The big-picture diagnosis, which Nolan shared yesterday: They might have been a tad too cautious in recent weeks.

"The objective is to be aggressive and to attack your opponent and try to win the game, not to just keep from losing," he said. "I think when you just try to keep from losing, you lose typically more often than you should.

"Again, that's not our philosophy, and it won't become that. I think we have shown tendencies on offense of being a little like that."

That conclusion, of course, likely will be met with a resounding "no duh!" from the legions of fans who have suffered through a mind-numbing number of draw plays and two-yard runs as the 49ers have limped to a 2-3 start and a No.32 ranking on offense.

The bright side is that the 49ers finally seem poised to become more audacious on offense. Players reported the two practices held last week were more animated than usual and there are indications the offense will run at a faster tempo than it has previously.

"It felt like we were being a little careful, a little tentative," quarterback Alex Smith said of the team's first few games. "It's hard to make plays unless you're going out there and trying to make them. You can't do that if you're tentative and trying not to screw up and make mistakes. You can't be successful that way. You can't be great that way."

The 49ers, however, still were in careful mode Wednesday when it came to their quarterback's health.

Smith went through a limited practice, taking part in individual drills at the start of the session but giving way to Trent Dilfer when it came time to practice as a team.

Beginning last week, Smith had said he wanted to take part in Wednesday's practice so that he would be ready for the Giants on Sunday, and his separated shoulder had healed so rapidly it looked as if he would do just that.

But after meeting with coaches and trainers Wednesday morning, the decision was made to keep him out of team practice for one more day.

Was he disappointed? "A little bit," Smith said. "We'll see. I still was able to do a lot of individual stuff today and throw a lot of those routes, which was good. It's better to be out here than sitting in the training room."

Two other players who can add an element of aggression to the 49ers' offense are tight end Vernon Davis and former Hawaii receiver Ashley Lelie.

Davis was limited in practice yesterday, his first group action since injuring his knee Sept.23, but said he was running at full speed during the session. At receiver, meanwhile, Nolan said Darrell Jackson and Arnaz Battle would remain the starters in the base package. Lelie, however, will have a more prominent role than in the first five games, when he was in on a total of 10 plays.