joseephuss;2620668 said:
What form are you talking about? The Bucs were not going to the playoffs the year Simms got injured. He started the first 3 games that year(2006) and the Bucs lost all 3. He got hurt showing toughness to get that extra yard, but he was playing terribly that year. His QB rating was 46.3. He passed for 1 TD and 7 INTs and completed only 54.7%. Those were his worst stats of his then 4 year career.
I don't hate Simms. Never have. I think he got treated unfairly by Longhorns fans while in college. Still I just don't think he is a good NFL QB. Right now he is better than Brad Johnson. That just may not be good enough for Dallas if they once again have to turn to their back up in 2009. If that is the best they can do, then they should sign him and send Brad on his way. I just hope they can do better and I will be hoping that Romo doesn't have to miss time.
My error. It was 2005 he led them to the playoffs. In 2006, he started off rough.
In 2005, Simms was slated on the depth chart as the backup quarterback, behind
Griese and ahead of former
Cleveland Browns starting quarterback
Luke McCown. Simms got his first snap of the season after
Miami Dolphins linebacker
Zach Thomas was pushed onto Griese's leg with several minutes left in the game on October 16, 2005. Despite the injury, the Buccaneers prevailed 27-13 in the game in which Griese was lost for the season. Simms performed well, completing 6 of 10 passes for 69 yards.
[7] Simms got his first start of the season the following week against a weak
San Francisco 49ers squad. While Simms had decent numbers (21-34, 264yds, 1TD, 2INT), his performance was considered poor, as there were many times when he underthrew his receivers, missed open receivers, or incorrectly read the defensive coverage. Simms followed up this performance with about the same performance (25-42, 259, 1TD, 2INT) against the division rival
Carolina Panthers, who were considered a much better team than San Francisco. Since these two losses however, Simms has performed better than expected and has a knack for late-game heroics. He led fourth-quarter charges against fellow division rival
Atlanta twice, as well as the
Washington Commanders. The Commander game was his best performance of the year as Simms threw for 3 scores as the Buccaneers won 36-35 in a remarkable game. Simms had a much more impressive performance in the rematch against
Carolina on the road. The two losses in this stretch were against the defending
Super Bowl Champion
New England Patriots, and the
Chicago Bears, who were ranked #1 in the league in total defense, and in both of these games, Simms did not throw any interceptions, and was sacked a combined 11 times. He even led Tampa Bay to another fourth-quarter comeback against the Bears but a 29-yard field goal attempt floated wide right giving the Bears a 13-10 victory.
[8]
Simms led the Buccaneers to their first playoff berth since their Super Bowl victory in the
2002. In the rematch vs. the Commanders Simms led Tampa Bay back again from a 17–3 halftime deficit. With the score at 17–10 late in the fourth quarter, Simms hit Edell Shepherd on an apparent 35-yard TD strike. However, Shepherd failed to maintain possession as he hit the ground. Tampa Bay lost 17–10 in a game where Washington gained only 120 yards of offense, the lowest total for a playoff winner in NFL history.
[9]
Chris Simms had played well at the end of the 2005 season, and thus came into the 2006 season with high expectations around him. However, for no particular obvious reason, Simms's play in the first two weeks was abysmal. In back-to-back games against the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, Simms posted up 45 completions on 82 attempts for 446 yards, but had zero touchdowns and six interceptions. He continued to have several of his passes tipped by defensive linemen. Largely due to his inexplicably poor play, the Bucs scored a mere 3 points in two games.
Simms suffered a season-ending injury in Game 3 of the 2006 schedule. On Sunday, September 24, he was taken off the field after taking hard hits from the
Carolina Panthers defense. Simms returned to the game and even led a successful scoring drive, but remained in physical distress and was taken to a nearby hospital after the game. Tests revealed a ruptured
spleen, and Simms immediately underwent emergency surgery. In the aftermath, Simms said he lost five pints of blood before the operation and conceded that another 45 minutes without treatment could have been fatal. Though not proven, it has been suggested that the injury was caused by an illegal hit from
Al Wallace who was later fined by the NFL.
[10] Simms has become a spokesman in the Tampa area for blood donations.
[11] The injury ended Simms's season. Playing on a one-year/$2.1 million contract signed before the season, Simms was eligible for free agency for
2007 and was expected to be in demand.
On December 27, 2006, Simms announced that he had signed a two-year extension to remain with the Buccaneers with the expectation that he would start. However, due to complications from his recovery and the performance of
Jeff Garcia in mini-camp, Simms was expected to serve as a backup to Garcia.
[12] On October 9, Simms was placed on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season.
[13] The Bucs were expected to keep Simms on the roster for mini camp as their fifth quarterback.
Over the weekend of the
2008 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers reportedly received many trade offers for Simms, but the team declined them all.[
citation needed] However, the Buccaneers denied that these trade offers ever existed.[
citation needed] Simms' relationship with head coach
Jon Gruden worsened significantly during this period, due to how Gruden treated Simms during his recovery from spleen injury. He has even said that "The relationship between me and coach Gruden, it’s broken," Simms said. "And I don’t see any way it’s going to get better." Simms also said that he will never forgive Gruden, although he still respects the Buccaneers as an organization.
[14]
