Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Torrey Smith 'embarrassed' by 49ers' offensive showing thus far

The San Francisco 49ers invested a five-year, $40 million contract with $22 million guaranteed in receiver Torrey Smith this offseason to help improve the league’s 30th-ranked passing game and give quarterback Colin Kaepernick a bona fide deep threat.

The payoff through the first quarter of the season? Smith has caught nine passes for 185 yards, with two plays accounting for 122 of those yards, and one touchdown. Over a 16-game season, that projects to 36 receptions for 740 yards and four scores.

Is that worth $22 million guaranteed, the largest free-agent contract doled out by general manager Trent Baalke? No wonder Smith was so visibly ticked during the 49ers' 17-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers that after storming off the field following a failed third-down conversion he was followed to the bench by coach Jim Tomsula, who had some soothing words.

A day later, Smith was more reflective than reactionary, what with the 49ers having the No. 32-ranked passing attack in the league, averaging 158.8 yards per game through the air.

"My body language was horrible at times," Smith said, adding that his frustration came from the team struggling, not in any notion that he wasn’t getting targeted. "I should never let my frustrations show, especially to y’all. It’s not a good thing at all.

"We’re a better team than what we’re showing right now. We’re better offensively than how we’re playing. To be honest, we work too hard to go out there on Sundays and play like that. Tomsula doesn’t deserve this. The fans don’t deserve to watch the way we play, and we’ve got to get this thing right. Now."

Take away his 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run when the 49ers were trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers, 36-10, and his 47-yard answered prayer late in the loss to the Packers, and Smith is averaging just 9.0 yards per catch.

"Embarrassed about how we’ve been playing offensively," Smith said.

He left the Baltimore Ravens averaging a franchise record 16.9 yards per catch and, from 2011 through last season, he had 51 catches on targets of at least 20 yards, including the postseason, with 44 receptions of at least 25 yards in his career.

Tomsula acknowledged something is not quite clicking between Smith and Kaepernick.

"We need to use (Smith) more and we need to get him more involved," Tomsula said. "So again, that’s on the checklist."

Sounds good to Smith, who said the frustration felt by the offense, which has scored a league-low 48 points, is new to him. Even as many point to a leaky offensive line not allowing Kaepernick time to throw it deep.

"I believe in our team," Smith said. "Certain routes you don’t have to have all the time in the world. You want to drop back and just throw one up, you can drop it at the top of your steps.

"There’s things we can do to make it happen, but we just have to be confident in it and get some kind of a rhythm going."

No, Smith does not believe Kaepernick’s confidence is flagging. Yes, he believes they are on the same page.

"But the execution isn’t showing at all on game day," Smith said. "That has to change or we’re not going anywhere. We have to get that right between the quarterbacks and, the passing game in general. You can’t pass the ball in 2015, you’re in trouble."

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