Mom knows best

The influence that Diana Simms has always had on her son carries into today's game.

By RICK STROUD
Published January 7, 2006

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[Times photo: Bill Serne]

Bucs quarterback Chris Simms thinks of his mother when games get tight. Like her (and unlike dad, Phil), he isn't bothered by little things. Go to Phil Simms article with video

TAMPA - It was on their many drives home from Giants Stadium in New Jersey, when his lower lip might quiver or his blue eyes begin to water, that Chris Simms really learned how to survive as an NFL quarterback.

He was only 3 when his mother, Diana, started bringing him to his father's games, and the jeers affected him far more than the cheers. He absorbed it all, the foul language and fair-weather fans, keeping it close to his chest until sometimes she thought he might burst.

"He went to all the games and heard the boos and heard what was happening when fans would chant out another quarterback's name to play," Diana said. "I guess I was the only one in the car with him and I knew he would have to air his feelings about it.

"You know, a lot of times when Phil was playing, there were some rough spots, like when he was getting benched. You'd get different emotions coming in the door with Phil. You try not to bring it home, but you do. I think just to keep a house that's a little balanced and everybody's feet on the ground, I was a little more calm."

That quality will come in handy today when Simms makes his first playoff start against the Washington Redskins in the NFC wild-card game at Raymond James Stadium.

When you look at Simms and see the blond hair and strong arm, it's easy to notice the gifts he inherited from his father, Giants Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms.

But those who know the entire family say Chris, 25, was more influenced by his mother, and it's her voice he hears in his head when the situation grows tight.

"I was just around her a lot as a kid, he was always busy doing things, and we've got a great relationship," Simms said. "My mom went to the same high school as me, the same area of New Jersey. So as far as just growing up and learning the area and a little bit about street smarts, I always went to Mom on that subject.

"My dad's always been a guy who has to be busy, he has to be doing something. Things have to be in order and when they're not, even to this day, he gets very flustered by that. I'm like my mom from that aspect where I don't let little things like that bother me."

That might be why Simms isn't nervous about today's game.

But of all the steps Simms has taken toward becoming an NFL quarterback, this is the biggest footprint he has tried to follow. Phil Simms forged his career as a clutch player in the postseason. In Super Bowl XXI, he completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Giants to a 39-20 win over the Denver Broncos and was named the game's most valuable player. He was 5-2 in playoff games from '84 to '86, including Super Bowl XXI. After that, he went 1-2.

Chris Simms still has a long way to go. Despite losing his first two games after Brian Griese sustained a season-ending knee injury, he has won six of his past eight starts, including three fourth-quarter comebacks.

"Look, I played, I know, I know how to judge it, so my expectations and thoughts when it's over are a lot different than the average people," said Phil, who will watch the game on TV from Cincinnati where he is working as an analyst for CBS.

"I don't expect him to throw for 300 yards if he gets hit every play. I don't expect him to go out there and be great every game, because that's not the way the NFL is and it's not the way the Tampa Bay Bucs are. They are survivors, they do have some toughness about them about hanging in there. I think that's what they're about, and I think that's what they've got to lean on in the playoffs."

For Simms, that toughness grew as a result of his name.

Every time he played football, especially in high school, kids would begin to chant, "You're not as good as your dad."

Simms' brother, Matthew, a junior who quarterbacked Don Bosco High to a second straight state final, also can't escape comparisons. "Now he hears, "You're not as good as your father ... or your brother,' " Diana said.

"Christopher always had to live up to the quarterback that Phil was, even though Phil had a very tough time in his career. Everybody takes a double close look to see if he does have it and can hang in there. But a lot about football is not how beautiful you throw the ball - although I love a beautiful spiral - it's how tough you are and how you hang in there."

The situation was probably worse at Texas, where a New Jersey kid like Simms struggled to fit in and was skewered for not beating Oklahoma.

"I loved college football and I wanted to go there and be a part of that," Simms said. "When I was a young kid, I dreamed about being in the NFL and in this situation more than anything. It was a step toward going where I wanted to be."

Don't think Simms is satisfied. His father won his first playoff game and insists that experience isn't a big criteria in the postseason.

"The one thing I've learned, and this will be my coaching point (to Chris) for the week, whatever happened in the first game, wipe it off from your memory, because this one will be totally different," Phil said.

Coach Jon Gruden says Simms doesn't need to raise the level of his game today, just be steady.

"At least he's getting his experience as a young guy. But I don't want to have that loser's mentality of "Gee, here, let's get some experience,' " Gruden said. "We're here to win the game. We're going to try to have a confidence about us we've been playing with the last few months. Do what you've been doing. You've proven you're a darned good player. So prove it again."

While his dad is preparing to work the Bengals-Steelers game, Simms' mother, brother and sister, Deirdre, will be watching at RJS.

"His mom, she's a pretty cool girl, so she did have some pretty good influences on him," Phil said. "I know they talk every day, where dad gets one chance a week so I understand her influence is greater than mine."

A mother watches her husband play in the NFL, then worries about her young son. Now it is the son's turn. It is not a story about who drives, but who is driven.

"I think it's much harder now, because with every parent who has children, you're happy when they're happy and you're really happy when things work out for them," Diana said. "You feel twice as good. He's worked very hard and hit a lot of little obstacles, some that happened there and some invented because he is who he is. He's overcome a lot and proven to himself that he can play and he is a player."

[Last modified January 7, 2006, 01:22:58]