SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Once the focal point of the San Francisco 49ers' offense, Jerry Rice now feels like the team's forgotten man.

	Jerry Rice was a victim of of today's NFL ecomonics.

"I'm baffled," Rice said after being held to three catches for 23 yards in Sunday's 23-7 loss to the St. Louis Rams, the sixth consecutive defeat for the 49ers.

"I don't know what's going on. I would like to help more. I would like to see more opportunities, and I'm not seeing any. I'm just running downfield. If that's the game plan, let me know. I've had a lot of success over the years, and I feel I deserve to have at least a few opportunities."

The struggles by the 37-year-old Rice mirror those of the 49ers, who have gone 1-6 since Sept. 27, when Steve Young went down, probably for the rest of the season, with a concussion.

San Francisco (3-7) is in the midst of its longest skid since dropping eight straight in 1980, and its offense has produced just one touchdown in four games, ending a 13-quarter drought on Fred Beasley's 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter Sunday.

Rice, the all-time leader in touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards, has a team-high 39 catches, but he's averaging a career-low nine yards per catch and hasn't caught a scoring pass in a month.

He's also had to share more playing time with Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes as San Francisco increasingly rotates its wideouts.

"I realize the team is changing and other guys deserve opportunities," Rice said. "But I still love the game. I'm still competitive. I don't think my skills have diminished that much. I feel like I can still do some things."

Coach Steve Mariucci said he's not surprised by Rice's unhappiness. After all, he dealt with it before last season when the 49ers were winning and Rice complained about his lack of involvement.

	“	Of course, he doesn't want to hear that he's 37 years old and has had a couple knee surgeries but that's reality and we have a couple other receivers that can contribute, too. ”
		— 49ers coach Steve Mariucci on Jerry Rice

"It would shock me if Jerry said, 'It's OK. Just throw me the ball once or twice and give me a crumb.' That would shock me. This doesn't."

Mariucci said the 49ers continue to run plays specially designed to get the ball to Rice, though not as many as in the past when Rice was the team's chief playmaker.

"We've been through this before," Mariucci said. "He'll continue to work, and we'll continue to work to get the ball to him. Is it going to be at the rate of 120 catches in a season? Probably not. But he can be more productive, and he will be more productive as we go."

Meantime, the 49ers passing attack continues to flounder, and it's not just from an inability to get the ball downfield to Rice.

Steve Stenstrom and Jeff Garcia have combined for 11 interceptions and three touchdowns in the last seven games. They have failed to get the ball to the wide receivers consistently, though Owens had six receptions for 120 yards Sunday for the first 100-yard receiving game by a 49er this season.

"We have a lot of things to improve in our passing game, from our protection to the decision-making to timing it, to catching it, you name it," Mariucci said.

Therein lies the rub for Rice, who understands he's in the twilight of his career and wants to make the most of the time he has left.

"There are two young guys back there now trying to make the right decisions," Rice said. "If you have a guy that's been around for a long time like me, you say, 'Hey, you drop back and throw him the ball no matter what'. You have to look at it that way."

But Mariucci said the 49ers have to face reality in determining Rice's role.

"I guess we would all like to see Jerry stay in his prime throughout a career, but that doesn't happen with anybody," Mariucci said. "Of course, he doesn't want to hear that he's 37 years old and has had a couple knee surgeries but that's reality and we have a couple other receivers that can contribute, too."