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		Despite admitting arm pain, Smith to start Sunday By David Zizmor November 14, 2007

	The effects of the right separated shoulder injury have come home to roost on 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. On Wednesday, Smith talking to journalists at the 49ers camp in Santa Clara Smith said that he could barely endure the pain from the injury of the separated shoulder he has endured when he was sacked from the September 30th game by the Seahawks Rocky Bernard on the third play of the game against Seattle. Smith sat out the next two weeks nursing the injured shoulder and back up quarterback Trent Dilfer came in for Smith but also struggled in his two starts. Smith returned after those two weeks against the New Orleans Saints on October 28th but has struggled since returning. The 49ers have lost seven straight ball games and come into the game this Sunday at Candlestick Park against the visiting St. Louis Rams 2-7. With an injured Smith starting it'll be a tough challenge for Smith to try to put some mustard on the ball and no telling after getting shredded by the Seattle Seahawks last Monday night 24-0 what kind of game that Smith will throw coming Sunday. Smith said that despite his injuries he says that there are no excuses of the kind of performance that's been going out there during the losing streak, "No excuses, I chose to go out there, if you asked me whether I'd do it again, that's the question. It's continued to linger, and that's the most frustrating thing for me," said Smith. Smith's totals since he returned on October 28 against the Saints have been obvious that something is missing and yes you can blame it on the injury since then Smith has gone 51-109 in passing for 453 yards and three interceptions in the past three ball games. Smith now ranks at 48.7-completion ratio and has a 57.2 passer rating which ranks him 30th in the NFL amongst passers. "Without a doubt, I'm not throwing the same way I was the first three weeks, and last year,” said Smith. “Trying to play hard through this is hard I chose to go out there and play, thought I could thought it would get better as the weeks go on, and it hasn't”. Smith has not been hitting his targets and his concern is the painful shoulder and arm and he is unable to get the ball to the receivers and he's been struggling with that. Smith also went 17-38 before the Seattle game against the Atlanta Falcons in a tough loss there at the Georgia Dome. What also has hurt Smith is his reliable running back Frank Gore whose been resting the last two weeks due to an injury. Gore is expected to get out there on Sunday against the Rams and no telling with his injuries how long he will be able to stay with it. "You can tell, here and there as far as the consistency with his throws, there's something still going on. It's tough on your confidence. You know every play is crucial when you only get 40 or 60 plays every game. You know you have to make every play, every week," said 49ers leading receiver Arnaz Battle. The Niners host the St. Louis Rams with a 1:15PM kick off at Candlestick Park. David Zizmor covers 49ers football with Pearl Lo and co-hosts Sportstalk on 1690 KFSG Sacramento. quote source: The Bone 107.7FM San Francisco