Posts tagged ChrisSimms at FanHouse

You've got questions. I've got answers. If not, I'll make them up. Each Thursday, I answer your queries on all things related to the NFL. If you have a question, send it over to NFLMailbag@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and location. Click here for the archives. Rock'n'roll.

I don't understand. The Saints let fan favorite John Carney go because he was "losing his leg." With Martin Gramatica cut, Taylor Mehlhaff will be their third kicker in 21 games. Please explain the logic?
- Roy H., Jackson, MS

I have to admit: I've held a longtime grudge against Carney for botching the River City Relay, and was glad that he was let go before the 2007 season. But that turned out to be a colossal mistake. He's been 24-of-26 in various stops since leaving New Orleans, while Olindo Mare and Gramatica went a combined 21-of-32 as Saints. It's been so bad I was even hoping for the team to re-sign Carney with his release from the Giants looming. Alas, they went with their 2008 sixth-round pick, who lost his job in the summer to Gramatica. So I'm not sure how much confidence that inspires, but the Saints drafted Mehlhaff originally to solidify the kicking game for a long time, and he'll have another chance at that.

It may end up being nothing, but Titans coach Jeff Fisher may have put his foot in his mouth when he explained how the Titans re-signed Chris Simms on Monday.

As Fisher explained, Simms always knew that he would be re-signed on Monday. It was just a formality to waive him on Saturday (with him still being paid for the week), sign a backup punter and then reverse the move on Monday.

"We're keeping Chris around because he's important to us, not only for the immediate future but for the future," Coach Jeff Fisher said. "Chris totally understood the move, and we assured him we'd get him back under contract and we did."

The fact that the Titans had worked out a deal with Simms is no surprise--teams do things like it all the time. But by actually talking about it, Fisher has crossed a line. Dancing around the line of roster manipulation is one thing, but you don't admit it.

As a league source told Pro Football Talk:

"I'm not sure the league office is going to look very favorably upon that transaction and quote. It sure looks and sounds like a pre-existing agreement to manipulate the roster."

What may help Fisher out is that this is a very common deal, but we'll have to see if the NFL sends a fine the Titans way.

Vince Young's recovery from his knee injury apparently has gone pretty well. Just a couple of days after he returned to practice, Young will be the Titans backup quarterback this week when they face the Jaguars. And he better he ready, because Chris Simms, the only other quarterback on the roster, was waived today so that the team could pick up an insurance policy at punter.

Josh Miller was added to the roster because Craig Hentrich has had back spasms. Simms will likely return to the team next week, unless another team snaps him up because of their own quarterback issues. Because the Titans waited until Saturday to cut him, that's pretty unlikely.

Now that Young has the No. 2 QB job, it's hard to imagine that Simms will be anything better than third string the rest of the year. While Young has handled the demotion pretty well, it's hard to see how the Titans could drop him to third-string unless they pretty much announced that he would be cut in the offseason.

But while Young's now the backup, with starter Kerry Collins leading the Titans to a 4-0 start and Young's bad deicsion to threaten to quit on his team, it's hard to see him returning to starting this year unless Collins gets hurt.

Vince Young's recovery from his knee injury apparently has gone pretty well. Just a couple of days after he returned to practice, Young will be the Titans backup quarterback this week when they face the Jaguars. And he better he ready, because Chris Simms, the only other quarterback on the roster, was waived today so that the team could pick up an insurance policy at punter.

Josh Miller was added to the roster because Craig Hentrich has had back spasms. Simms will likely return to the team next week, unless another team snaps him up because of their own quarterback issues. Because the Titans waited until Saturday to cut him, that's pretty unlikely.

Now that Young has the No. 2 QB job, it's hard to imagine that Simms will be anything better than third string the rest of the year. While Young has handled the demotion pretty well, it's hard to see how the Titans could drop him to third-string unless they pretty much announced that he would be cut in the offseason.

But while Young's now the backup, with starter Kerry Collins leading the Titans to a 4-0 start and Young's bad deicsion to threaten to quit on his team, it's hard to see him returning to starting this year unless Collins gets hurt.

Chris Simms thought he was going to be a Patriot, but he found the door slammed in his face when he got up to Foxboro. Now he's found another landing spot.

Fox Sports.com and numerous other media outlets are reporting that Simms will sign a deal with the Titans, likely tomorrow to fill the need for a backup now that Vince Young is out for at least two, and likely at least four, weeks.

As one comes in, another heads out--practice squad quarterback Ingle Martin realized that if the Titans aren't going to add him to the active roster now, he's not likely to be added to the roster any time soon, so he bolted to join the Chiefs, who will be without their starter Brodie Croyle for a couple of weeks.

Simms hasn't taken a snap since rupturing his spleen in 2006, but he's fully recovered. In his one season of extensive action, he had more touchdowns than interceptions, which is something Young hasn't been able to do in his first two seasons.

By signing Simms, the Titans now have one of the deepest groups of quarterbacks in the league, but there's also an argument until Vince Young gets his act together, there really isn't much difference between the Titans No. 1 quarterback (Young) and the new No. 3 (Simms). Even if he never takes a snap this year, the Titans will also get a chance to take a good long look at him and decide if he can be the team's long-term backup if the team decides that 35-year-old Kerry Collins is getting too old.

While fans of tackle football in the northeastern section of our country are coping with the season ending injury to Tom Brady, the football staff of the Patriots still have a job to do. Apparently, they're preparing to do so -- or attempting to do so -- with two guys named Matt Cassel and Kevin O'Connell doing their best to fill in for No. 12. And that's the way it's going to stay. For now. We think. Maybe. Unless it doesn't.

Starting on Sunday night, just hours after Brady suffered his knee injury, reports began to surface that free agent quarterbacks Chris Simms and Tim Rattay would be making their way to New England for some workouts, and apparently, they did in fact travel to Foxborough. Only no workouts took place.

There were no physicals, no contracts signed or offered, and apparently Belichick didn't even talk to them. They were turned away with the message, "the situation has changed."

It certainly has changed. Your starting quarterback is now a guy that hasn't started a football game since before he went to his senior prom in High School.

After all of the initial reports, speculation and guess work from yesterday, the Patriots finally announced the news everyone was expecting to hear: Tom Brady's season is over after only 11 passes. The hopes and dreams for the Patriots, at least for the short term, now rest on the right arm of Matt Cassel, who hasn't started a football game since he was a senior in High School nine years ago.

The Patriots, as is usually the case, didn't give great details as to what type of injury the star quarterback suffered, but did offer the following statement:

"After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday's game, will require surgery. He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season."

The Patriots travel to the Meadowlands this Sunday for a huge divisional contest with the New York Jets, and have reportedly scheduled workouts with free agent quarterbacks Chris Simms and Tim Rattay.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

Here's Week 1 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Michael Turner, RB ATL (220 yards, 2 TDs): I guess this would be one way to introduce yourself as a starter. On a new coast that is as far from the initials "LDT" as possible, Turner ran all over a Detroit Lions defense that would have been out-hustled by a Madame Tussuad's exhibition. Breaking one for 66 yards, Turner looked like the second coming of the Dirty Bird in Atlanta.

LaMarr Woodley, OLB PIT (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception): I guess it would be fair to give this award to the entire Steelers defense, but the second-year man out of Michigan sure had a pretty salty line. A funny fact about Lamarr -- while at Michigan, T-shirts were sold that said, "Guns don't kill people, LaMarr Woodley kills people." The Houston Texans will testify to that.

Thanks to CBS Sportsline breaking the news that Tom Brady may or may not be out for the year, the Patriots have to think about finding somebody -- anybody -- to serve as Matt Cassel's backup. (I hear Drew Bledsoe's not doing anything).

According to Al Michaels during tonight's Sunday Night Football telecast, New England will workout Chris Simms, presumably tomorrow. What this means for Cassel's immediate future is uncertain, but after spending three years in this offense, I can't imagine he'd lose his job in a few weeks to a street free agent. Then again, we're talking about a guy who's been riding the pine ever since he left high school, so nothing's outside the realm of possibility.

No idea if the Patriots will have other quarterbacks in to compete for a roster spot, but, frankly, I'm shocked that Doug Flutie or Vinny Testaverde weren't first on Bill Belichick's "in case of emergency" list. They know the offense, are virtually indestructible, and Flutie can even drop-kick in a pinch.

Oh, and if you haven't heard, Peter King announced on "Football Night in America" that Tom Brady is the NFL. We must find a way to carry on, however; Tom would want it that way, I think.

There is one truth that I think can be held self-evident for all eternity: if your professional football team signed Joey Harrington, you are in for a really, really rough year.

Harrington has been a whipping boy and failure in both Detroit and Atlanta, the two biggest FAILs in professional football (or at least "arguably"). Now he joins the corps of crummy QBs that the Baltimore Ravens host.

Due to the current uncertainty with their quarterbacks, the Ravens brought in Harrington, Chris Simms (released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Todd Bouman (released by the Jaguars) for workouts Monday and decided to sign Harrington because he has the most recent playing experience.

Seriously? Harrington outperformed anyone? Didn't Bouman kind of ball last year for the Skins? (No. Of course he did not. I blame Joey --> signed --> flummoxed.) How can this even be real? I guess the only feasible explanation is that Harrington is similar to Mittens in that he can play "well" when there's little to no pressure, and thusly tricks teams into purchasing his services at quarterback. Or he flashes some upside or something and people get fooled.

UPDATE: Florio is saying that this report is false. I sincerely hope so. Because, well ... SCOOOOOOP.