Alex Smith is not thrilled with Mike Mitchell, and another day to simmer down hasn't helped matters. After further review, Smith confirmed the ruling that the hit was bush league, and he isn't backing down. "I felt like it was extremely late," Smith said. "I felt there was nothing done there to avoid contact. It was really low from the backside. I thought it was about as flagrant as it gets when it comes to a low hit on the quarterback."

Despite being "fired up" after the hit on Sunday, Smith hadn't seen the tape and couldn't say if it was dirty or not. Now that he has, he feels vindicated in thinking it was, and he has some choice words for Mitchell. "I don't think this is a first offense, either," Smith said regarding Mitchell. "I think when you start looking at ... repeat offenders, I think when they get shots at quarterbacks, they're going to take them."

Mitchell will likely get fined for the hit, despite an explanation on exactly what happened, while fans are likely cringing waiting for the new quarterback protection rule to come through. He insists that he was shoved by a teammate, and after the game he defended himself on the 15-yard penalty. "The video shows what it shows," Mitchell said. "I wasn't trying to take Alex Smith's knees out. I went up to him and told him that ... it's just one of those things you don't want to see in the football game."

Apparently it wasn't enough for Smith, who was still gosh darn fired up. Mitchell has been fined twice in the past, so this isn't new territory for him, but with quarterbacks being as prone as they are when they drop back to pass, this could be a hefty one. The bottom line is, quarterbacks can't get hit like that in today's NFL. Some fans obviously take issue to that fact -- especially when it affects their team -- but when looking at what a bad knee injury can do to someone's career it's easy to understand why the NFL wants to prevent these types of flags.