Editing Phil Simms (section)

==Professional career==
===NFL draft===
Before the [[1979 NFL draft]], new [[1979 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] head coach [[Bill Walsh (American football coach)|Bill Walsh]] flew to Morehead State with assistant coach [[Sam Wyche]] to work out Simms.<ref>Simms and Meier. pp. 74–75.</ref> Walsh was so impressed that he planned to draft Simms in the third round, preferring him over the quarterback they ultimately took, [[Joe Montana]] of [[1978 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]].<ref name="Sports Illustrated">King, Peter. {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130102145526/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1023438/index.htm "The Rating Game: Nfl Quarterback"]}}, ''Sports Illustrated'', Volume 95, issue 8, August 27, 2001, p. 60. {{ISSN|0038-822X}}</ref> But the [[1979 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] decided to make Simms their [[1979 NFL draft#Round one|first round]] pick (seventh overall) to the surprise of many.<ref name="Simms">Katz, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/05/archives/giants-defend-value-in-choice-of-simms-perkins-optimistic-giants.html Giants Defend 'Value' in Choice of Simms; Perkins Optimistic Giants Selections], ''The New York Times'', May 5, 1979. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref> As Simms acknowledged, "most people have never heard of me."<ref name="Simms"/> When Simms's name was announced by Commissioner [[Pete Rozelle]] in front of the audience at the draft in New York, his selection was booed loudly by the Giants fans in attendance.<ref name=beefupbf>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AOkRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6902%2C1670873 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Ohio State linebacker goes to beef up Buffalo |date=May 4, 1979 |page=49}}</ref><ref>Mooney, Roger. [http://www.bradenton.com/234/story/29444.html No team takes Phil Simms first in today's NFL]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Bradenton Herald]]'', April 22, 2007, accessed May 10, 2007.</ref> He was the second quarterback taken; [[Jack Thompson (American football)|Jack Thompson]] of [[1978 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]] went to [[1979 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati]] with the third overall pick. Simms was not then happy being a Giant either, "All I was thinking was which teams I would rather play for—the [[1979 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]], the [[1979 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]], [[1979 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego]], San Francisco..."<ref>Whittingham. pg. 41</ref> But he became popular with his teammates, who jokingly dubbed him "[[Prince Valiant]]" in his rookie training camp.<ref>Katz, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/11/archives/giants-test-simms-in-a-workout-pisarcik-overweight.html Giants Test Simms in A Workout; Pisarcik Overweight], ''The New York Times'', May 11, 1979. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref>

===Rookie year===
Simms won the first five starts of his rookie year in [[1979 New York Giants season|1979]];<ref name="Rovell">{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1915377 | title=Roethlisberger in demand | last=Rovell | first=Darren | date=November 3, 2004 | work=ESPN.com | access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> finishing with a 6–4 record, threw for 1,743&nbsp;yards and 13 touchdown passes, and was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. p. 660</ref> He was runner-up for [[NFL Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]], behind future teammate [[Ottis Anderson]].<ref>Pervin. p. 104</ref>

===Early career: 1980–1986===
Simms' next four years were marred by injuries and inconsistent play. He finished the [[1980 NFL season|1980 season]] with 15 touchdowns and 19 [[interception]]s, while completing a subpar 48.0% of his passes for 2,321 yards.<ref name="dbf"/> In 1981, Simms threw for 2,031 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions on 54.4% [[completion percentage]]<ref name="dbf"/> before suffering a separated shoulder in a November 15 loss to the [[Washington Redskins]].<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 724</ref> With Simms out, the Giants went on a run led by [[Scott Brunner]] and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Simms suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game against the [[New York Jets]], preventing him from playing the entire [[1982 NFL season|1982 season]].<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 744</ref> Following the season, [[Ray Perkins]] resigned as head coach to take over the same position at the [[University of Alabama]], and was replaced by the team's [[defensive coordinator]] [[Bill Parcells]]. In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Simms.

One of Parcells' first decisions as coach was to replace Simms as the starting quarterback with Brunner.<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 766</ref> Simms asked to be traded after the benching, but his request was ignored.<ref name="Po29"/> During the sixth game of the Giants' [[1983 NFL season|1983 Season]], Simms came in to replace the struggling Brunner against the [[Philadelphia Eagles]]. On his third drive, Simms suffered a season-ending injury when the thumb on his throwing hand hit a player's helmet on his follow-through. The injury was reported as a dislocation, but according to the book, ''Simms to McConkey'', written by [[Phil McConkey]], Simms, and [[Dick Schaap]], the injury was much more severe, with the thumb literally hanging off after impact, and the bone sticking out through the skin.<ref>McConkey, Simms, and Schaap. pg. 81</ref>

During his first few years on the team, Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms, who they felt was a disappointment. He commented that his wife "had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me."<ref name="Po29"/> However, in 1984, after many seasons plagued by injuries and up-and-down play, Simms finally emerged as a team offensive leader. During his 1983 injury, [[offensive coordinator]] [[Ron Erhardt]] talked Simms into watching more game film, something he had not regularly done in college or the pros. He gained a better understanding of NFL defenses, his team's formations, and pass protection schemes, and improved his ability to [[Audible (American football)|audible]] at the line of scrimmage. He also changed his strength training regimen in an attempt to make his body more resistant to injury.<ref>Pervin. pg. 105</ref> He passed for 4,044 yards (second most in the [[National Football Conference]] (NFC)), 22 touchdown passes, and led the Giants to a playoff berth.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/1984.htm 1984 New York Giants], football-reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.</ref>

He was voted to the Pro Bowl and named Pro Bowl MVP<ref name="dbf"/> as he led the NFC to a comeback win over the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) by throwing three touchdowns. In 1985, he passed for 3,829 yards, 22 touchdowns,<ref name="dbf"/> and led the Giants to 10 victories, the most for a Giants team since [[1963 NFL season|1963]].<ref name="NYG">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070409232314/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teampage.htm?tm=NYG&lg=nfl New York Giants (1925 - )]}}, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> In a game against the [[Cincinnati Bengals]] during the [[1985 NFL season|1985 season]], Simms passed for 513 yards—the fifth most passing yards in a single game in NFL history.<ref name="NFL All-Time Passing Yards Leaders, Game">Weir, Tom. [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/games/2006-11-19-bengals-saints_x.htm Palmer, Johnson have Saints singing the blues], [[USA Today|usatoday.com]], November 20, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.</ref> In 1986, he passed for 3,487 yards and 21 touchdown passes during [[1986 New York Giants season|a season in which the Giants won 14 games]]. In week 11, he completed a desperate fourth-and-17 pass to Bobby Johnson late in the game to set up [[Raul Allegre]]'s game-winning field goal, which gave the Giants a 22–20 victory over the [[Minnesota Vikings]].<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, Dave. [https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F50716F6345E0C748DDDA80994DE484D81 Sports Of The Times; Phil Simms's Biggest Pass], ''The New York Times'', November 17, 1986. Retrieved March 20, 2007.</ref> Simms later commented:<ref>Schwartz. pg. 161</ref>

{{blockquote|It's my favorite game in my career, because it's everything I always wanted to be as a player. I wanted to be tough, making big throws, immune to pressure, not worried about outcomes. It was truly like standing on the tee box in golf and there's trees on each side and water and you just go 'Man, I'm gonna rip it down the middle.' And no other thought crosses your mind.}}
[[File:President Ronald Reagan with New York Giants football team.jpg|thumb|Simms at the White House following the Giants [[Super Bowl XXI]] victory.]]
On January 25, 1987, the Giants faced the [[1986 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] in [[Super Bowl XXI]]. In the biggest game of his life, Simms had one of the finest performances in Super Bowl history.<ref name="Phil Simms' Record Setting Performance">[http://www.superbowl.com/history/mvps/game/sbxxi Super Bowl MVPs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111175546/http://www.superbowl.com/history/mvps/game/sbxxi |date=November 11, 2006 }}, Super Bowl.com. Retrieved January 6, 2007.</ref> He completed 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards, setting Super Bowl records for consecutive completions (10),<ref name="Super Bowl XXI"/> accuracy (88%),<ref name="Super Bowl XXI">[http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbxxi Super Bowl Recaps: Super Bowl XXI] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502165109/http://www.superbowl.com/history/recaps/game/sbxxi |date=May 2, 2007 }}, Super Bowl.com. Retrieved January 3, 2007.</ref> and [[passer rating]] (150.9).<ref name="SB record">[http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.preview&storyId=SBD2007020129 THE DAILY Goes One-on-One With Super Bowl Analyst Phil Simms], sportsbusinessdaily.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> In addition, he threw 3 touchdown passes and his passer rating set an NFL postseason record.<ref name="SB record"/> "This might be the best game a quarterback has ever played", Giants coach [[Bill Parcells]] later said.<ref name="ESPN.com">[https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/superbowl/performances.html The List: Best Super Bowl performances], espn.com. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> Two of the most famous plays from the game were the [[Flea flicker (American football)|flea flicker]] to McConkey, and the touchdown pass caught by McConkey off of the fingertips of Giants [[tight end]], [[Mark Bavaro]].<ref>Anderson, Dave. [https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F40713FB39550C758EDDA80894DF484D81 SUPER BOWL XXI: SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Sinatra, Simms and Minelli ], ''The New York Times'', January 26, 1987, accessed May 10, 2007.</ref> The Giants defeated the Broncos 39–20, and Simms was named [[Most Valuable Player|MVP]] of Super Bowl XXI. He is credited for being the first to use the phrase "[[I'm going to Disney World!]]" following a championship victory.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foote |first=Dustin |date=February 5, 2021 |title=The first player to say "I'm going to Disney World" after winning the Super Bowl wasn't the only one paid to do so that day |url=https://deadspin.com/the-first-player-to-say-i-m-going-to-disney-world-aft-1846205410/ |website=www.deadspin.com |access-date=October 4, 2024}}</ref>

===Later career: 1987–1993===
Simms performed well in the strike-shortened [[1987 NFL season]], finishing with the second highest [[quarterback rating]] in the NFC.<ref name="The Football Database">[http://www.footballdb.com/stats.html?yr=1987&lg=NFL&conf=&mode=P 1987 NFL Statistic – Passing], footballdb.com. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> He threw for 2,230 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.<ref name="dbf"/> He passed for 3,359 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while completing 54.9% of his passes in the [[1988 New York Giants season|1988 season]].<ref name="dbf"/> The Giants rebounded from a 6–9 record in 1987 to finish 10–6<ref name="NYG"/> but fell just short of the playoffs due to the NFL [[NFL playoffs#Current playoff system|tie-breaker system]]. In [[1989 New York Giants season|1989]], the Giants started 8–1 and finished 12–4, Simms passed for 3,061 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions on 56.3% completion percentage.<ref name="dbf"/> He performed consistently most of the season except for a two-game stretch against the [[1989 Philadelphia Eagles season|Eagles]] and [[1989 San Francisco 49ers season|49ers]] where he produced seven [[Turnover (football)|turnovers]], six of which resulted in points for the opposition.<ref>Neft, Cohen, and Korch. p. 894</ref> He also struggled in the Giants' playoff game against the [[1989 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]], and the Giants lost 19–13. In [[1990 New York Giants season|1990]], Simms was having one of his finest seasons, leading the NFC with the highest [[quarterback rating]] (92.7)<ref name="The Football Database2">[http://www.footballdb.com/stats.html?yr=1990&lg=NFL 1990 NFL Statistic – Passing], footballdb.com. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> and the Giants to an 11–3 record, but his season was cut short due to a broken foot suffered in the Week 15 game against the Giants' eventual [[Super Bowl XXV]] opponent, the [[1990 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]]. The Giants defeated the Bills 20–19 in the Super Bowl with [[Jeff Hostetler]] filling in at quarterback.

After the Giants' Super Bowl victory, Parcells resigned and was replaced by the team's running backs coach, [[Ray Handley]].<ref name="Handley">Neft, Cohen, and Korch. p. 936</ref> One of Handley's first decisions was to select Hostetler as the team's starting quarterback following his performance in Super Bowl XXV.<ref name="Handley"/> Simms saw only spot action in two games prior to Week 13, when Hostetler broke his back in a game against the [[1991 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]. Simms finished the game and reclaimed the starting job, but won only once in his remaining four starts as the Giants failed to return to the playoffs at 8–8.

Simms was named the starter for the [[1992 New York Giants season|1992 season]] after beating out Hostetler for the job in preseason. Simms suffered a severe arm injury in a Week 4 loss to the [[1992 Los Angeles Raiders season|Los Angeles Raiders]] and missed the remainder of the season. Between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, he amassed a combined 1,905 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions while completing 59.3% of his passes.<ref name="dbf"/> The Giants finished the 1992 season at 6–10, which led to Handley's firing and the hiring of former Denver Broncos coach [[Dan Reeves]]. As part of an overall house cleaning, Reeves released Hostetler and named Simms his starting quarterback.<ref>{{cite news | last=Smith | first=Timothy W. | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/16/sports/football-giants-tell-simms-that-he-s-the-boss.html | title=FOOTBALL; Giants Tell Simms That He's The Boss | work=The New York Times | date=June 16, 1993 | access-date=March 22, 2007}}</ref> Simms started all 16 games in 1993, being one of only seven quarterbacks to do so, and led the Giants to a resurgent [[1993 New York Giants season|11–5 season]] including a victory over the [[1993 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]] in the playoffs.<ref name="1993NYG">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081228004722/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=NYG&lg=nfl&yr=1993 1993 New York Giants]}}, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> He underwent shoulder surgery after the [[1993 NFL season]] to repair a [[Glenoid labrum|torn labrum]]. The surgery was successful, and team doctor Russell F. Warren's prognosis for recovery was excellent, and Simms was expected to be ready in time for training camp.<ref name="The New York Times Online Archives">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E1DC123AF931A35750C0A962958260 PRO FOOTBALL; Simms's Surgery Goes Well], ''The New York Times'', March 2, 1994. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> However, later during that offseason, Simms was released by the Giants, and subsequently decided to retire. Upon his release, co-owner [[Wellington Mara]] called it "a day of overwhelming sadness.".<ref>Pervin. p. 107</ref> In an interview in the 2024 documentary "The Duke: The Giant Life of Wellington Mara", Simms recalled that Mara didn't agree with the decision to let him go and was willing to make changes to the front office to ensure Simms stayed, but Simms declined saying it would just make it worse.

Simms considered playing for the [[Arizona Cardinals|Cardinals]] in 1994 and the [[Cleveland Browns|Browns]] in 1995, but eventually decided to stay retired.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Timothy W.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/03/sports/pro-football-deal-with-browns-simms-passes-for-now.html|title=Deal With Browns? Simms Passes, for Now|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 3, 1995|access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/27/sports/pro-football-cardinals-and-simms-call-things-off.html|title = PRO FOOTBALL; Cardinals and Simms Call Things off|newspaper = The New York Times|date = September 27, 1994|last = Smith|first = Timothy W.}}</ref>

In his 14 seasons with the Giants, Simms completed 2,576 out of 4,647 passes for 33,462 yards and 199 touchdowns.<ref name="dbf">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070527002259/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SIMMSPHI01 Phil Simms]}}, databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> His career passing yardage total ranked him at 11th in NFL history at the time of his retirement.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/pass_yds_career_1993.htm | title=NFL Career Passing Yards Leaders Through 1993 | website=Pro-Football-Reference.com | access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> He added 349 carries for 1,252 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground.<ref name="dbf"/> He set team records for most passes completed and attempted in one game (40 and 62, respectively), season (286, 533), and career (2,576, 4,647), most career touchdown passes (199) and most 300-yard games in a career (21).<ref>[http://www.nfl.com/writers/simms Phil Simms] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506133515/http://www.nfl.com/writers/simms |date=May 6, 2007 }}, [[NFL.com]], accessed May 9, 2007.</ref> Simms still owns some of the New York Giants passing records, although [[Eli Manning]] has surpassed most of them: season passes (387 completed, 618 attempted), career completed passes (4,895), career touchdowns (366), career 300-yard games (53).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyg/career-passing.htm | title=New York Giants Career Passing Leaders | website=Pro-Football-Reference.com | access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.footballdb.com/players/eli-manning-manniel01/300-yard-passing-games | title=Eli Manning 300-Yard Passing Games | website=FootballDB.com | access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' considered Simms to be the "Most Underrated Quarterback" in NFL history in their August 27, 2001, issue entitled, "The Most Overrated and Underrated".<ref name="Sports Illustrated"/>