Hitting an opponent below the belt to gain an advantage isn’t something that’s condoned or accepted by most players in the league. That said, it certainly isn’t unheard of, and players who choose to take that course of action are rarely caught in the act by the officials.

Kansas City defensive tackle Shaun Smith is fast becoming known for doing just that, and while he’s remained steadfast in saying it’s not intentional, this is the second week in a row where he’s been called out by an opponent for playing dirty in the trenches.

Smith’s actions in today’s game against the 49ers pushed offensive tackle Anthony Davis over the edge, infuriating him so much that he reacted violently towards Smith, drawing a personal foul penalty in the process. Cleveland center Alex Mack indicated a similar strategy was used against him last week by Smith.

For the time being, the Chiefs are not likely to do much of anything to reprimand Smith, as he’s clearly getting in the heads of his opponents and hurting their cause by luring them into making a mental mistake by reacting angrily to his intrusions.

That said, his teammates on the other side of the ball will undoubtedly take him aside at some point and ask him to stop for their own sake, to prevent opposing defenders from doing something similar to them.

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