Arizona will put heat on quarterback Alex Smith

Inexperienced linemen don't help the situation for the San Francisco rookie.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- With two rookie offensive linemen protecting a rookie quarterback who is making just his third career start, the San Francisco 49ers know what the Arizona Cardinals' game plan will be against Alex Smith.
"Bring pressure like everybody else," receiver Arnaz Battle said Wednesday. "That's a no-brainer what they're going to do. Bring pressure and try to intimidate Alex and get in his face."
Smith, the No. 1 overall pick for San Francisco (2-9) in last April's draft, returns to the lineup this week after missing five games with an injured left knee. He started twice before the injury and got a little bit of mop-up duty as well, struggling in his first go-around against NFL defenses.
QB's rating
Smith is 23-of-50 for 200 yards, with five interceptions and no touchdowns this season, for a passer rating of 17.5. He has also been sacked 12 times and is counting on more pressure this week from the Cardinals.
The key will be dealing with it better against Arizona (3-8) than he did in his first two starts against Indianapolis and Washington.
"You have to make good decisions," Smith said. "I think that's the reason they put pressure on young quarterbacks, because under pressure they don't make good decisions. That's something I'll need to work on. The bottom line for us is I need to make good decisions."
That's especially true given San Francisco's problems on the offensive line. The 49ers have allowed the seventh-most sacks in the league with 31 and have also committed a slew of penalties on the line to put the offense in big holes.
Add in a running game averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and that leads to long-yardage situations and more pressure on the quarterback.
"Everybody is a blitzing team when they play us," Niners coach Mike Nolan said. "They were a blitzing team last time we faced them. They have brought more pressure of late. I would expect them to do the same."
Injuries complicate matters
And now with former Pro Bowl center Jeremy Newberry joining veteran tackle Jonas Jennings on the sideline with injuries, the job of protecting Smith becomes even more difficult.
Guard Eric Heitmann will start at center Sunday against Arizona, with second-round pick David Baas moving into Heitmann's spot at right guard. Fellow rookie Adam Snyder is already starting at left tackle in place of Jennings, with second-year player Justin Smiley manning the other guard spot.
Third-year player Kwame Harris, who has struggled all season with penalties and missed assignments, starts at right tackle.
"With two rookie linemen in there I'm sure they'll bring a lot of stunts and blitzes to try to confuse us, but that's just something that we'll have to handle," Baas said.
Heitmann, the veteran of the group in his fourth season as a pro, doesn't expect the changes to hurt the team too much because the players have all gotten plenty of practice in the spots they'll be starting at this week.
"We still feel very comfortable in there even though we might be in different positions," he said. "We've all played there before. We've taken hundreds of reps. It's something we'll grow into in the game and we're going to get better every week and every down."
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