Bold coaching matters.

Joe Philbin is big on saying schemes don’t matter, and I understand what he’s saying. He’s saying players, practice, systemic evolution and in-game execution matter. Fine. Let's look at what does matter. Jim Harbaugh choosing Collin Kaepernick to start in December over the third-rated quarterback in the league, Alex Smith. John Harbaugh firing offensive coordinator Cam Cameron reportedly to take the handcuffs off Joe Flacco (who threw for touchdowns of 59, 32 and 70 Saturday). Let's look at the opposite: Denver's John Fox deciding with 30 seconds and two time-outs left to sit on the ball and go into overtime. He didn't trust Peyton Manning. Atlanta didn't have that option. It had to let Matt Ryan throw down the field when down a point with 30 seconds left. That resulted in a game-winning field goal. But did anyone have a worse weekend than Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers? He gift-wrapped San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick a big night by using a man-to-man defensive alignment. The Green Bay secondary had to cover their men, often being run downfield and turning their backs to the quarterback. Kaepernick had open field ahead of him when he took off. And Capers never adjusted. Kaepernick, who was tremendous, ran for 188 yards.