Simms focusing on a comeback

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Published February 17, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [James Borchuck | Times (2007)] Quarterback Chris Simms is under contract for 2008 with the Bucs and should begin offseason workouts in March.

TAMPA - Chris Simms is planning another comeback. Time will tell if it will be with the Buccaneers.

"Whether it's the right place for me or not, I don't know," Simms said. "You know me, I don't try to think or force too much. I kind of just let things take their course, and we'll see how we go."

Simms, 27, said late last week that he hadn't heard from coach Jon Gruden or general manager Bruce Allen in nearly a month. Nothing unusual about that. He's under contract for 2008 and will begin offseason workouts with the team in late March.

"Three months ago, I was questioning whether or not I was going to make it back," said Simms, who hasn't taken a meaningful snap in about 16 months. "I believe in myself to all degrees, but it's human to have a little doubt at times, and I did, that is for sure. ... "

By now, you're familiar with his story. On Friday, he stood before several hundred people at the Hyatt Regency - most of them students - and recounted how a ruptured spleen threatened his life and career.

Simms was the undercard on a motivational speaking program for the Florida Adlerian Society and introduced Rudy Ruettiger, whose life inspired the movieRudy and made him a Notre Dame football icon.

Simms has his own Rudy-esque story of pain and perseverance, of how injury twice denied him a chance to remain the Bucs' starting quarterback. A shoulder injury derailed him in '04. Doctors say he came within 35-45 minutes of bleeding to death when he ruptured his spleen in a 2006 game.

When he reported to training camp last summer, he quickly discovered something was still wrong.

"I went through practice, and then Coach brought me on another field to do some drills," Simms said. "He was making me move around in the pocket, and he was clapping his hands to throw it. I don't even know if he noticed, but when he would clap his hands, it took me a split second to get my body to do it.

"That was the first time I had done something reaction-wise in a while as opposed to just warming up and throwing to a guy. I thought to myself, 'That didn't feel right.' It shouldn't take me that long to gather my body and throw the ball."

Simms eventually was placed on injured reserve. By then, he had begun to get a handle on his condition by enlisting the help of Dr. Anthony Galea, team physician for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts,who was able to diagnose his problem and provide exercises to fire up the nerves and muscles damaged by abdominal surgery.

"Everything is really basic exercises," Simms said. "Everything is three sets of 15 with five-second holds to stimulate that particular muscle. The way he explained it is most athletes get injured and do Steps 4, 5 and 6 before doing Steps 1, 2 and 3. ... It's really basic stuff that you don't think you need because you're a highly tuned athlete."

Simms says his velocity is back, as is his accuracy.

Still, he never seemed to fit Gruden's system. Being left-handed makes it even tougher. But Gruden finally has installed the shotgun, a formation Simms thrived in at Texas.

"All these years, I argued to get it," Simms said. "But I'm a big believer in it, I really am. I just think this day and age, with the amount of good pass rushers in the league, it's just beneficial for two different reasons. It gets you away from rush. And it's great for pass protection because your running back can go from one side to the other.

"But when you're dropping back, he's not going to come underneath you. That's the biggest thing, to pick up different blitzes."

The quarterback position is unsettled. Jeff Garcia, who will be 38 this season, is the starter. Luke McCown had some good moments. Bruce Gradkowski is still developing. No doubt Gruden will add to the arms race.

"I don't care where I am on the depth chart," Simms said. "It's a crazy position. And really at the end of the day, I'm healthy again and truly just glad I'm going to be ready to go.

"It's totally different. It's really changed me in a lot of ways. I thought I was grateful to be an NFL player before this, but it's brought it up to another level now."

[Last modified February 16, 2008, 20:51:32]