike Holmgren gets the edge. But I like Steve Mariucci. He's right out of Holmgren's mold. The only thing stopping him is that he hasn't been coaching as long as Holmgren has. Mariucci knows how to game plan. Defensively, Shurmur gets a slight advantage over the 49ers' John Marshall. Marshall has done a pretty good job considering injuries and what he's had to work with. On offense, that's basically Mariucci and Holmgren in charge. I think if you look at the game-planning and dissecting what goes on, Green Bay has a slight edge.
Overall
Advantage: Packers I like both teams and know they are both capable of winning the Super Bowl. The outcome will come down to which defense can force one or two more turnovers than the other. I don't think the 49ers' home-field edge will make a difference because Green Bay has beaten the 49ers at 3Com Park and Lambeau Field. I don't think the Packers have played their best game all year, and the 49ers are extremely explosive. But the Packers are waiting for a breakout game, and this could be the one.