San Francisco 49ers

Quarterback Alex Smith has yet to prove he is the answer for the future of the 49ers, but coach Mike Singletary has yet to rule him out, either.

"I still don't think his play is where we want it to be, but I think he's getting there," Singletary said after the 49ers' 30-24 loss to Green Bay.

Smith had a miserable first half Sunday against the Packers. He completed just three of seven passes for 5 yards. He was sacked three times for minus-12 yards, as the entire 49ers team -- on both sides of the ball -- was thoroughly dominated.

"We came out, for whatever reason, apprehensive, cautious and kind of waiting for somebody to make a play," Smith said. "We really didn't get going at all until the second half."

In the second half, 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye went entirely with the spread formation, with Smith taking snaps in the shotgun formation. Smith completed 13 of 26 passes for 222 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He was not sacked at all.

"It kind of opened it up for all the playmakers we have," 49ers rookie receiver Michael Crabtree said. "That would be good. (But) that's out of my range. All I can do is (run) the plays. ... I really can do something in that spread. Coming from college, that's all we ran."

But Singletary is not ready to instruct Raye to scrap the team's offense and go strictly with a shotgun/spread formation for the entire game. He said the fact the 49ers were successful in the spread was merely a coincidence.

"I think that's a combination of a number of things," Singletary said. "Sometimes when you get behind, the defense is playing a different kind of defense. I think they relax a little bit. It's a different coverage. I think if you're in basic two-back set, you probably get the same result.

"But I think Alex can throw the ball, and I think he can throw the ball well. I think our offensive line did a decent job. Once we got in a rhythm, it was on. Unfortunately, we couldn't get (our defense) off the field to find out if we could close it out."

—Coach Mike Singletary expects defensive games such as the 49ers' five-interception performance Nov. 12 against the Bears to be a regular occurrence. He challenged the 49ers secondary prior to facing the Packers, and his club did not respond.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers torched the 49ers for 274 of his 344 passing yards in the first half Sunday. The 49ers did not generate any turnovers, just one game after such a big game against the Bears' Jay Cutler.

"We expect it," safety Dashon Goldson said. "Any secondary should do that. You got to get turnovers. You got to get off the field and give the offense a chance to score points."

Singletary asked the players in the defensive backfield what tools he could provide them with to assist them in doing their jobs.

"As coaches, they like to get a feel for what the players like and what they dislike," cornerback Dre' Bly said. "They don't want to call plays we feel uncomfortable running. They try to put us in a position to win. For a team to be successful, you have to get opinions from players. We had discussions."

• The 49ers' top two active return men were injured Sunday, as Michael Robinson sustained a right shoulder stinger in the first half and Arnaz Battle exited with a right leg strain.

  Starting wide receiver Josh Morgan returned two kickoffs for 101 yards, including a 76-yarder that set up a touchdown. Spare safety Reggie Smith returned three punts for 7 yards in Battle's absence.

  The 49ers have struggled to get anything going in the return game after the release of veteran Allen Rossum. The 49ers released Rossum to make room on the 53-man roster after rookie Michael Crabtree signed. Rossum had experienced problems staying healthy, so the 49ers did not have faith in his reliability.

Player Notes

• OLB Parys Haralson, who led the 49ers last season with eight sacks, recorded his second of the season Sunday when he threw Packers QB Aaron Rodgers for a 12-yard loss on the first play of the fourth quarter.

• TE Vernon Davis is within one reception of matching his career high. Davis leads the 49ers with 51 catches for 601 yards and eight touchdowns.

• QB Alex Smith has a career-best 81.5 passer rating after four starts. Smith has completed 95 of 155 passes for 1,035 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.

• RB Frank Gore has scored a touchdown in four consecutive games. Gore gained 59 yards on just seven rushing attempts Sunday against the Packers. He also caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

• WR Isaac Bruce, demoted from the starting lineup, shared the No. 3 snaps with Jason Hill. Bruce had one reception Sunday against the Packers for 20 yards.

Report Card Vs

. PACKERS

Passing Offense:

D—The passing game was horrendous in the first half, producing minus-7 yards. Alex Smith completed three of seven passes for 5 yards, and he was sacked three times for 12 yards. When the 49ers fell behind 23-3 at halftime, the game was virtually over. But Smith and the passing game showed some life in the second half. Smith finished with 227 yards passing with touchdown passes to Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore.

Rushing Offense:

C-minus—On his first carry of the game, Gore ripped off a 42-yard run. He had just 17 yards rushing the rest of the game, as the 49ers got completely away from the run game in the second half when they trailed by 20 points. Gore averaged 8.4 yards per rushing attempt, but the 49ers as a team attempted just 10 runs.

Pass Defense:

F—CB Tarell Brown had an especially rough day, as he failed to stick with Packers WR Greg Jennings on a slant pattern that Jennings turned into a 64-yard touchdown. Brown also missed a tackle of Jordy Nelson, who scored on a 7-yard touchdown after taking a quick hitch. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 274 yards in the first half, and the 49ers provided no pass rush to throw off his timing.

Rush Defense:

D—The defensive line and outside linebackers got mauled against a beaten-up Packers offensive line. Ryan Grant rushed for 129 yards on 21 carries. Grant is the second opponent in three weeks to gain more than 100 yards against the 49ers.

Special Teams:

B-plus—The 49ers finally received a spark in the return game when starting WR Josh Morgan, forced into kick returns because of injuries, set up a touchdown with a 76-yard return in the fourth quarter. P Andy Lee was exceptional, as usual. He averaged 51.8 yards (45.2 net) on five punts.

Coaching:

F—Mike Singletary and his staff were completely overmatched by the Packers' Mike McCarthy and his staff. Singletary has no answers for getting the 49ers out of their slide, which includes five losses in six games. On the plus side, with the team down by 20 points at halftime, offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye opened up the offense with a lot of success.