Texans defensive end Antonio Smith has called himself a ninja, a cowboy, a dog, a Lycan werewolf and a Jedi.
On Wednesday, he added soothsayer to the list.
Asked if he had any predictions about the Texans' upcoming game at Denver, Smith made a bold one about outside linebacker Connor Barwin. He then referred to himself as "The All-Knowing Tonestradamus."
"Predictions?" Smith said, pausing as several reporters and cameras awaited his answer. "Yes. Connor will have two sacks this weekend."
Smith made the same proclamation a couple hours earlier at practice.
"I heard him say it on the field: 'The All-Knowing Tonestradamus,'" Texans nose tackle Shaun Cody said. "He thinks Connor's going to get a ton of sacks this week."
Barwin led the Texans with 11.5 sacks in 2011 but has yet to record a sack this season. Told of Smith's prediction, Barwin laughed and said, "I hope he's right."
Nose tackle Earl Mitchell said Smith has referred to himself as Tonestradamus for years among his teammates.
"He knows all, he sees all, and nothing gets past the Ninja, or a.k.a. Tonestradamus," Mitchell said. "That's just another one of his aliases that we already knew about. He tells us about things that he sees on film from opponents that nobody can see. It's just something funny, man."
Mitchell said Smith's previous predictions have been "spot on." Cody disagreed, saying, "I've never heard Antonio predict anything accurately."
Smith was ambivalent about what Sunday might hold for Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
"J.J.'s batted balls was not in any of my future-telling dreams this week," he said. "But I would guess he's gonna get two."
Time will tell if Tonestradmus' predictions come true.
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