So what will happen when the 49ers' beleaguered offensive line clashes with the Giants' formidable front four Sunday in the Meadowlands? The 49ers line doesn't seem to care.

"It's not about them," rookie right tackle Joe Staley said. "It's about us. It's about doing what we want to do instead of taking care of what they do. It's about us imposing our will."

During the bye week, the 49ers mulled their stunning lack of offensive production over the first five games. They looked to be doing more of that yesterday, with coach Mike Nolan huddling with 11 of the team's leaders for nearly an hour after practice.

The offensive line appears to be tired of mulling and talking. In fact, left guard Larry Allen politely declined talking about the fate of the line.

"I don't talk when we're playing bad," he said.

Allen wants his play to talk for him and according to his teammates, the line as a whole wants to return to the aggressive style that, at times, dominated games last year and ferried running back Frank Gore to a franchise-record 1,695 rushing yards.

"I don't care if there are nine, 10 guys in the box," Staley said. "We still have to have the confidence that we are going to get 5 or 6 yards every time we run power."

Through the first five games, the 49ers' 264 scrimmage plays are the fewest in the league. So the 49ers haven't been able to establishing anything either running or passing.

Since Nolan was hired in 2005, he has wanted his offense to be a tough, run-oriented unit. For most of his 21 seasons as an NFL coach, Nolan's been on the defensive side and he believes no defense can prepare or scheme for a tough and powerful offense that controls the clock.

That means the 49ers might change their philosophy slightly against the Giants, by going with what Staley mentioned as "power" runs. Typically, these plays entail pulling a guard and leading with a fullback to punch a "funnel" in the defense's front seven.

The running back can either run down the funnel or cut back. The "power" was a stable of last year's sixth-ranked running game. The hope is a tough running game will slow down the Giants' voracious pass rush.

That's something quarterback Alex Smith would welcome. He's expected to return after separating his shoulder in the first series against the Seahawks.

Smith threw about 100 passes to tight end Billy Bajema on Saturday and was back to throwing again yesterday morning. He caused coaches some concern when his forearm shut down while throwing one pass.

"It's just fatigue from being in the sling," Smith said after practice of his forearm, which had a black wrap on it.

Smith and Nolan said the forearm should be fine.

As far as the shoulder, Smith will likely undergo an MRI scan later in the week to see how the ligaments around the separation are "scarring down," he said. With little or no damage to the rotator cuff, Smith was able to throw all out Saturday, hurling the ball 55 yards. If he can practice Wednesday, he expects to resume his starting role against the Giants.

And just how does he expect to combat the Giants' pass rush?

"You've got to throw fast and give them a lot of different looks, spread them out, get out of the pocket," he said. "You've got to keep them out of rhythm."

If that fails, Smith has another strategy.