Chris Simms

Christopher David Simms (born August 29, 1980 - in Ridgewood, New Jersey) is an NFL quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is the son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

High school career
Simms attended Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and was a standout in football and basketball. In football, he was a two-time All-State honoree, and was named the 1998 USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year. Chris Simms graduated from Ramapo High School in 1999.

College career
College Career

Established himself as one of the most successful signal callers in Longhorns history… Played in 43 games and started 32 during his career… Completed 535-of-911 pass attempts (58.7%) for 7,097 yards, 58 touchdowns and 31 interceptions… Texas’ record holder for career completion percentage (58.7%) and pass efficiency rating (138.36)… Ranks second on the school’s career touchdown passes chart (58) and fourth on the school's career passing yards (7,097), total offense (6,960) and completions (535) lists… Directed Texas to scores on 148 (112 TDs/36 FGs) of his 360 career drives (41.1%)… Led Texas to scores on 108-of-120 "Red Zone" drives (90.0%) and committed just three turnovers (two interceptions/one fumble)… Completed 449-of-758 passes (59.2%) for 5,810 yards (25 games/232.4 ypg) and 48 touchdowns over his last two seasons as the Longhorns' starter… Averaged 28.1 yards per touchdown pass the last three seasons, registered 18 career multiple touchdown games, recorded at least 200 yards passing 18 times in his career and has completed 21 passes of 40 or more yards as a Longhorn… Tied for second on UT's all-time quarterback victories list with a 26-6 mark as a starter… His 15-0 career record as a starter at home ranks second among Longhorns quarterbacks with perfect home records… Was the first starting quarterback in school history to lead the team to back-to-back 10 (or more) win seasons… Named a Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist for the second consecutive year in 2002… A third-team All-Big XII selection by the league's coaches… Also earned second-team all-conference honors from the Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle… Named Texas’ Most Valuable Player, Darrell K Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player, Outstanding Quarterback and a permanent team captain… Started all 13 games… Completed 235-of-396 passes (59.3%) for 3,207 yards and a school-record 26 TDs… Also rushed for four scores and set a school single-season record with 30 touchdowns accounted for… Ranked second on the school’s single-season pass attempts, completions, passing yards and total offense (3,083) charts… Led the Big XII and ranked 11th nationally in pass efficiency (142.98 rating), second in the league in pass completions per game (18.1 pg.) and fourth in the conference and 14th in the NCAA in points responsible for per game (13.9 ppg.)… Tabbed UT's Darrell K Royal Offensive Player of the Game seven times… Closed out his home career with a perfect 15-0 record by completing 16-of-24 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns against Texas A&M… Passed for 345 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-37 passing at Texas Tech… Passed for a school-record 419 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 29-of-47 passing at Nebraska, as the Longhorns snapped the Huskers' national-leading 26-game home winning streak… Also reached the 2,000 passing yards barrier during that contest, which tied him for the third-best start in UT history (nine games)… Recorded two rushing touchdowns against No. 2 Oklahoma, giving him 10 for his career… Completed 15-of-28 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns in leading Texas to a 35-20 victory in the Cotton Bowl... Connected with Roy Williams on a 75-yard pass and a 51-yard touchdown strike in that game… A second-team All-Big XII selection by the Austin American-Statesman and The Dallas Morning News in 2001… Also a third-team all-conference choice by the league's coaches… Started 12 games… Completed 214-of-362 passes for 2,603 yards (No. 2 on UT's single-season list) and a school-record 22 TDs… Also rushed for six scores… Accounted for a Big XII-best 28 TDs (22 pass/6 rush), which tied Ricky Williams' single-season record set during Williams’ 1998 Heisman Trophy-winning season… Placed second in the Big XII in points responsible for per game (14.0/16th NCAA) and third in pass efficiency (133.5 rating)… Averaged 26.0 yards per TD pass… Starting QB for a passing offense that led the league in pass efficiency (136.1 rating) and ranked second in passing yards per game (250.3 ypg)… Tossed a career-high and school record-tying five TD passes on 18-of-30 passing for 235 yards at Oklahoma State… Also ran for a score against the Cowboys… Posted his second career 300-yard passing game with a 311-yard performance at Houston… Connected with sophomore WR B.J. Johnson on a career-best 92-yard scoring strike in the first quarter of that game, which was the fourth-longest pass in school history and the sixth-longest scoring play in UT and Big XII history… Played in 11 games in 2000, including the Holiday Bowl, and started six contests… Completed 67-of-117 passes (57.3 percent) for 1,064 yards and eight touchdowns… Posted a Big XII-leading 144.25 pass efficiency rating… Helped lead a passing attack that set a UT single-season record and ranked 14th nationally (293.5 ypg)… Primarily served as the backup quarterback in 1999… Played in seven games, including the Cotton Bowl… His first career start came at No. 24 Texas A&M… Saw action in the fourth quarter of five games… Completed 19-of-36 passes for 223 yards (two TDs/one INT)… Majored in history. courtesy of: http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=34465

Simms, who played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, was heavily criticized for putting up big numbers against average or weaker teams, but consistently failing to deliver in big games and throwing interceptions, most notably in games against Big 12 South rival Oklahoma, against whom Simms finished 0-3. In the 2001 contest, he tossed four interceptions in a 14-3 loss. He also had a poor performance against Colorado in the 2001 Big 12 conference championship game where he fumbled and threw four interceptions, the last being returned for a touchdown&mdash; all before the close of the first half. He was benched and Major Applewhite replaced him.

Accomplishments and records
Despite the media's criticism, Simms managed to break a couple of school records.

Highest Pass Efficiency (Career) - 138.4. (Since eclipsed by Colt McCoy with 161.8)

3rd Best Winning Percentage (Career) - 26-6, 0.812 (Behind Bobby Layne and Vince Young).

2nd most touchdowns (Career) - 58 (Behind Major Applewhite).

2nd most touchdowns (Single Season) - 26 (Behind Colt McCoy, tied with Vince Young).

2nd most touchdowns (Single Game) - 5 (Behind Colt McCoy, tied with Bobby Layne).

2nd most passing yards in a game (vs Nebraska) - 419 (behind Major Applewhite).

2003
Simms was drafted with the last pick of the 3rd round in 2003 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the expectation that he would eventually be the successor to Brad Johnson. He was cast 3rd on the Bucs depth chart behind Johnson and former Buccaneers starter Shaun King. Simms sat his entire rookie year without playing a single snap.

2004
In 2004, Simms started the season as the 3rd string quarterback again, this time behind Johnson and former Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins starter Brian Griese, but was quickly promoted to backup quarterback after a poor preseason by Griese. Simms saw his first action on September 19th, 2004 against the Seattle Seahawks after a below-average performance by Johnson, coming into the game with 10:32 left in the 2nd quarter. Simms went 21-32 with 175 yards and an interception. Simms received his first start two games later against the New Orleans Saints on October 10th, 2004 after the Bucs started 0-4 and Johnson was benched for his poor performance. Simms went 5-8 for 75 yards but injured his shoulder early in the game and missed three weeks, allowing Brian Griese to secure the position with 3 straight wins. Simms saw occasional action as the backup QB to Griese and started a meaningless final game against the Arizona Cardinals where he threw for 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

2005
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. 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 Redskins. The Redskin 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.

Simms led the Buccaneers to their first playoff berth since their Super Bowl victory in the 2002 season. In the rematch vs. the Redskins 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.

2006
Chris Simms had played well at the end of the 2005 season, and thusly 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. Simms has become a spokesman in the Tampa area for blood donations. 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.

2007
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. Due to complications from his recovery and the performance of Jeff Garcia in mini camp, At the beginning of the season, Simms was expected to serve as a backup to Garcia, but he is currently listed as the fourth string quarterback due to the better play of Bruce Gradkowski and Luke McCown. . On October 9, Simms was place on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season.

Personal life
Simms married Danielle Marie Puleo, whom he first met in high school, in August 2004. In 2006, Danielle gave birth to a baby girl Sienna Rose.

His younger brother, Matt Simms, is a freshman quarterback at the University of Louisville.