Wed., Sept. 6: Chris Simms: Making His Own History
By Joe Platania, PressBox Staff
Wednesday, September 6 -- Chris Simms was a history major at the University of Texas, and that knowledge has come in handy.
Simms could tell you anything you need to know about the Alamo as well as his father Phil's 22-for-25 Super Bowl XXI-winning performance for the New York Giants in a 39-20 win over Denver at Pasadena's Rose Bowl.
But since the 26-year-old Simms' birthday will forever be the same day (August 29) as Hurricane Katrina's anniversary, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting quarterback -- who is making his first-ever Week One start Sunday against the visiting Baltimore Ravens -- is also aware that while it's important to remember the past, one can't dwell on it.
"I remember just about everything," Simms said Wednesday. "When I was four or five, I could have told you every player on every team and their number. I still go back from time to time and watch (Phil's) Super Bowl performance. It was definitely a great day in my life.
"For me, it's normal. My dad's still my dad to me. To everyone else, he's the Super Bowl quarterback from the Giants. I was definitely very fortunate for the way I was brought up. Some of the best moments of my life were spent watching my dad play."
However, as Simms has tried to forge his own career in the game, some rather negative moments have come to the fore.
There was the seemingly-endless quarterback controversy at Texas between himself and Major Applewhite. There were the annual disappointments in the Red River Shootout between his Longhorns and the archrival Oklahoma Sooners. There were too many moments on the Buccaneers' bench behind such standouts as Brad Johnson and Brian Griese.
But when Griese went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week Six last year against Miami, it was Simms' turn to shine.
Hitting on 61% of his passes with ten touchdowns, seven interceptions and a respectable quarterback rating of 81.4, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound lefthander won six of ten games down the stretch and propelled Tampa Bay to an NFC South Division title in a year when most experts had the team picked to finish last.
"He's very mature for a young quarterback," Ravens head coach Brian Billick said. "With every outing, you see him getting better and better. He's got a great future."
Much as Simms may not want to admit this, he has taken a similar career path to what his father took in New York, having to sit behind Scott Brunner for a time before getting his own chance.
But Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden knows what he has in the younger Simms is quite unique.
"He's got a lot of physical talent. He's a very good passer," Gruden said. "He's in his fourth year in this system, so his command is much, much better.
"For quarterbacks in the (present-day) NFL, there's not a lot of guys who have been in the same offense or have had the same coach calling plays for four years. Plus, his understanding of our system will help us."
So, with Griese having left for Chicago as an unrestricted free agent and unproven backups such as ex-San Francisco backup Tim Rattay and late-round draft pick Bruce Gradowski (Toledo) languishing on the Bucs' bench, has Simms achieved a confidence and comfort level his father eventually did?
"No, not at all," Simms replied firmly. "My first year, I was a backup, then I was in a little bit of a battle with Brad Johnson. I knew where I stood, but in football, there's going to be competition. "You just have to roll with it and make the best of it and don't worry about what anybody else does, just worry about yourself."
What Simms will have to worry about Sunday is a Ravens' squad eager to write a bit of history of its own, having never beaten the Buccaneers in two lifetime meetings. While Simms' defensive teammates were top-ranked in the NFL last year, the injury-riddled Ravens managed to rank fifth, and they are completely healthy as their date with Simms approaches.
"I don't think they care about my youth or whoever's at quarterback," Simms said of the Ravens. "They're going to do what they do and throw whatever they want at any quarterback. They're a great defense, they know what they are and they know what they want to do. "They never make it easy on any quarterback. They threw everything at Peyton Manning, too (in last year's opener), and he's pretty experienced."
Gruden agreed. "No matter who the quarterback is, when you go up against the Ravens, it's going to be a long day at the office," the coach said. "They have defensive talent. Certainly, they have one of the most disruptive defensive schemes I've ever seen. No matter who your quarterback is, it's a real challenge."
Especially for a quarterback who's very aware of his own history: who he is, where he's been and where he's going.
"I play this game because I love it," Simms said. "I'm just as excited for the season to start as I have been every year since I was four."
****
INJURY REPORT: Both the Ravens and Buccaneers are coming into the season opener in good shape.
Everyone was in attendance at the usual Wednesday padded practice, including defensive end Trevor Pryce, the only player to miss the annual Kickoff Luncheon at M&T Bank Stadium on Tuesday due to a family emergency.
Running back Jamal Lewis' hip problem is still troublesome enough for him to still be listed as questionable (50-50 chance of playing).For the Buccaneers, two players are questionable, inside linebacker Shelton Quarles (groin), who led the team in tackles last year with 205, and left guard Dan Buenning (ankle).Quarles' tackle mark was the first for anyone other than Derrick Brooks to lead the team since 1997.In a minor personnel transaction, former Ravens camp lineman Robin Meadow signed with the Buffalo practice squad.
****
DEE-FENSE: Everyone knows what kind of sterling defensive reputations the Ravens and Buccaneers have. Here's further proof:- Even though the Ravens can claim nine of 11 defensive starters with four or more years' experience (NT Haloti Ngata and FS Dawan Landry are rookies), Tampa returns ten of 11 starters from last year's top-ranked unit.
Safety Will Allen, the only newcomer from last year, did manage to start eight games in 2005.- The Ravens have allowed just 55 rushing touchdowns since 2000, tops in the AFC and second in the NFL... second, that is, to Tampa Bay, which has yielded 52 such scores.- During one stretch that included its Super Bowl season, Baltimore held opposing defenses without a 100-yard rusher for 50 straight games. Tampa Bay had quite a streak of its own, a skein of 54 straight games in which it forced a turnover, a streak that resulted in a Super Bowl of its own; it ended late in the 2003 season. Not only that, the Bucs have recorded at least one takeaway in 82 of their last 89 games.(Coming Thursday, you can find more interesting facts and figures about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this week's Ravens Report in the print edition of Press Box and on pressboxonline.com)
****
A BIT OF EVERYTHING: Even though the Ravens and Buccaneers have met only twice before, Tampa Bay has won both games -- outscoring the Ravens, 47-10 -- in a variety of ways.
In the 2001 Saturday-night meeting that Tampa Bay won at home, 22-10, backup tight end Todd Yoder rushed up the middle and blocked a Kyle Richardson punt that set up a field goal. Later in that same game, the Bucs recorded a safety when a Chris Redman handoff to Jamal Lewis was fumbled away.
This was also the game in which defensive end Simeon Rice, he of the 119 career sacks (second among
