Last word on Clifton Smith — for now

Just wanted to share this tidbit gleaned from today's locker room interviews.

Spent a little time talking with Clifton Smith after learning the news that he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. I asked him whether he's seen any differences in the way teams are defending him on kicks and punts now that he has established himself as a dangerous return man.

He had a very interesting response.

"During the New Orleans game, I thought it was going to be a battle of keep away," he said. "We kicked Reggie Bush to the sideline and they also kicked me into the sideline. They were just trying to pin me to the sideline and trying to take away a lot of the field from me."

Take it from coach Jon Gruden: "I think people recognize that he's dangerous."

So, there you have it: Just five games into his pro career, teams already are kicking away from Smith. That just seemed like a really cool thing that I thought others would want to know.