Gruden Critical Of Simms

[LaTunaNostra]

BUCS
Gruden Critical Of Simms

By ROY CUMMINGS rcummings@tampatrib.com
Published: Aug 22, 2005


TAMPA - Some things are etched in stone -- Derrick Brooks at weakside linebacker, Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly at cornerback, Brian Griese at quarterback. Some are not.

At the midway point in the preseason, the Bucs still haven't settled on a place-kicker, a fourth receiver or a nickelback. They don't seem so sure about their backup quarterback anymore, either.

That job once belonged to Chris Simms. Perhaps it still does, but in the wake of the Bucs' 20-17 loss to Jacksonville on Saturday night, there were indications Coach Jon Gruden suddenly may be holding Luke McCown in higher favor.

There is no question Gruden was more pleased with the play of McCown than Simms on Saturday. After all, McCown's engineering of the offense got the Bucs a touchdown, while Simms' resulted in only a pair of field goals.

But there was more than just the respective scores that left Gruden praising McCown and questioning Simms on Sunday. There was also the difference in the way they went about their business.

Entering with the Bucs trailing 20-9, McCown engineered a rally that put the Bucs in position to send the game to overtime.

Matt Bryant's miss of a last-second, 53-yard field goal try kept the Bucs from forcing the extra session, but they might not have been in position to try had it not been for McCown.

In driving the Bucs to their only touchdown, which came on a 45-yard pass to rookie Paris Warren, McCown overcame two penalties that left the Bucs in seemingly crippling first-and-20 situations.

He also made some critical time-saving decisions during the final drive that allowed Bryant to take the field and make his attempt with one second remaining.

"I thought Luke McCown showed tremendous poise in moving our team in a crisis situation where we had to score twice," said Gruden, who was nowhere near as complimentary of Simms.

In addition to questioning Simms' decision-making on some plays, Gruden said Simms took too long to get into a groove.

"He's got to start faster and be more precise with his footwork, timing and location," Gruden said. "Early in games, he's got to get into a rhythm quicker. We've got to take a look at that. I don't know why that is.

"I remember Brett Favre throwing missiles over guys' heads. He was just jacked up -- adrenalin rushing down your veins. As a young player you have a tendency to let it get the best of you.

"So Simms just has to show more poise, get a little more relaxed. I don't know, maybe we have to run the ball the first eight or nine plays."

Simms, who was not available for comment Sunday, has completed 14 of 21 passes for 105 yards with one touchdown and one interception this preseason, and a lot of his work has come against first- and second-team defenses.

McCown is 19-for-29 for 179 yards. His lone TD toss and interception came in Saturday's loss to Jacksonville and he has faced mostly second- and third-team players.

Still, Gruden has been praising McCown since the second week of training camp, saying he is impressed not only with his athletic skills, but also with his knowledge of the offense.

Gruden, in his third year of tutoring Simms, didn't seem to question the left-hander's knowledge of the offense, but he does seem to have some concern with his execution.

"He knows where to go with the ball I think," Gruden said. "It's just unfortunate; you get guys open in this league, you got to hit 'em. I think he understands that. I hope he understands that."

In particular, one of Simms' decisions late in the first half left Gruden with some unanswered questions.

"He could have hit Ike Hilliard; we felt he should have hit Ike," Gruden said, referring to one of Simms' misses. "He's hit him in practice. He came around the corner, and part of our thought process there is -- bootleg if you're out clean, then take a peek to the over route.

"He did take a peek at the over route, he just chose not to throw it. He was a little indecisive there. I don't know if he's looking for a bigger play or if he was looking for an opportunity to run.

"I don't know why he did what he did. I have not seen him yet this morning. But we had three or four chances to make some plays in the passing game and certainly we didn't do that last night in the first half."


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