San Francisco 49ers Notes, Quotes

San Francisco 49ers' left tackle Joe Staley is pleased that veteran Barry Sims has done a good job since taking over responsibility of protecting Alex Smith's blind side on Nov. 1.

But that does not diminish Staley's desire to return to the lineup.

"I'm happy Barry (Sims) is doing really well," Staley said. "But I want to be the guy. I have that selfish nature."

Staley exited the 49ers' lineup on the first play of their Nov. 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts with damage to two knee ligaments. He received the initial diagnosis of six to eight weeks, and immediately saw that six weeks later the 49ers played the Arizona Cardinals on "Monday Night Football."

He returned to limited practice Thursday, as the 49ers began preparations to face the NFC West-leading Cardinals. Staley took part in only the individual period at the beginning of practice.

"We'll just kind of bring him back slowly and see how it goes from day-to-day, and we'll go from there," 49ers coach Mike Singletary said Thursday.

Sims has played well since filling in for Staley after the first play of the 49ers' No. 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts. But Staley wants his old job back sooner rather than later.

"I'm excited with the way I feel," Staley said. "If everything goes well out there, I'll be on track to play Monday."

The 49ers' pass protection has improved in recent weeks after the 49ers went to more shotgun formations for quarterback Alex Smith. Smith has been sacked just once in his past 117 dropbacks over 2 1/2 games.

--Quarterback Alex Smith had two chances to lead the 49ers on fourth-quarter drives that would've given his team the lead Sunday against the Seahawks. But running back Frank Gore lost a fumble at the Seattle 22 to end one threat, then tight end Vernon Davis dropped a potential touchdown catch with three minutes remaining to force the 49ers to settle for a game-tying field goal.

Davis, who caught a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter, dropped three passes in the game to overshadow his setting a new franchise record with 10 touchdown catches for a tight end.

"He just has to continue to work at it," coach Mike Singletary said. "It's as simple as that. No one feels as bad about it as he does."

Davis said he did not see the ball very well coming out of the background at Qwest Field.

"(I) couldn't see it," Davis said. "I saw it at the last minute. (I) didn't know where he (Smith) was throwing it to. I wish I could've looked a little earlier and saw the ball and I could've made the play. But things happen."

--Mike Singletary did not blame referee Alberto Riveron and his crew for the 49ers' loss on Sunday against Seattle. But he certainly felt the officiating made the 49ers' task a lot more difficult.

"Obviously, there were bad calls made and I think in every game there are bad calls made," Singletary said. "For me, there were just a few more than I had witnessed maybe since I've been in the league."

When asked if there was one call in particular that upset him, Singletary answered, "There were many."

"I just want to make sure that our players, coaching staff, our fans, everybody involved with the 49ers, everybody that cares about the 49ers, I want them to understand that this is not about the referees," Singletary said.

"So I don't want to put this on the referees. I certainly feel that some of those calls were questionable, but if we had done what we were supposed to do, we overcome that and we win the football game."

--Cornerback Shawntae Spencer has played exceptionally well for most of the season. On Sunday, the Seahawks decided to stay away from him. Spencer, who starts on the right side of the 49ers' defense, said there were just three passes that came his way the entire game. Only twice did Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck noticeably challenge him. Spencer had good coverage on a deep incomplete pass to Deion Branch. Later, he surrendered a 4-yard completion to Nate Burleson.

But Spencer did not take it as a sign of respect. He said it's just the way the Seahawks' offense operates.

"They're a West Coast offense, and a lot of times in a West Coast offense, they're a right-handed team, which is our defense's left," Spencer said. "A lot of the work goes over there. You understand that going into the week."

--Rookie quarterback Nate Davis showed some promise in the 49ers' exhibition season. But once the regular season began, the team's third-string quarterback has seen more action in practice as a wide receiver on the scout team.

Still, he said he continues to learn the 49ers' offense behind the scenes while rarely throwing a pass in practice.

"I go play offense, play receiver, and sometimes I even play defense," said Davis, a fifth-round draft pick from Ball State. "I'll do anything to learn as much about the offense as possible."

Davis said he tries to be a sponge during film sessions after practice with veteran quarterbacks Alex Smith and Shaun Hill.

"We always sit down and watch film for an hour or two and I just listen to them talk," Davis said.

Despite his lack of practice time, Davis said he believes he could do well if called upon in a game.

"I can play, no doubt," he said. "But there are some things (play calls) that are wordy for me that I'd ask to have on a wristband."

--On his radio show on San Francisco's KNBR, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said 49ers running back Frank Gore "needs to be traded" if the 49ers decide to stick with a one-back, shotgun formation as its base offense.

"You can't run the spread with Frank Gore being effective," Young said. "He's not the guy who's going to catch the ball like Marshall Faulk, and slash and burn like Joseph Addai and different guys who have thrived in the spread."

Of course, 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye disagrees with that assessment of Gore, who is the 49ers' leading rusher, best back in blitz pickup and ranks second on the team with 41 receptions.

"I think most coaches would think Frank Gore is a pretty good fit for most offensive systems," Raye said.

However, Gore has seen a dramatic decrease in his rushing attempts and production since the 49ers shifted to more a passing attack. He has just 58 yards and 25 carries over the 49ers' past two games. Singletary said Gore might not be happy about it, but he'll learn to adapt.

"Frank is not going to lose his mind if he doesn't get 100 yards because I think, at the end of the day, it's all about winning," Singletary said. "He may be upset at the moment, but I know he's going to come back the next day and say, 'Hey, you know what? I'm glad we won. I know I did contribute.'

"Frank is a team guy. But it's like anything else. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation where it may be a family member, it may be a team member and somebody else does something great. You want to be happy for them, but it's a natural thing. You can't take away from the fact that you want to do well, too. ... I don't think it's any more than that, but to ask someone not to be natural, to ask someone not to be human. I just think it's just a matter of everybody understanding where we're striving to go. It has to be family. It has to be team, knowing that not everybody is going to happy all of the time."

--Gore has been effective when running out of the shotgun formation. Since Alex Smith took over at quarterback, Gore has gained 145 yards on 27 carries out of the shotgun formation (5.4 average). With Smith under center, Gore has 250 yards on 58 rushes (4.3 average).

BY THE NUMBERS: 36 -- Number of career starts it took before quarterback Alex Smith eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark in a game. Smith completed 27 of 45 passes for 310 yards in the 49ers' 20-17 loss to the Seahawks last week.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I want whatever we're winning with. I think if we have a certain package in the game and it's a better thought process to pass the ball rather than run the ball, then that's what we need to do. If it ends in us winning the game, that's what I want." -- 49ers coach Mike Singletary on the team's shift in offensive philosophy away from a running team and into more passing.