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Anquan Boldin's trade to the San Francisco 49ers is working out just fine for the veteran wide receiver coming over from the Baltimore Ravens.
Looking back on Boldin's dominance after the final whistle of his 2013 NFL Week 1 Niners debut, if Ravens QB Joe Flacco was watching, he must have been weeping in his Wheaties. Meanwhile, 49ers stud QB Colin Kaepernick, who was 27-39 for 412 yards and three TDs against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, rejoiced in his good fortune in obtaining a new, high-value target.
Kaepernick threw more than half of his total yards through the air on Sunday to Boldin. The new fixture in the 49ers receiving corps caught 13 passes Sunday for 208 yards and a touchdown.
A trade between the Harbaugh brothers sent Boldin from John's Ravens to Jim's Niners after the two butted heads at last season's 2013 Super Bowl.
As John watched his own team get blasted by Peyton Manning's passing attack Thursday, he must have realized the void left by the absence of Boldin. None of Joe Flacco's receivers managed even half as many yards as Boldin in week one.
The close calls and long yardage third downs Boldin was famous for converting into first downs made Baltimore's Super Bowl run possible last season. In fact, Boldin might have played a bigger part in the Ravens 2013 postseason run than Flacco did.
Without their star receiver, the Ravens could barely compete with the AFC's Super Bowl favorite Denver Broncos. The Ravens simply didn't know what they had, and they also couldn't possibly understand how much Boldin would strengthen San Francisco's offense. Their gamble that Boldin was slowing down and getting old turned out to be a huge disappointment.
Boldin's one-handed circus catching ability is a perfect match for Kaepernick's throwing style, and his presence is guaranteed to improve the third-down conversion rate for the Niners. Kaepernick will also benefit from Boldin's prowess by not having to resort to running the ball himself so much. Week 1 saw Kaepernick scamper for just 22 yards on seven rushing attempts.
Boldin's fantasy football owners are kicking themselves Monday morning if they left him on the bench Sunday afternoon. He proved all his doubters wrong with a strong showing in adapting to his new squad.
No single player in the league who left one team to join another made the difference that Boldin made this week.
Wes Welker's departure obviously hurt New England and helped Denver, but the Patriots still managed to eke out a win without him. Baltimore seemed to lack an offensive identity without Boldin while the 49ers looked to be building a new identity for a much more powerful passing game than their opponents are used to seeing.
Boldin will only continue to improve as the weeks roll on and Kaepernick grows more and more confident that wherever he throws it, Boldin can reach it. He shakes up an already-daunting offense that came within a whisker of winning it all last year in Kapernick's first season as a starting QB.
If Week 1 of the 2013 NFL regular season is any indication of how Boldin will help this team, 49ers fans should start planning their Super Bowl parties now.
