Time for this loudmouth Longhorn to eat some crow...

Man oh man. Speechless.

 

Interesting discussion so far.... I honestly thought going in that this would be the Longhorns year to beat the Sooners and win the Big 12; guess I was wrong. I am by no means a Chris Simms hater like many of the folks I attended UT with, but as was pointed out, it seems everytime a big game takes place, we end up making excuses as to why our QB didnt deliver the goods (no running game, playcalling stinks, etc).

For the record, I was in support of Simms taking the starting role based on all the press clippings, his sheer talent, etc. I always assumed that with enough time, Simms would somehow develop better instincts in the pocket and learn to improvise under pressure. It took all the way till the Big 12 Championship game last yr for me to realize it was a bad mistake benching Applewhite. The thing is, Major never really got a chance to be a full time QB with Williams, Johnson and Thomas when they were anything but true freshmen. Do you notice that when Major played, we werent making these same r****ded excuses like we are for Simms? Example, Colorado game (Big 12 Championship), Major has been on the pine all year long and comes in to a game where the team has lost its running attack with Benson's injury. No matter, Major simply drops back in the shotgun and starts picking apart Colorado's defense, running game or not. I still feel to this day that had Mack Brown not made that stupid punt block call at the end, Major would have pulled it out on the last drive and we would be playing against Miami. He follows that up by carving up Washington (no Benson again). Notice something, with Major we are not having to say that Greg Davis is a crappy play caller or that our running game is non-existant. The guy simply goes out there and makes plays in big games, Simms doesnt.

After the OU game, I started wondering what would have been with this team had Chris Simms decided to go to Tennessee? We would have likely made the national championship game last yr imo. In any case, my theory as to why Simms cant perform in big games is as follows. Simms has excellent physical talent with a great arm and size, but he just does not have to ability to look at multiple receivers. Simms esp in big games, stares down one receiver and then forces the pass whether its a good decision or not. Also, Simms accuracy leaves much to be desired. That ball over the middle to BJ Johnson which got picked off by Derek Strait was an underthrown ball (even though the Simms apologists wont admit it). Even in last yr's Big 12 game, Simms one shining moment, the bomb to Sloan Thomas was way underthrown and Thomas had to run back 5 yards to catch it, luckily there was no coverage on him. A good QB needs to hit his receivers in stride consistently, Simms doesnt.

One other thing, I was hearing an interview with Major the day before the OU game. Apparently he's working at a radio station in Austin and is looking to get into coaching. They said he would be a "graduate assistant" on the UT staff next season (whatever that means). I havent been back to Austin in about a year but anyone who lives there and hears his show, can you fill me in on what this joining the coaching staff is all about for Major. He was saying he wants to be a coach one day; Major would make one damn good offensive coordinator and then coach.

 

All you guys making excuses for Simms, guess what?

Greg Davis is NOT leaving.

I wish Simms the best of luck in the NFL, but it's time to move on. Bring on Vincent Young. He will NOT have the same problems as Simms.



"It's not my fault. I don't play on the field. I just call plays to prevent the QB from turning it over"

Obviously Mack agrees with him or he would have been canned months ago.

 

Lots of great comments. Here's my $0.02:

OU has a high probability of going to the BCS game with Hybl. Is Hybl that much better than Simms? IMO, Hybl is marginally better.

Man for man, across all positions, is OU that much better than UT? IMO, there is a marginal difference in overall talent.

What would be the outcome if UT & OU swapped Offensive Coordinators? IMO, UT wins.

Maybe I've oversimplified things. But if you agree with the three conclusions the answer seems pretty obvious.


Unfortunately, we missed the chance for Gary Barnett.

 

Didn't Barnett coach at Northwestern & Rice? Anybody with enough coaching smarts to win with the recruits they are able to obtain must have something going for them. What has all the recruiting done for UT?

"They" being UT? Could you be agreeing that the problem may be coaching?

 

That would be soft.

Soft teams don't win national titles.

 

How many "nice" teams have won a national title? Half of UT's problems come from attitude, or the lackthereof. It's evident that OU wants to take UT's heart and stomp on it. UT seems content with that.

 

Once again, Barnett has forgotten that non-conference games count...

 

Uhhhhh....

 

Originally posted by BrianKagy
Now, wait a second. You don't put up the kind of numbers Simms did last year unless you're a good quarterback. We're talking specifically about his play in big games. In games against UNC and A&M (2000) and Colorado (regular season), he's looked fairly good.

He put up those kinds of numbers by racking them up against horrible teams like UH, New Mexico State, Baylor, and Kansas. He had probably the most talented offensive team in the country to run and most any QB with any kind of arm could put up numbers against crap teams when you have that kind of talent.

It's asinine to say he's "not a good quarterback". I think it's accurate to say he folds in big games for a variety of reasons, many of which are his fault.

Well why don't you check his asinine quarterback rating. He's rated 59th in the nation right now (it was 42nd before the game I believe) and this is with a schedule that includes North Texas (1-5), UNC (2-4), UH (2-4), Tulane (4-3), and OK St. (2-4).

 

And horrible Colorado and Texas Tech and A&M teams, too.

Why do you assume QB rating proves he is or isn't a good quarterback...? Did you see the North Carolina game this year...?

 

Originally posted by The Cat
No, not really. It's obvious to those who have always hated him and want to make him the scapegoat perhaps. I'm really not sure how Saturday's performance would affect his draft status. He didn't really play well or poorly.

12 for 26 with 3 INT's for a senior QB with incredible talent on his offense is pretty average I guess.

He really only had one bad throw the entire game, which was the slant that Strait read.

He had tons of bad throws. On the last possesion alone he over/under threw four different passes. Wide open guys across the middle with balls flying 3 feet over their heads and wide open guys standing on the sidelines with passes bouncing to them. It's embarrassing to see you act this way after such a pathetic performance by Simms.

Of course, Shanahan quit on the route too, but nevertheless Simms never looked off it. The pick in the first quarter was the same as a punt; it was taking a big chance downfield, and it just didn't work. It's amazing how UT fans were begging for us to do that all season (acknowledging the risk of a pick) and when they finally do it the blame goes to Simms. In the third quarter, it was just bad luck. He hit BJ in the hands, it wasn't caught, and it got popped up.

OMG! Hey don't worry Chris, we were going to punt anyway. Hey don't worry Chris, the fact that you forced that ball into tight coverage and got your receiver destroyed while your other receiver ran free all the way down the sideline wide open isn't your fault man.

He also had a couple of brilliant throws, including the one to Roy in the first quarter, and several again dropped by his receivers.

That was a brilliant throw? When the DB loses sight of the ball and loses the receiver while the QB just lofts a sideline pass that the receiver runs under, that's not brilliance. ANY QB can make that pass.

I really, really hope Simms gets out of this region when he's drafted. A pathetic offense scores 35 points, a below average running back rushes for 248 yards, and most plays aren't run beyond 10 yards, and people are looking at him like he's the one that lost the game. He didn't win it either, but very few quarterbacks do against that kind of a defense.

A pathetic offense led by Hybl who has a better QB rating than Simms, but of course that's because the Horns don't know how to run routes, can't run pass plays past 10 yards, and just like to throw INT's instead of punting. Let me ask you something, if the Horns have such a conservative, high percentage short passing game designed to be "safe", then how the heck was Simms 12 for 26 on all these short passes? Oh right, it was the wind.

 

I don't have his stats for games against those teams in 2001 but it's a fact that Texas played some of the worst teams in the entire nation that year.

Why do we assume any statistic proves anything? QB rating and record is what QB's are judged by. He's got no excuses here with the talent around him.

 

Yes, but his QB rating and record are pretty damned good when OU is not the opponent. Like I said, he's a good QB who absolutely falls to **** in big games against top-tier teams.

Interesting-- out of curiosity, I went back and compared Simms' QB rating in the Big 12 title game to yesterday-- 81.88 vs Colorado and 73.48 yesterday. I actually thought he played better yesterday.

 

I'm late as usual.

My $0.02:

1. The most disappointing aspect of Simms is that he doesn't look like he's improved from his Soph year to now. He's still slow setting up, slow with his release, and doesn't look over the entire field. Is this a product of coaching or talent? I guess we'll all find out next year when Mock, Norgren, or Young is under C.

2. The difference in talent level between OU & UT is marginal except for one significant difference:

OU has better play-makers and more 'difference-makers.'

3. Where or where has the 'Counter' & 'Trap' play gone in UT's running game? Hell, how about a 'Power Sweep' once in a while, with a G (or T) & FB leading (especially with those big WRs UT has), or a quick dive with the FB? Just 'ISO Left, ISO Right, etc.' Nice.


Cheer up, 'Horns. There's still a lot of FB to be played (remember last year), UT could very well be playing in the B12 Champ. game in Reliant with a chance to go to Tempe before its all said and done with.

At least your team didn't invent a way to lose to UAB when you were up 28-6 at one point!!

 

I'm out of this thread, and all Chris Simms discussions. I will stick to hornfans.com in the future... you guys are some of the most hateful and ignorant fans that I have ever come across. When Chris Simms is a star NFL quarterback in the NFL in a few years, remember who told you so.

Oh, and Texas will win the national championship this year, led by the best quarterback in the country. Yes, I'm serious-- if you'd like to bet on it, please send me an email (not money, but anything on the BBS, etc.).

Seeing Chris Simms thow 3 INTs..and making an A$$ out of the cat:

priceless

Hmm, who's the ass now? When exactly did I say Simms would throw no interceptions? I said before the game that if he threw interceptions that were not earned, which they weren't, that I would defend him.

Oh, and Dadakota, that receiver only broke open after the ball had been thrown. I was at the game. And Chris Simms is still the most underappreciated and underrated player in the history of sports.

You guys keep having your fun criticizing Simms... I am done. I have no desire to continue to argue a point that I know that none of you will ever change your opinion on.

 

Please tell me that you are being sarcastic. This is taking "homerism" to a new level. Forget the NC, you better hope Chrissy can beat KSU in Manhattan which I don't think he can.

Cat, I like you a lot and I know you are frustrated, but I just disturbed everyone at work by LOL at this post.