Gutsy Performance...Literally!

Well, the Cowboys have a bye week. Scott is off pretending to be single and attractive. Me? I'm joining Mr. Patlan, our newest blogger, in taking up the cause of one of Horns' alumni and fans favorite scapegoats: Chris Simms.

Have you heard his story since he left Austin? Not so much the Susie everyone seemed to claim he was. First, NFL scouts were in love with the guy but what they believed was UT's failure to develop the guy (Greg Davis?) made them wary to draft him too high.

But fortune broke his way last season when Brian Griese, another son of NFL QB royalty, went down with an injury. Suddenly, we saw Mr. Simms leading his team on a late season push that placed them in the playoffs. Guts galore, Baby!

And this year, you could see hard times coming. You heard the talk of a struggling offensive line in Tampa Bay. If you cheer for the Dallas Cowboys, you noticed when the Bucs signed Tuna castoff Torrin Tucker. You remember thinking if he's not good enough for Dallas' line, then how bad are the Bucs.

And Simms has been horrible this year. Aaron Brooks-like in the box score. But so has Cadillac Williams, further documenting the O-Line woes. If you look at the games closely you know he's been running for his life. This week, as he starting to turn things around, that almost became too true.

The kid takes a pounding all game, struggling in the first half. Late in the half, however, he leads a touchdown drive to get the Bucs back in the game. Battles through the second half, slowly pecking away at Carolina's lead. Takes one of many hard hits throughout the game in the third quarter and gets up cramping. Has to leave the game.

Coaches and trainers think he has a rib contusion and maybe dehydration. He takes a bit of treatment but returns in the fourth quarter and leads his team on the go ahead drive in the final minutes. The Panthers would pierce the defense for one final field goal and a victory, but Simms had shown his toughness, in a greater way than anyone knew at the time.

Seems he didn't have a rib contusion and dehydration. It was internal bleeding resulting from a ruptured spleen. Had to be rushed to the hospital following the game for an emergency spleenectomy. Who knows when he will play again? But this know. This kid some of you like to ridicule is tough as nails.