Titans backup QB Chris Simms (above, left) was arrested in lower Manhattan early this morning and charged with driving under the influence of marijuana. In light of this not -quite-shocking development, Westword’s Michael Roberts recalls the former Longhorn’s brutal 2nd half performance for Denver against Washington last November 15 shortly after starter Kyle Orton twisted an ankle.
Simms looked as if he wasn’t sure what a football was, let alone how he should throw the damn thing. Even short outs proved to be beyond his current talents, at least on this day — and realizing this, the Redskins were able to overload the line of scrimmage and shut down the running game, which had shown some legitimate signs of life during the first two quarters.
Lapses from the D, which is returning to earth following an incredibly fast start, certainly didn’t help matters. But once again, they were left on the field too long, and Simms deserves the lion’s share of the blame. For a while, he seemed as if he was going to find a way to actually register a negative quarterback rating. No such luck: He wound up with a 7.5 — ineptitude on a cosmic level.
In light of today’s episode, Roberts reconsiders, “could he have been stoned? Doubt it. There’s no weed on the planet powerful enough to have made Simms play that badly.”