SANTA CLARA . (AP) — Torrey Smith doesn’t harbor bad feelings toward the Baltimore Ravens, the team he won a championship with in 2013 before joining the San Francisco 49ers last spring.
“I think if things went sour, then maybe I’d feeling different,” Smith said. “But don’t feel any different.”
That could change depending on how Sunday’s game goes, when Smith plays his former club for the first time in a matchup of 1-4 teams at Levi’s Stadium.
Smith said there hasn’t been any trash talk exchanged with his former teammates. Instead, he’s been fielding text messages about obtaining tickets for the game.
“It’s going to be weird to see them. I know exactly what kind of talk goes on in the meetings. I know what they’re thinking. I know how they approach games,” Smith said. “It’s going to be weird knowing you’re on the other side of that, they’re trying to shut you down. But we have a job to do here. I loved my time there, I’m very thankful for my time in Baltimore.”
Smith joined the team his Ravens beat in the Super Bowl, along with former Baltimore teammate Anquan Boldin, who was traded to the 49ers a month after the big game.
But things are still a little awkward for Smith, at times, with his new teammates. Particularly when that game comes on in the 49ers’ locker room.
“They were playing the Super Bowl on the TV. And (left tackle) Joe Staley, we were in the huddle, and he looks at me and was like, ‘You didn’t deserve that,’” Smith said. “We kind of talk trash about it every once in a while, but it’s definitely a sensitive subject.”
The 49ers, losers of four straight, are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the season, when they scored a season-high 27 points in a last-minute road defeat to the New York Giants. After struggling mightily the previous two weeks, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the passing game improved significantly.
In losses to the Cardinals and Packers, Kaepernick combined to throw five interceptions with no touchdowns, with a passer rating of 25.7, marking one of the worst two-game stretches of his career.
Kaepernick completed 23 of 35 for 262 yards and two scores on Sunday, and is looking to string together strong performances for the first time this season against the Ravens’ 25th-ranked passing defense.
Both Kaepernick and Smith contend the uptick stemmed from increased communication during the week, which might have been lacking when Kaepernick the previous two weeks.
In Week 4’s 17-3 loss to Green Bay, there were times when Smith was clearly frustrated with his quarterback after being unable to connect plays downfield, which is considered Smith’s specialty.
“We had more meeting time together,” Kaepernick said. “We went in detail over things to make sure everybody was on the same page, what we were looking to get out of each play and what we were trying to take advantage of.”
For Smith, he will likely spend his day matched up against cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith, who he entered the league with in Baltimore’s 2011 draft class.
“I know Torrey so well, we’re like brothers,” Jimmy Smith said. “I know his moves, he knows my moves. So, it’s going to be fun out there. I’m pretty sure we’re going to get out there and have some plays where we’re actually just laughing at each other at the end. But I think it’s going to be a great matchup.”
NOTES: RB Carlos Hyde (foot) missed practice Wednesday and left the practice field Thursday to work with the team’s training staff. ... LT Joe Staley did not practice Wednesday or Thursday while dealing with a knee injury. ... LB Ahmad Brooks returned to practice Thursday after spending the last week away from the team following the passing of his sister from lupus. ... RB Reggie Bush has not practiced this week since aggravating a calf injury in Sunday’s loss to the Giants.
