NEW ORLEANS -- Wide receiver Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis went in opposite directions when Colin Kaepernick replaced Alex Smith as the 49ers' starting quarterback. Their roles then reversed in the NFC Championship Game, but they hope to find a happy meeting place in Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens.

Crabtree, who caught 44 passes for 510 yards with four TDs in Smith’s nine starts, turned into a playmaker with Kaepernick at the helm. He has 56 grabs for 771 yards and seven scores in Kaepernick’s nine starts.

Davis, one of Smith’s favorite targets (29 catches, 404 yards, four TDs), all but disappeared after Kaepernick’s ascension, making 13 receptions for 188 yards in Kaepernick’s first eight starts. His season-long totals for catches, yards and touchdowns were his lowest since 2008.

“Of course [changing quarterbacks had an effect],” Davis said. “It took five years for me to get on the same page with Alex Smith. I didn’t understand it when I first got here when everybody was telling me you have to build chemistry with your quarterback. I learned it’s very important. If you don’t, he doesn’t know where you are going to be.”

Two Sundays ago against Atlanta, though, Davis busted out with five catches for 106 yards. Crabtree had six receptions for only 57 yards and lost a fumble inside the Falcons’ 1 that could have cost the 49ers the game early in the fourth quarter.

“I think it was pretty much the way defenses were playing me,” Davis said. “Each week I said I was going to get open, but it doesn’t happen that way. Atlanta, they decided to drop me and take their eyes off me, which was a big mistake for them. I got open.

“With Kaepernick, I’ve learned how he likes to throw the ball. He knows my speed now. It takes time for things like that.”

Kaepernick had an instant rapport with Crabtree, who capped the regular season with eight catches for 172 yards and two TDs against Arizona. He followed that performance with nine receptions for 119 yards and two scores against Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs, so it is easy for him to slough off his tough outing in Atlanta.

Although Crabtree is careful to avoid disparaging Smith, he clearly likes Kaepernick.

“It’s really just him throwing the ball and giving us a chance and really pushing us with his arm,” Crabtree said. “The guy can throw so hard, so far -- it really just makes you step up your speed, your focus. It brings the best out of all of us.”

Crabtree’s NFL career started slowly. Expected to be an immediate impact player, he improved in each of his first three seasons but never had 900 receiving yards or more than six touchdowns.

All that changed in the second half of this season.

“Crab is a great player,” Kaepernick said. “He does a lot of things well and he’s a very physical receiver. He wants to get in the end zone every time he touches the ball. As a quarterback, that’s something you love.”

Now that he has discovered Davis, too, the Ravens will have their hands full.

“He [Davis] is a matchup nightmare,” Kaepernick said. “When he’s against a linebacker or safety, we expect him to win every time. He is really gifted out there.”

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, subscribe to our RSS Feed, watch Pro Football 360 daily at 3 p.m. ET and NFL newsletter.