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Days after quarterback Chris Simms unloaded on the Buccaneers and coach Jon Gruden, Gruden and G.M. Bruce Allen responded, during a Friday afternoon Tampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Said Gruden, according to our friends at Pewter Report: “I like Chris Simms. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he said. But I’m going to coach the quarterbacks that are here. I’m really excited about the guys that are here. I wish Chris and his situation well. That’s the last I’ll address it. He’s made his statements and unfortunately that’s all I can say. I like Jeff Garcia. I prefer talking about him, Brian Griese, and Luke McCown.”
(We have a ton of respect for the gang at Pewter Report, but we’re not sure that they properly transcribed Gruden’s remarks. The account doesn’t contain a single “F” word.)
Allen was more of a “bad cop” in this regard. “I think his advisors pulled a P.R. stunt,” Allen said. “I don’t think it portrays Chris well. That’s not the Chris Simms I’ve talked to on the phone. I can’t worry about that. We have too many players that are trying to help this team win. Those are the players that we’re going to focus on.”
Neither Gruden nor Allen offered anything definitive regarding Simms’ fate. He is due to earn a base salary of $2 million in 2008, and the team surely will dump him from the roster before then. The problem is that, by keeping him into June, the Bucs have prevented Simms from getting properly ensconced in another city via participation in the offseason program.
The sad part about all of this is that the problem traces to a heroic effort by Simms in September 2006, during which he gave up his spleen in stifling heat in an effort to help the then-winless Bucs try to notch their first victory of the season.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
they happened to be winless because he screwed up the first half of our season. he’s horrible and he proved it that season after the job was handed to him in the offseason. Why not write an article about him bemoaning the coaching staff, like you do for every other non compliant player?
He has been well compensated and the bucs have a right to attempt to
1) get the most out of their investment, and
2) hedge the decision to cut their losses by limiting any success he may have against them.
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Rating: 3.35 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Always a matter of he said/he said when it comes to these kinds of disputes. Simms was quiet all this time even though he made it clear weeks ago that he wouldn’t be practicing with the team. Why not say something then? What was the point of coming forward now when it was already clear he didn’t want to have anything to do with the team? Does he think the Bucs or their fans forgot the fact he wants out of town? I would think they have $2 million reasons to remember.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
The Bucs were winless going into the Spleen Bowl helped in part by Simm’s stellar stats. 1 td, 7 ints and numerous balls batted down on the line of scrimmage.
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
The last paragraph of the original post is key to me.
Simms put everything on the line for the Bucs, playing through a lacerated spleen for a bit (ANYONE
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
The last paragraph of the original post is key to me.
Simms put everything on the line for the Bucs, playing through a lacerated spleen for a bit (ANYONE who has had spleen problems knows it’s no joke), and basically got crapped on by the team/coaching staff. Some people think the team has done him a favor by keeping him around, but really, he could’ve done a lot better elsewhere.
Clearly, based on the above statements, the Bucs won’t be retaining Simms this season, and are only holding onto him at this point for a competitive advantage (and since people will question that, it’s the same thing Al Davis is doing with Lamont Jordan - holding on until the last possible moment to prevent a division rival - ATL, anyone? - from signing him on the cheap)
My heart goes out to the guy for doing his damnedest for the franchise and being crapped on in return. Hopefully he gets cut soon.
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I think the problem doesn’t so much trace back to Simms’ heroic effort as it just points out that Gruden and Allen are buttholes of the highest degree. I agree that the transcription was probably off. It should have read, ““I like f%^&ing Chris Simms. I don’t necessarily agree with every f$#%ing thing he said. But I’m going to f&#$ing coach the f#%^ing quarterbacks that are f&@#ing here.”
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
“I like Jeff Garcia. I prefer talking about him, Brian Griese, and Luke McCown.”
That puts Simms as, at least, the fourth quarterback on the team, and no team keeps that many on the final roster. Message to Bucs: eliminate the distraction of a disgruntled player, give the kid a break and release him.
Where could Chris end up? Heck, if he went to the Bears today, he’d have to be considered at least equal to the incumbents.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Florio you should mention that Simms’ contention that teams have offered trades for him is false as PewterReport and Allen have stated many times now
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Gruden makes me sick. John Gruden is the most overrated coach in the league. Anyone could have won a Superbowl with the Bucs’ that year. You have a better chance of being struck by lighting, than to play quarterback more that one season for this guy. He’s a QB killer
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I have no pity for Chris Simms. People tend to forget that Simms was a free agent after he suffered his injury and Tampa offered a multi-year deal to a player that could not lift his throwing arm above his shoulder. Simms signed the deal (a similar deal to that of Jeff Garcia) and received his full salary last season while on IR.
Tampa is within their right to hold onto Simms until they receive an acceptable offer. The question is - what is an acceptable offer? I would venture that a team like Chicago offering a sixth round pick with the ability to upgrade to a fourth or fifth round pick based on playing time/etc. would suffice.
I don’t see Tampa releasing Simms until the final cuts, assuming there is no trade, and I can’t blame them. Caroline could use a solid backup, New Orleans appears to be okay, and Atlanta would be a lock to claim Simms off waivers, as McKay played a considerable role in drafting Chris during his tenure in Tampa.
Teams don’t give talented (Simms has skills, he’s just not suited for a WCO) players to division rivals, regardless of how dire that division rival appears.
j.
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June 13th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I don’t get what the problem here is. The bucs have 39 QB’s heading into camp and if one wants to go, then be professional and let him go. Obviously he isn’t going to be your guy and the team aquires QB’s like hookers aquire VD so part ways. Hell, tampa just got 3.5 Million from a guy who never even wore their uniform! I think Gruden should go to QB annonymous.
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June 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
ok, heroic, played thru pain, donated a spleen, tb has never had much of an ol. cut him already.
but he surely isnt anything special as a qb. he is 6-10 as a starter and if u take out the cadillac he would be like 3-13.
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June 13th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
The issue is, he “belongs” to the Bucs for lack of a better word. They got that 3.5 million in cap space by being smart. They don’t want to give him away for nothing. If you decided to buy a new car, would you want something in return for your old one, or leave the keys in it and say “Free to a good home”? Simms could be helping himself out by showing up at OTA’s to prove he’s recovered and to force the Buc’s hand. By staying away, other teams don’t know if he’s still damaged goods or if he’s recovered. Wish him well, hope to see him succeed elsewhere, just not to the Doug Williams, Steve Young, Trent Dilfer level; don’t think I can take watching another ex-Buc QB win a Super Bowl somewhere else.
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June 13th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I agree that Tampa Bay ownes his rights, and he should work out the best he can to keep his value up to other teams.
But it looks like the Bucs are just hoping for another team to go through what Carolina did last year by going through so many QBs that they can get a high draft pick for him.
In the mean time, everyone knows Tampa is not going to put him higher than 4 on the depth chart. And in essence, by not being able to hit free agancy, he won’t get what his true market value is worth.
In the words of teh kurb, “Stay classy, Tampa Bay.”
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June 13th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Is it any wonder Jake did not want to play for this organization?
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June 13th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
i think the main point to take from this post is that Gruden admits to liking men.
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June 13th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I don’t think anyone in the NFL can or should play without their spleen. Even the slightest injury would take waaaay longer to heal. I wish Chris well, but he needs to change his career.
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June 14th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Let’s see, Jeremy (Rape Boy) Stevens is worth having and Chris Simms isn’t. Simms might not have a place on the team for a good reason. He’s not the next Tom Brady…but good lord, they’ll take a rapist and let a guy who’ll lay his health on the line go like this?
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June 14th, 2008 at 8:39 am
You guys should ask yourself this, how many OL were starters on last year team and currently? NONE!! Look at the real stats, when Simms was sacked 2 or less times his record stands at 7-0. How many young starters are able to go on the road and win divisional games? Simms won 3 and finished with a 5-1 record in 2005. Again we were talking about a young QB who was thrown ibto the fire and was never used in the shot gun formation!! Chris Simms will win a Super bowl or 2 long before Tampa get another one. You can’t evaluate a young QB with only 15 career starts, but the stats speak for themselves, 7-0 when protected and Gruden fail to protect him in 2006, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if he did, enough said. My money is on Simms to win a Super Vowl, just like the other QB’s we let go and went on to win a Super Bowl with other teams.
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June 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I think I might be losing my mind because I swear I just read on here that trent dilfer “won” a super bowl. Granted trent was technically on a team that won a superbowl but I wouldn’t throw around words like “won a superbowl”.
It’s kind of like giving Gruden credit for a superbowl win. While he technically coached a team that won a superbowl he did it all with players and schemes installed by the previous staff. I look at it like Dungy’s Bucs beat Grudens Raiders since the only thing that changed in that scenario is the fact that Gruden wore a different colored visor.
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June 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
The idea that Gruden won with Dungys team is a misconception because close to 25 of the 48 (irrc) active players on the Superbowl team were in their 1st season with the Bucs, particularly on offense where we added McCardell, Jervicius, Dudley, Dilger, Pittman, Roman Oben, Kerry Jenkins just to name a few. Also he installed a new offense as he always does — the notion that Gruden would run someone else’s scheme is laughable. The D stayed the same but the O was new that year.
Anyone who is a Bucs remembers how putrid Dungy’s offense’s were and that is why he got fired after losing in the playoffs consistently to the Eagles tough D and 11-6 to the greatest show on turf when we held the Rams to 11 points but couldn’t hardly muster a 1st down until the 4th quarter when it was too little too late. Gruden significantly improved the offense by the time the postseason rolled around and the offense was making plays (Jerivicius in the NFC champ game vs. the Ealges) and getting 1st downs (Pittmans 100+ yards in the SB); granted the defense was the main reason the Bucs won but the offense made key plays.
Gruden and his team won the Superbowl for the Bucs not Dungy, period, end of story. Warren Sapp even said so in the NFL Films greatest game segment on the Bucs; said they wouldn’t have won without Gruden that year and that they needed a kick in the rear but I’m sure Viking fans posting here know better than someone on the team.
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June 17th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Please stop with the comments about “hero-ism” on Simms’ part for ‘giving up his spleen’. Really, Florio, this is beneath you. After an 0-3 start, Simms was playing to save his career, not to be a hero. Like many other players he was INADVERTANTLY INJURED; he did not knowingly ‘give up his spleen’ for the team. This kind of nonsense sounds like Phil wrote it.
The Buccaneers have been very generous to Simms. In exchange, Simms refuses to show up for OTAs and has now publicly dissed the management.
Apparently Simms doesn’t understand that he has zero leverage. Its not like his stellar services are in demand. He has made himself look like a whineing girlie man.
Gruden, Allen and the Buccaneers are in the business of winning football games, not nurturing the feelings of a wannabe.
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June 18th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I would like to thank Kool Herc for proving my point to a tee. “the d was the same but the O was new” because we all know that the bucs domination over the raiders was a complete offensive effort! Well played sir well played.
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