"Wide receiver Steve Smith did his best to diffuse talk of an ongoing quarrel between he and rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen, saying his sideline comments to Clausen in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals were overblown by some members of the media. Television cameras caught Smith walking over to Clausen, who was talking with an assistant coach on the bench, and barking at the rookie during Sunday's game. Smith was led away by tight end Jeff King, but returned a moment later and said something else. At that point a frustrated Smith threw down his cup of Gatorade. "It was said that I was just about to 'go off' and I wasn't," Smith said after Wednesday's practice. "I thought it was interesting because here, I was obviously agitated and frustrated, but sometimes people think they know me better than I know myself. So I think that's a joke and I think the people that reported it are jokes." Clausen, who will make his second NFL start Sunday at New Orleans, downplayed there being an issue between he and Smith. "There really wasn't anything between me and Steve," Clausen said. "Like I told you after the game it's just his competitiveness as a football player. He wants the ball. I think it's a good thing for your receivers to want the ball as much as they can get it." When asked Wednesday what he thought of Clausen's performance in his first NFL start, Smith said he did "as well as he could with the current situation."" http://www.carolinagrowl.com/index....nks-clausen-played-very-good&catid=1:articles
