49ers shouldn't give up on hard-luck QB Smith, Namath says

Joe Namath, no stranger to bold predictions, ventured Friday that there are better days ahead for the 49ers' embattled quarterback.

"I tell you what, give up on Alex Smith, (and) you'll see about 29 teams or 28 teams trying to grab him," Namath said.

Speaking on his weekly Sirius NFL Radio show, "The Broadway Blitz with Joe Namath," the Hall of Fame quarterback and co-host Adam Schein recounted how Smith has struggled since coming into the league in 2005.

"My man has been through more offensive coordinators (in six years) than I had in my whole career," Namath said. "He's had to go through some changes with coordinators, as well as with a team that hasn't been consistently good."

Namath compared Smith's plight to that of former quarterback Archie Manning, the No. 2 overall pick in 1971, whose talent was obscured by playing for a lousy New Orleans team -- the 'Aints, as Namath called them.

"You just haven't got it as a team, and you're going to get killed," Namath said. "Smith, he's been a part of a bad team for a while, and hopefully they're getting it together."

With a chance to grab Michael Crabtree with the seventh pick in the 2009 draft, the Raiders took receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey instead.

Not that Crabtree needs a reminder.

"It's in my mind. I'm thinking about it," he said after practice. "It's probably just more motivation for me to go against them. I'm just ready to go out there."

Crabtree, who went 10th overall to the 49ers, faces the Raiders for the first time on Sunday at Candlestick Park. He is fresh off his career-best game, a nine-catch, 105-yard outing against the Eagles that included a 7-yard touchdown catch.

It was the first time all season that Crabtree delivered statistics worthy of a high draft pick. Over his previous four games, he never topped 60 yards and never reached the end zone.

This time, though, Crabtree showed glimpses of the talent that made him a record-setting receiver at Texas Tech. He even unearthed his long-dormant knack for racking up yards after the catch.

"Getting a little YAC? I have to do that," he said. "If we're going to throw these short routes, then I have to make something happen. Getting that YAC is very important from now on, really. That's really what I'm trying to do right now."

With the offense struggling (15.2 points per game), the 49ers have been looking to get Crabtree and other playmakers more involved. The only consolation in a 27-24 loss to the Eagles last week was that Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis (104 receiving yards) each had big games.

It marked the first time the 49ers had two players with 100 yards receiving in the same game since 2000, when Jerry Rice (143) and J.J. Stokes (130) did it against the Falcons.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the NFL fined Crabtree $2,500 for what the league deemed a late hit on Tervard Lindley after the Eagles cornerback made a game-sealing interception on Sunday. Crabtree plans to appeal, arguing that Lindley hadn't been ruled down and could have still run the ball.

"Nobody touched him," he told The Bee. "I was just trying to make a play. I didn't see nobody touch him, so I was just trying to hit him."

After practice, running back Frank Gore made a promise to a young fan. "I told him I'd try to do my best to give him a great game on Sunday," he said.

Tyre Shamir Duffin, 18, answered with the light in his eyes. The San Francisco native has cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia, which robs him of the ability to talk.

Gore is Duffin's favorite player. He came to present the running back with the Crystal Inspiration Award through the When U Dream A Dream Foundation.

Gore wasn't the only one to stop to say hello. Waves of teammates stopped by to chat with Tyre and his family. "We're going to bring it home on Sunday," one player told him.

Tight end Delanie Walker (ankle) and defensive back Curtis Taylor (thigh) are the only 49ers ruled out of Sunday's game. Tackle Joe Staley (shoulder), guard Adam Snyder (thigh) and third quarterback Troy Smith (abdomen) are all listed as probable.

For more on the 49ers, see Daniel Brown's Hot Read blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers . E-mail dbrown@mercurynews.com