Rising son

'Workout wonder' Simms opened eyes at NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS -- I remember two things distinctly about the day, not long before football training camps opened in the summer of 1987, when I visited Phil Simms' home in Franklin Lakes, N.J., to see how he was doing in the wake of his magical Super Bowl XXI performance. Two odd things. One: Simms said Len Dawson had told him no one would ever break Simms' Super Bowl-record 22-of-25 passing and 88-percent completion rate. Two: Simms had to keep yelling at his kids, Christopher and Deirdre, to stop throwing dirt in the built-in pool.

"CHRISTOPHER! CHRISTOPHER!" Simms hollered. "WHAT DID I SAY?"

Fifteen-and-a-half years later, I find myself in a group of 50 or so writers huddled around CHRISTOPHER! CHRISTOPHER! at the NFL Scouting Combine. I am about to start covering him. I am 45. I feel 85.

A few pre-pro-career observations about Chris Simms. Diana and Phil Simms obviously did one heck of a job raising him; Chris is polite to a fault, and not at all taken with himself. He chafes at the criticism that he has been lousy in the very big games (even though it sure seems he has been), but he chafes without attacking his questioners the way most big-timers do. He answers questions with some real thought, even though Phil obviously schooled him in the manner of saying very little to the press that would be remotely controversial. He probably needs to comb his hair in the morning a little better, but he handles himself with a perfect combination of self-effacement and quiet confidence. Everyone I talked with here at the scouting combine -- coaches, scouts, NFL folk -- wants him to succeed. He's the type of kid you need to have in the league. The game's important to him, and you honestly get the feeling he'd rather be a great football player than have $5 million in the bank.

Let me describe the scene at the combine on Saturday morning. The gathering is a collection of 300-some players -- and every NFL coach, GM, assistant coach and scout. The players stay at a Holiday Inn across the street from the RCA Dome and the Indiana Convention Center. They meet the teams here, in between getting physical exams and doing positional workouts. The same weekend, a huge (and I mean huge) regional cheerleading competition was held at the Convention Center. And so little teenyboppers and their parents, many of whom live in this area of the world and tend to follow college football, would stop and gawk at the big football prospects. When they knew one, they'd ask for his autograph, or maybe take a picture with him. And so when Simms was finished spending half an hour with the media members gathered for this event, he walked out into the mass of kids, parents and media, and was pleasant and cooperative when spoken to.

He has been training for this his entire life. "Most of the time since I've been playing sports," he said, "I could always hear the whispers: 'There's the Simms kid.'" And there he went, walking through the crowd, and the dads and some kids were pointing at him the same way. There's the Simms kid.

Simms arrived at the Dome Sunday to perform quarterback drills and work out for the scouts, and was one of three quarterbacks likely to be picked high in the draft to do all the things NFL scouts ask -- the 40-yard dash, the agility drills, the various throws to points all over the field. Carson Palmer, Rex Grossman, Byron Leftwich (still in recovery mode from the stress-fracture in his left leg) and Jason Gesser, among others, didn't run the 40. For some reason, Cal's Kyle Boller didn't throw, which blunted the momentum he had built after a strong performance in running drills. Dave Ragone and Simms did it all. I like that.

Here's my question for guys who don't work out, or don't run the 40, or don't do some drill they don't want to do because they feel they're not ready and would prefer to do it at their own private workouts later: Why not? You've had seven weeks, at least, since the end of your college season to prepare. This is the biggest job interview of your life. And you show your 32 prospective employers that you're either:

a. A prima donna.

b. Lazy and didn't start working out in time to be ready for the combine.

c. Not aware of how ticked off NFL people get at you, or how hard you have to work to erase the image of a guy who wasn't ready for such a big moment.

d. Not very smart.

(But until NFL teams actually start holding it against guys who don't do everything at the combine, and start penalizing them in their final pre-draft grade, I understand why it is tempting for players to control their circumstances by not working out when the teams want them to.)

Back to the workout. "I came here to show what I've got," Simms said. "This is the big stage." He said he believes he has more athletic ability than most people think he does. He'd show it here, he said, and at his personal workout in New Jersey (where he's living and working out now, while remaining four classes shy of his degree at Texas) March 18.

And so here's how it went for the Son of Phil: He ran well (for him), clocking 4.89 seconds in the 40; he'd been thought of as a 5.15 lumberer. He was agile. No quarterback, including Palmer, the likely top pick, threw it better than Simms did in the estimated 25 throws he made. In a rotation with the other quarterbacks, Simms threw two, backed off and let the other guys throw, then threw two more. They all went through sprint-out throws -- three-step, five-step and seven-step throws to different parts of the field -- and some deep throws, or "9" routes. Throwing to unfamiliar receivers for the first time (Texas A&M's Bethel Johnson, USC's Kareem Kelly, Arizona State's Shaun McDonald, San Diego State's Kaseem Osgood), which is tough enough because he's never seen them before and can only guess at their speed, he "threw the ball as well or better than anyone out there," Deep Scout told me. "He missed on his first 9 route, then hit two of them in a row on beautiful throws." Another scout said: "Chris opened a lot of eyes. Now he just has to go through the process and convince some team that he's its quarterback of the future."

That will take some convincing. Simms has the reputation of being a workout wonder. It's the occasional floater under pressure, or inopportune decision, that will plague him before the draft. He can't erase some of the bad throws he made in very big spots for the Longhorns. Don't make too much of postseason workouts without 11 angry men on the other side of the line and 76,000 people screaming in the stands. That's when it really counts. Simms had a very good college career, but everyone expected him to.

One scout told me he thought Simms could go anywhere between No. 7 and No. 37 on draft day, which is probably a fair range. Maybe someone will fall in love with him after his good workout here, or after meeting with him and appreciating his perspective and ridiculous work ethic. Everyone says he's a great teammate. That counts for something too. My guess leaving here is that Mike Shanahan (Denver picks 20th) or Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh picks 27th) or Mike Sherman (Green Bay picks 29th) or someone jumping up from high in the second round (Chicago? Arizona? Carolina?) will pick him in the second half of the first round.

At the end of the day, Simms proved something in the biggest job interview of his life. As NFL consultant Gil Brandt told me: "He has too many good qualities to fail in the NFL."

CHRISTOPHER! CHRISTOPHER!

Good luck, kid.

MMQB: Are you paying any attention to the people who say your stock is rising?

Suggs: Nah, I ain't paid no attention to all that. I'm trying to stay away from all that and stay focused so I can do my best. You should never be comfortable with where you are. I'm trying to sneak up on Carson [Palmer], so tell him to watch out there.

MMQB: Does what Dwight Freeney did last year, as a smaller pass-rusher who went high in the draft and then played well in the NFL, help you?

Suggs: Oh yeah, because me and Dwight were kind of in a similar situation. We were kind of small to be playing our position and they were always talking about a position change, but we're true defensive ends. Maybe we're not big enough or [we don't] weigh enough. But we go against all odds and when we play we just try to prove to the world -- and to the GMs, and the offense -- that we can play at our size. Dwight had 17 sacks his last year at Syracuse, then had 13 his rookie year. I try to analyze it, but I don't know how many I'll get.

MMQB: You've changed your diet and have gained about 15 pounds since the end of the college season, and now you're up to about 262 pounds. Why?

Suggs: In college you really can only afford fast food, and I learned to live off it for three years. So I was told you can't eat no more greasy stuff; you've got to put 15 pounds of good weight on. They stuck me with the chicken breast and the salads and the mashed potatoes and things like that. It was tough to give up some of that fast food. The No. 5 combo at Jack in the Box is my favorite thing. Sourdough Jack, drink and fries. Jumbo size. Always jumbo-size everything.

BONUS "THREE QUESTIONS WITH ..." QUESTION:

MMQB: What would have happened had you stayed at Arizona State for your last year of eligibility?

Suggs: I'd probably have gotten quadruple-teamed.

John Clayton.

ESPN's John Clayton.

What a country.

PLEASE EXPLAIN BRONCONOMICS. From Jay Mahoney of Ottawa: "Can Jake Plummer fit into the Broncos' salary cap, with all the money owed to Brian Griese, if Denver cuts Griese?"

Good question. You've probably noticed Denver is just beyond $20 million over the NFL's 2003 cap. Griese's cap number this year is $7.05 million, which includes $2.1 million from his pro-rated signing bonus from his 2001 contract, $4.75 million from base salary, and the rest from incentive money owed him. If he is cut now, Griese will take up $8.4 million of cap room (the entire remaining portion of his pro-rated signing bonus). If he is cut after June 1, he will take up only $2.1 million, with the rest of the $6.3 million in signing-bonus pro-ration coming due under the 2004 cap. So the Broncos have a decision to make: Keep Griese and have him count $7.05 million or some negotiated number less than that; cut Griese now and take his entire remaining cap hit of $8.4 million; or cut him in June, and split his cap hit between 2003 and 2004. I say they'll take the third option. Now, if they sign Plummer -- who is not a greedy man right now, having made $30 million over the past four years, and possessing more of a desire to win than to steal a big signing bonus somewhere -- they could probably get him for five or six years with a minimal signing bonus of $4 million or $5 million and low annual salaries in his first couple of years. So theoretically they could get him for a cap number of $1.5 million in 2003. Let's add this up so you don't have to read about this boring crapola anymore: Under my scenario, Griese's cap hit of $2.1 million, plus Plummer's number of $1.5 million, would equal exactly half of Griese's regular 2003 cap number on the current Denver books. Under my scenario, then, whacking Griese and signing Plummer could save the Broncs $3.45 million. That, Jay, is how this would be possible. Of course, there'd still be heck to pay in 2004 for Griese.

I GUESS THE LIONS SHOULD HAVE HIRED MARTHA BURK. From Roland of Dallas: "Peter, you wrote, 'I think the Lions are going to get stung hard by the NFL for not interviewing a black candidate before CEO Matt Millen hired Steve Mariucci.' Since when does the word minority equate to meaning a black candidate? You media types are exactly why affirmative action and diversity initiatives get a bad rap and ultimately fail ... because in your minds they all mean 'black.' There are plenty of qualified Hispanic, Asian and, dare I say it, female coaches who deserve to have the right to interview for NFL positions."

Well, I guess I could say, "non-Caucasian, male or female candidate" in the future. You know, I just read your letter to one of the greatest football writers in America, Rick Gosselin of your Dallas Morning News, and you know what he said? This: "Only in Dallas. The guy must have been so sick of Dave Campo that he'd rather have a woman coach the team."

THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF BEARS FANS OUT THERE. From Tony Smith of Rapid City, S.D.: "I am an avid Bears fan. Do you have any idea who will be their quarterback this fall? I'm thinking they will try and sign a veteran free agent and then try and draft one too. I would like to hear your thoughts and who you think the leading candidates for the job are."

I can't tell you how many Beargrams I've received in the last month. Man, do you guys hibernate all winter, with only a modem and keyboard? Anyway, good to see the fervor for the Grizzlies. The Bears told one of the six top quarterback candidates here, Rex Grossman, that they will pick a quarterback on Day 1 of the draft. That means in the first three rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if they filled one of their crying needs in the first round -- say, with Jordan Gross of Utah, far and away the top tackle -- then took the BAQ (best available quarterback), such as Cal's Kyle Boller, with their top pick in the second round. Or if they stay put, they could have a shot at Byron Leftwich with the fourth overall pick. If they go out and sign a free agent, which I doubt they'd do, my money is on Jake Delhomme of the Saints. But I think they'll stick with their status quo, then pick a quarterback in the first or second round in April.

DESPERATELY SEEKING TACKLES. From Mark Schlesinger of Rolla, Mo.: "It's no secret that the Rams need to do something about their offensive line, particularly at tackle. Are any of this year's free-agent tackles good value for the money they'll get, or would the Rams do better addressing this problem in the draft?"

Just talked to Mike Martz here at the combine, and he made it sound like they'll be just trying to sign their own in free agency. To upgrade at tackle, before getting the dregs come June (and they're not all dregs; Tampa signed Roman Oben late last year and he started 19 games and was their Super Bowl-winning left tackle) they'd have to spend in the neighborhood of $4 million a year for an above-average tackle like Luke Petitgout of the Giants. I think they'll draft a offensive lineman, though not particularly high unless they get a first-round shot at a guy like Gross.

I THINK THIS IS A CRITICISM. From Moshik of Jerusalem: "You're only partly right in what you wrote about the Lions' failure to interview a black coach: You're not an 'idiot,' but what you wrote was idiotic. You basically still think that black men should grovel in front of white men who are no more talented or qualified than they and try to show them that they, the black men, are worthy of the white men's recognition. Get out of the 1920s, King. The Lions were right to hire Mariucci; the black coaches who declined Millen's interview invitation were right not to take part in a charade."

Let me ask you a question: If the goal of minority coaches is to get head-coaching jobs in the NFL, and one of their stated desires to get said jobs is to get to know the powerbrokers in football, when one of the minority coaches has an opportunity to strut his stuff in front of one of the 32 powerbrokers, how is that groveling front of the white man?

I STAND ACCUSED OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCY DEPARTMENT. From Adrian Wright of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada: "I find that you have a tendency to get 'locked into' a particular view of an NFL personality that I think blinds you. The Brett Favre issue has been belabored enough. I think you are the same way with Mike Shanahan and Mike Martz. Denver has been a disappointing team virtually every year since its last appearance in the Super Bowl. This guru of quarterbacks has not shown he can either pick or coach them since Elway left. Martz has taken one team to the Super Bowl. He has had two other very disappointing seasons during which he has made a number of coaching decisions that can at best be seen as questionable. Ditto his drafts. Again, it seems he can do no wrong. I respect your writing. I think you would be even better if you could step back a bit from some of the people you write about."

Yo, Adrian! You probably figured I couldn't resist answering a question from Yellowknife. I think you make valid points. The reason I probably defend Shanahan and Martz is because I think they're brilliant offensive minds. They've won big in the past and I think they'll win big again. I must admit I'm surprised at Shanahan's Broncos playing so poorly over the past four years, and it clearly reflects negatively, in part, on his free-agency selection. Now, can I ask you a few things? Where exactly is Yellowknife? What's the weather today? What do you do for fun in the winter? Just curious. Thanks for writing.

a. Read the paper in the lobby of the Canterbury Hotel. Beautiful, small lobby that feels like a living room.

b. Have a double steakburger and vanilla malt at Steak 'n Shake.

c. Avoid Houlihan's. The service stinks.

d. Have a meal with SI.com's Don Banks. What an entertaining conversationalist.

e. Eat the lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's. Delectable.

f. Walk over to Conseco Fieldhouse. What a neat building.

g. Stay at the Omni Severin. Underrated. Don't order the eggs from room service, though. They bounce like superballs and are about as hard.

2. I think these are my quick-hit football thoughts of the weekend:

a. Houston has already had two feelers for its third overall pick, and GM Charley Casserly seems determined to trade it. "We need multiple good players, not one great one," he said.

b. With the 12th overall pick in the 2003 draft, the St. Louis Rams will select a wide receiver from Miami, Andre Johnson.

c. That was my best Paul Tagliabue imitation.

d. Charles Rogers, the Michigan State receiver, is ridiculously slim. Six-foot-three, 202. "Hey," Brandt pointed out, "James Lofton was skinny too."

e. Charles Rogers Quote of the Week: "I'm only scratching my surface."

f. Marcus Trufant (Washington State corner) Quote of the Week: "I try to model myself after myself."

g. Just a guess (really, everything I say about the draft two months from now is a guess), but I say Green Bay moves up a few slots from No. 29 and tabs Boller to be Favre's heir.

h. The Packers might want to think twice about taking Grossman, by the way. A little birdie tells me Favre's not very happy about Grossman's dad using Favre's agent and good buddy, Bus Cook, for lots of advice and then Grossman picking Eugene Parker as his agent.

i. I am hugely impressed with Leftwich as a person. Seems like a great, frank, upfront kid.

j. A bunch of heads turned when Middle Tennessee State wideout Tyrone Calico ran a 4.31 time in the 40.

3. I think this was the most bizarrely interesting question I heard while at the combine, from Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star to Jon Gruden, who started his coaching career at Southeast Missouri State: "Jon, what was toughest road trip in the M-I-Double-A [Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]?"

4. I think you would have gotten a great kick, too, out of this exchange between a reporter and Ohio State safety Mike Doss:

Reporter: "Who is your agent?"

Doss: "Who is my agent? That's my personal business."

I hear Doss also was evasive on the following questions:

a. "Have you ever chewed gum?"
b. "Do you own any white socks?"
c. "Do you like Westerns?"
d. "Are you a football player?"

5. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. You'll probably think I'm crazy as a loon, but I paid $90 to see the Ottawa Senators play in New Jersey the other night. What a team Ottawa has. Reminds me of the great-skating teams like Winnipeg and Edmonton had nearly two decades ago with the European skaters coming into vogue. And that Patrick Lalime. What a goalie. Sens 5, Devs 3.

b. Am I wrong, or is every third word out of Ken Griffey Jr.'s mouth a whine? Man, appreciate what you have in life or shut up, will you?

c. Coffeenerdness: The Indianapolis Omni Severin has a rare treat which I won't soon forget -- Peet's Major Dickason's Blend as the house coffee. Great job, people.

d. I love watching the Dallas Mavericks play, and I don't like the NBA much at all. Steve Nash is the most exciting player in basketball, sort of a miniature, disciplined Pete Maravich.

e. Montclair (N.J.) Mock Trial Note of the Week: Alas and alack, the mighty Mounties fell to the Livingston Lancers in the finals of the Essex County (N.J.) Mock Trial Tournament. Livingston advances to the state competition now. I can't tell you how impressed I was with the two events I saw. The preparation was terrific, and the lawyering excellent. Kudos to Montclair lawyer Tom McDonough for his diligence, and to coach George Burroughs for being a great coach. "It was so much fun," said plaintiff Mary Beth King, who played a whiny burn victim. "I've never done anything like that before. I loved people, and I learned so much." That's the object.

6. I think I was around a few of the Giants' coaches this past weekend, and I'd be shocked if they didn't take the best available defensive lineman -- and there will be some good ones left -- when they pick at 25.

7. I think one of the most interesting things that I realized over the weekend is that no one in the NFL that I know of smokes cigarettes. Seriously. I looked around at the combine, and I never saw a scout, a GM, a coach or any of the college players smoking, and I can't think of the last time I saw a football player light up. I'm serious. How weird is it that one entire segment of the population -- the pro football world -- is smokeless? Now, I do know some guys who shove that dip between their lower lip and gum. But not a single cigarette.

8. I think, in the Son Also Rises Dept., Temple defensive tackle Dan Klecko, offspring of former Jet Joe, is too small (5-11 1/2, 283) to be a very high pick, but he raised a lot of eyebrows by running a linebacker-like 4.88 in the 40-yard dash. He'll fit in well as a changeup guy in some team's tackle rotation. Scouts who met him here love his Jim Burt-like attitude and admire how great he played without the size of some of the great defensive tackles in this draft.

9. I think it is eight weeks and five days till the Dallas Cowboys are on the clock in Round 1 with the fifth overall pick, and I already have an opinion. Dallas could opt for the shutdown cornerback it desperately needs, Terence Newman of Kansas State, with the selection. Remember last year, when half of Dallas' draft room was desperate to pluck Phillip Buchanon from Miami? And remember how bad the Dallas corners were last fall? This Newman guy is apparently the genuine item. Chris Simms says Newman and current Cowboys safety Roy Williams were the two best players he faced in college. "We had a pretty fast team, obviously, at Texas, but Terence was the fastest guy on the field when we played them. Terence's speed is a killer," Simms said.

10. I think I am pulling hard for a kid named Rob Adamson. Neat, impressive guy. Button-down shirt, khakis, greased-back hair, freshly shaven. Quarterback from Mount Union (Ohio) College whose teams went 25-0 over the past two years. I ran into Adamson's agent, the irrepressible Ron Todd, in the hallway of the Indiana Convention Center at the combine. He and Adamson were combing the place, waiting for GMs, scouts and coaches Todd knew to come by so he could introduce the kid. Todd's here every year with a sleeper or two. The first time I remember seeing him was with Hugh Douglas almost a decade ago. He doesn't bring stiffs here, just kids who are relatively unknown and weren't invited to the combine because they've been at the Mount Unions or Central States of the world. So here's the scene: Adamson and Todd approach any coach or scout Todd knows. Here comes Gruden, and Todd stops him for a second, introduces him to Adamson ("I know who you are," says Gruden), and then he's gone. Adamson is excited. "I got the eyebrow from coach Gruden," he said. "It was great." The eyebrow? Adamson interpreted the raised eyebrow and slight nod as: "I see you, kid. I appreciate you're in here, uninvited, and I'll remember how eager you were when I'm thinking of which free-agent quarterback to sign after the draft." As the weekend wore on, Adamson was the kid at the sold-out World Series game who didn't have the money to buy a scalped ticket. "I want to work out here so bad! I want to stand next to Chris Simms and throw! I want to show them I belong!" Kid, if attitude means a damned thing, you'll be fighting for a No. 3 job come August.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week. Click here to send him a comment.

 

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