Texans DE Smith fined for kicking Incognito

HOUSTON (AP) Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith says he's been fined $21,000 by the league for kicking Miami guard Richie Incognito during last week's win over the Dolphins.

Smith missed two practices this week with a sore right ankle. He says he was only retaliating when Incognito tried to twist his ankle after the whistle.

``If you're going strictly by the rule book, me kicking him was breaking the rules,'' Smith said Friday. ``But I want them (the NFL) to look at why I was kicking him, trying to get him off of my ankle. You see on the film, the moment my ankle came free, I stopped. I was just trying to get my ankle free from him mauling it.''

Incognito said he was innocent of wrongdoing and argued videotape supported his contention. The NFL agreed: He wasn't fined.

``The eye in the sky doesn't lie,'' Incognito said Thursday.

Dolphins center Mike Pouncey was fined $7,875 for unnecessary roughness.

Incognito, who has carried what he says is an outdated reputation as a dirty player, said the complaint about twisting Smith's ankle stemmed from a play where the Dolphins fumbled.

The Texans (1-0) play at Jacksonville (0-1) on Sunday. Smith practiced on Friday and coach Gary Kubiak expects him to play against the Jaguars.

Smith says he plans to appeal.

``It's very disappointing, whenever you lose money,'' said Smith, who had a career-high 6 1/2 sacks last year. ``Nobody wants to lose money, especially $21,000. That could be going to my daughter or son's trust fund, or something. That's a pretty penny, and nobody would like to get (fined) that kind of money, especially when I felt like I was defending myself.''

Smith was fined $7,500 last season for pulling off Baltimore guard Andre Gurode's helmet in a game against the Ravens.