Simms: A Big Arm, But No Relation to Former Giant

The answer is "no."

Tyler Simms can tell at the moment of introduction that the question that he’s been asked all his life is coming: Are you related to Phil Simms, the former New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP?

“I’ve been getting that joke all my life,’’ Simms said. “We are both blond and are both quarterbacks, but as far as I know… no. I went and saw his son Chris play at Don Bosco when I was really young. And I’ve seen them [his sons] play a few times but I’ve never met any of them.’’

Because of the way Simms has played football this season, it is not a foolish question to ask. In his first full varsity season, Simms has passed for more than 2,000 yards and he is a major reason why is competing for a state title against Cranford. The two teams square off on Saturday morning on the Kean University turf in Union. A Vikings victory will give them their first football state title.

The question doesn’t embarrass Simms. The junior quarterback appreciates good quarterback play and he lists a number of NFL standouts as his favorites.

“I like to watch Tom Brady,’’ Simms said. “I love watching Aaron Rodgers this year. He’s obviously doing a great job. I like to watch Michael Vick and the other exciting guys, but I’m not that style of quarterback.

“The way Tom Brady controls the game is what I try and shoot for. He recognizes his talents, which I try and do. He has a great receiving corps. Anytime I can spread the ball around and not rely on one guy too much, it always helps.’’

Simms’ on-the-job improvement has been impressive considering he only had limited varsity experience going into the season. Last year he had two starts on the 2-8 team, with one of those games being the season-ending consolation game.

He is comfortable with the varsity team’s playbook because Parsippany’s Little Vikings youth football team uses many of the plays and concepts from the high school program. However, having the ability and the confidence to implement those skills on the high school level is another matter.

“I got acclimated to the offense a little bit last season. I studied and worked in the off-season so I could get a chance to play this year,’’ Simms said. “We’ve been running the same style of offense pretty much my whole life. So when I got in there I was comfortable right off the bat. I’m sure they put in some plays that would benefit me and my arm.’’

In all of those years he has always been the quarterback and he does feel comfortable being in charge of a team.

“Since flag football, I’ve been a quarterback,’’ Simms said. “I like just having the ball in my hands and knowing that if we are not playing well, I could do something about it. If the team is down or if it’s up, it doesn’t really matter. I know that I can control the game and I have an opportunity to change it.’’

Simms' best skills may not be his physical gifts, but his grasp of the mental part of the game.

“Tyler is a great kid,’’ Parsippany Hills head coach Dave Albano said. “He’s a student of the game, so he watches a ton of film with coaches. He’s got God-given ability and he works very hard at it. He’s getting better every week and he understands what we're doing. Part of it is the way he reads the field. We ask him to do a lot of different things as far as calling plays and reading defenses.’’

According to the coach, Simms' leadership abilities are tangible and his knowledge of the game has him doing things that some high school quarterbacks never learn.

“It’s those other things that he does on the line of scrimmage,’’ Albano said. “We even have him setting protections, which is something we’ve never done. We may call one protection and we may have to change it on the line of scrimmage. He’s able to see that and that’s huge.

“I don’t think West Morris (in a ) had a sack in the second half. In the first half they came at us pretty good. That’s a lot to do with him. Setting one back to where he sees the blitz coming or getting (the pass) off and beating the blitz. He can do that.’’

Overall, Simms has had a very productive year, but he acknowledges that he’s been given the tools to do so. He has an offensive line that gives him great protection. Although his receivers are not necessarily the quickest, they are great route runners, have sticky fingers and have the knack of knowing how to get open for him. The Vikings’ pass catchers have developed tremendous confidence in their quarterback.

“Tyler’s arm has always been great but I think he’s improved mentally in making his reads,’’ teammate Danny Hardwick said. “His reads have gotten a lot better and he keeps throwing great balls. He makes our job easier as receivers.

“We all believe that Tyler is a great quarterback. We believe in him 100 percent and we know that we can win a state championship with him.’’

With regards to the future, Simms is still early in his college recruitment but he is expected to have a tremendous upside regardless of Saturday’s result.

“He will [gain college attention] once the season ends and the junior recruiting starts,’’ Albano said. “He’s 6-foot-2 and he’s only going to get bigger. One of his brothers played for me. Kenny was a big kid and the dad is tall, so I think he will be 6-foot-4 also.

“Colleges are funny. They won’t look at one game either way. They want to see a body of work. He’s got to get stronger weight-room-wise, but he has all the other tools. He has a great feel for the game. He can read defenses. He can read coverages. He can do all the intangibles that are hard to teach a kid. I think his best football is still ahead of him.’’

Of course, the most important thing ahead of Simms for now is to give his high school an opportunity to earn its first state title. He has a firm belief that it is an attainable goal.

“At the beginning of the season it was kind of an unknown for me,’’ Simms said. “I didn’t know what kind of a year we were going to have, but now I know the offense, I know my receivers and I’m really comfortable in knowing that they are going to be in the right spots and I can hit them. I feel really comfortable going into this game.’’