Tag: Chris Simms Unbuttoned

Chris Simms: Previewing NFC East, but down on the Commanders

It’s clear he grew up a Giants’ fan.

Chris Simms hardly said a word about the Washington Commanders.

This week on his “Chris Simms Unbuttoned” podcast, Sims gave a brief look ahead to the NFC East for this season.

In doing so, it was quite noticeable that he barely mentioned the Commanders. When co-host Ahmed Fareed mentioned the Draft Kings over/under win totals were the Giants and Commanders at 6.5 and that the Commanders were predicted ahead of the Giants (+800 to +1200), Simms replied, “I’m a little surprised by that. I mean, what do the Commanders got that they are plus 400 better than the Giants? That’s a little shocking to me.”

And that is it, Simms did not mention the Commanders again, choosing to discuss briefly, the other three division rivals.

Simms is high on the Eagles, stating they will be better than the 2023 team and “I think they are a team that has a real chip this offseason. Siriani is having minicamp for the first time ever as a head coach. That tells you where they are.”

“Work needs to be done; we got to get better. They are not going to rest on their roster being the best in football…I would put Philly in a class by itself in the NFC East.”

“A fringe playoff team is kinda how I (about the Cowboys).”

Simms, whose dad, Phil, was a longtime starting quarterback for the Giants, still loves his Giants. “The Giants are the team that I would, if you wanted a long shot bet in that division, the Giants would be the team I would take.”

Simms then stated he feels many will later see the Giants as a little scary at receiver. He named four receivers he thinks will shine for the NYG this season: Malik Nabers, Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton.

Both Simms and Fareed agreed that the Giants wide receiver group is going to be better than the Cowboys group. “Who is going to be the third receiver for the Cowboys? We don’t know that.” Simms stated he feels both offensive tackle spots for the Cowboys will be question marks this season.

The preview was brief, and what was unmistakable is that Simms sees the Eagles first and the Commanders as last. And he sees the Cowboys and Giants fighting it out for second place.

Chris Simms: ‘Commanders not in command yet’

“Sam Howell looks like he belongs.”

The Commanders were not yet in command.

That is how Chris Simms host of Chris Simms’ “Unbuttoned” podcast on NFL on NBC summed up the Commanders performance in Week 1.

“Sam Howell did some good things. He made a few young quarterback mistakes. Some sacks, misses a throw. A lot of people are saying it was Heinicke-esque. It’s a little of that. But this guy has more talent than Heinicke. ”

“He had the fumble, had the interception.” Simms felt Howell tried to put extra juice on the pass and it got away from Sam and was intercepted by Zaven Collins. (I thought it was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Will need to go back and watch the replay).

Simms also pointed to the Antonio Gibson fumble ending a nice drive. Yes, Washington had gained 59 yards, and that was a killer fumble.

“Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals coach) should be proud. His defense did some good things. Washington didn’t run the ball well, the Cardinals got pressure on Howell, and there were not a lot of big pass plays.”

Simms pointed to safety Kam Curl and defensive end Montez Sweat, who both made several plays on the day.

“Sam Howell looks like he belongs; he really does. Their offensive line, I think, is going to be better this year. Even though it was not their best showing here.”

The comparison was also made that Howell is a bit like Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“I don’t think we can expect the Cardinals to win a ton of football games, I don’t,” said Simms. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I think it was encouraging that they hung around today created some chaos on the defensive side of the ball.”

Washington’s offense will need to prevent defensive chaos next Sunday when they are the road team at Denver. They will also probably need to win the turnover battle, which they lost 3-2 to the Cardinals Sunday.