Antonio Smith was looking for answers. The Houston Texans' defense had just folded against the New England Patriots in the second half, resulting in a franchise-record 10th consecutive loss for a team that once fancied itself a Super Bowl favorite.
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"I'm very suspicious," Smith said Sunday. "I just think it will be a big coincidence if that just happened by chance. I don't know for sure, but I just know it was something that we practiced this week."
Texans coach Gary Kubiak didn't seem to be pleased by his defensive end's insinuation, and now Smith says he was joking when he made the comments, according to ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli.
"I'm sorry I said the word spying because of a prior engagement of them being caught spying," said Smith, referring to the Patriots' infamous spying scandal in 2007.
"Though it may be something I was curious about, that kind of didn't seem right, like how all of a sudden the change here?" he said. "It wasn't a serious matter to where I was thinking, 'Aw man, they're spying on us, they're cheating.' "
It sure didn't seem like Smith was joking in the video above. We sense some connective tissue between Smith's clarification and his coach's apparent annoyance that this became a story in the first place.
The latest "Around the League Podcast" recapped every Week 13 game.