Tramel's ScissorTales: Roy Williams, Chris Simms duel again 21 years after Superman play
Chris Simms walked up to Roy Williams during pregame warmups of a 2003 match between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.
“Chris literally came up to me,” said Williams, the iconic OU football hero, “and said, ‘You hurt my draft status.’ I damn near cussed him out.”
Simms and Williams will be forever linked.
The blitzing Williams flying through the air with two minutes left in the fourth quarter of the 2001 OU-Texas game, clubbing Simms and causing the ball to float into the air, where Sooner linebacker Teddy Lehman caught it for a defensive touchdown. OU then finished off a 14-3 victory over the Longhorns.
And that’s what Simms meant, after he fell to the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
Williams message to Simms: “‘You hurt your own draft status, because you couldn’t win big games.’ I found that funny.”
Williams and Simms still are dueling.
Simms tweeted out criticism of TCU making the playoff. And Williams used his College Football Hall of Fame interview Monday to take umbrage. Even staged a mini-twitter war with Simms.
Simms: “TCU in the CFP? The Big 12 sucks, and I played in the Big 12. I know what the résumés are, but the middle class of the SEC would win the Big 12.”
Williams: “Get that hate out your heart. TCU football did there (their) thing this year. Bashing a conference you didn’t do ish (****) in.”
Simms: “Conference was way better back in our day. All you have to do is look at nfl draft and see big twelve is not that talented. I did lead the big twelve in passer rating three straight years too. I also did not eat myself out of the nfl!!”
Williams: “The guy that said I hurt his draft stock because of the Superman play. Also the League didn’t want a player like me hurting other players any longer they force me out. The NFL made rules because of me. Stripping me from the way I played. I left on my own.”
Lots to unpack there.
Simms’ opinions on the Big 12 have some merit. The Big 12 is a far cry from its status of 20 years ago. The NFL talent in the Big 12 has been diminished.
Of course, Simms is nonsensical that the middle class of the Southeastern Conference would win the Big 12. Let’s see. This year, that would be Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky. Sorry, those teams aren’t beating TCU or Kansas State. It was all Alabama could do to beat Simms’ own Longhorns 20-19 back in September.
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As for Simms’ assertion that he led the Big 12 in passer rating for three years? Uh, no. In 2000, OU’s Josh Heupel and Texas’ Major Applewhite ranked 1-2. Simms didn’t play enough to qualify, though his rating of 144.3 was higher than Heupel’s. But in 2001, Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury was tops in the Big 12, followed by Simms. And in 2002, Simms led.
So he led the league once, and if you want to suspend eligibility rules, you could say twice.
And Simms took a potshot at Williams, saying he ate himself out of the NFL.
Here’s the lowdown on Williams’ pro football career. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2002 draft, Williams played seven years with the Cowboys and two with the Bengals. He was a great player. A 2003 all-pro selection and a five-time Pro Bowler.
Williams played in the NFL the way he played with the Sooners – with rampant physicality. A safety who played near the line of scrimmage, like a linebacker, Williams roughed up would-be receivers as they tried to get off the line.
Some have labeled Williams as a dirty player, claiming the horse-collar tackle was outlawed because of Williams. Maybe so, but it was legal when he used it. Soon enough, the rules changed that forbid defensive backs from much contact more than five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and Williams’ effectiveness waned.
He retired in 2011 but still had contract offers.
Williams wins any war of words with Simms, who now is an NFL analyst for NBC. Williams will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, he had the better NFL career, and of course, the Sooners got the better of Simms’ Longhorns when they played.
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Whoa @CSimmsQB the guy that said I hurt his draft stock because of the Superman play. Also the League didn’t want a player like me hurting other players any longer they force me out. The NFL made rules because of me. Stripping me from the way I played. I left on my own. 👍🏾 https://t.co/HbcJDpQPwR
— Roy Williams (@roywilliams31) December 6, 2022
And Williams was asked Monday about Simms and the OU-Texas play that drew Williams the nickname “Superman.”
“He said that TCU didn’t deserve to be in the CFP,” Williams said. “He said an SEC school should have been in. I kind of went at him, but I told him, you need to get the hate out of your heart.
“TCU, they had a phenomenal season. Basically, you bashing a conference that you didn’t do s*** in, how can you do that? But whatever. Chris, TCU deserves to be in. Just because y’all didn’t win anything when you were there, don’t hate.”
Before the Simms detour, Williams seemed quite emotional at the Hall of Fame honor.
“It honestly hasn’t even hit me that I’m in the Hall,” Williams said. “I’m still taken aback. I’m going to wait for Ashton Kutcher to come out and say ‘you’re punk’d or something.”
Williams said he didn’t play to win awards.
“I just wanted to hit people and laugh,” Williams said. “I guess it paid off for me. This is such an honor and blessing.”
An honor and blessing that came in part because a certain play made Williams famous, and Simms still is learning that you don’t pull on Superman’s cape.
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Mailbag: TCU aggression
Football fans always are thinking. Lost in the TCU-Kansas State classic Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday was an end-of-regulation decision by the Horned Frogs.
Brett: “There seems to be a wide variety of coaches skill in clock management at the end of the halves. Most NFL coaches, but not all, are pretty good, and college coaches seem to be worse overall. For instance, in the Big 12 title game, TCU gets pinned very deep in (its) own territory at the end of the second half. They have over 30 seconds and all three timeouts left. In the NFL, that is an eternity. In college with the clock stopping on a first down, it is even more time. TCU took and knee and went to OT and lost the game. They had Duggan, who is a bona fide star at QB. I think I would have trusted him to try to get in field-goal range and not have a turnover. KSU would have likely come out in a prevent defense, so getting to midfield would have been fairly easy with two mid-range passes or quarterback runs. The timeouts means the run and throwing to the middle of the field is on the table. The way the rules favor the offense, they should be more aggressive in my opinion. I don’t know what the analytics say, do you? What are your thoughts?”
Tramel: I have no idea what the analytics say, but my opinion is, TCU made the right decision.
The Horned Frogs were on their 6-yard line. That’s a lot different than their 20. It would have taken three 15-yard plays to reach midfield, plus another to reach field-goal range, plus another five yards or so to be confident in making the kick.
Duggan was exhausted. He literally was out of gas. The three-minute break before the overtime revived him, but he was spent in regulation.
One reason Duggan ran so much was K-State had a good pass rush most of the day. You don’t want a worn-out Duggan fleeing for his life from the 6-yard line. I think Dykes did the right thing. I dare say 98 percent of coaches would have done what Dykes did.
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Heisman finalists: Where is Hendon Hooker?
The Heisman Trophy finalists have been set: quarterbacks Caleb Williams of Southern Cal, Max Duggan of TCU, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State and Stetson Bennett of Georgia.
Like the Sesame Street sang so long ago, one of these things, isn’t like the other; one of these things, just isn’t the same.
Bennett is a national-championship quarterback and apparently an excellent leader. But if he’s one of the four best players on the Georgia squad, I’d be surprised.
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker clearly should have been a finalist in Bennett’s stead, and the inclusion of Bennett shows the voting problems of the Heisman.
Too many voters; 928 to be exact – 870 media, 57 former Heisman winners and one fan vote, granted by Nissan’s sponsorship.
Here’s where I get off my high horse and don’t blame anyone but us media.
The Heisman has morphed over the years into the best player on the best team, namely a quarterback on a national title contender. Lots of candidates in that regard, and OU has been the receiver of such status. Jason White, Sam Bradford, nearly Josh Heupel.
I last voted for the Heisman 30something years ago. I thought the process was flawed then; I think it moreso now.
The larger the electorate, the sillier the result. That’s how we get some of the political candidates we get.
The masses start voting collectively, without any deep or serious thought. Georgia is great, Georgia won last year, Bennett is the quarterback, so vote for Bennett, rather than Hooker, who was far more productive and far more impactful on this college football season.
Hooker suffered a major knee injury on November 19 against South Carolina, and his season is over. Out of sight, out of feeble mind.
In the old days, the Heisman often went to a tailback. These days, it almost always goes to a quarterback. Defenders don’t have much of a chance, Michigan’s Charles Woodson a notable exception in 1997.
The Heisman is a hype award, which I guess is fine. That’s what much of college football is about.
And Bennett is not going to win the Heisman. He’s a clear fourth. But man, who could have voted for Bennett and then legitimately offered his name when asked who is the best player in college football?
Nobody, that’s who.
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The List: Thunder rookie seasons
The Thunder beat the Hawks 121-114 Monday night, and rookies Santa Clara Williams and Ousmane Dieng were a major part of the victory.
Santa Clara had 12 points and seven rebounds, making six of 10 shots. He’s the reigning Western Conference player of the month, for November.
Dieng had 15 points and five rebounds, making six of eight shots, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Their performance got me to thinking. What are the best rookie seasons in Thunder (not including the Seattle SuperSonics) history? I used PER (player efficiency rating, a per-minute production metric) and set a minimum of 36 games (just to get Luguentz Dort involved).
Here’s how they rank, and so you know, Santa Clara’s current PER is 12.6 and Dieng’s is 9.7.
1. Serge Ibaka, 2009-10, 15.2: What a player. As a 20-year-old rookie, Ibaka averaged 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots and 18 minutes per game. Soon enough, he was a starter and a foundational Thunder.
1. Russell Westbrook, 2008-09, 15.2: The early rendition of the wild mustang, averaging 15.3 points a game and shooting less than 40 percent, but oh man, what potential, that soon enough was realized.
3. James Harden, 2009-10, 14.0: Hard to remember that Westbrook as a rookie was more impressive than Harden as a rookie. But Westbrook as a rookie played about 10 minutes more per game (32.5) than did Harden as a rookie.
4. Josh Giddey, 2021-22, 13.3: Don’t discount Giddey's rookie year. Almost as good as Harden’s.
5. Cameron Payne, 2015-16, 12.9: Who saw this coming? Payne was a valuable backup point guard as a rookie, but his playing time decreased deeper into the season and he sometimes didn’t even play in the playoffs.
6. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, 2021-22, 11.7: Whoa. JRE’s rookie season a year ago wasn’t outlandish – 7.5 points a game, .352 3-point shooting percentage, 22.2 minutes a game – but it was solid.
7. Steven Adams, 2013-14, 11.2: Stone Cold’s rookie year wasn’t impactful until late. He made 20 starts and averaged 14.8 minutes per game.
8. Aaron Wiggins, 2021-22, 10.3: Earned a lot of trust from Mark Daigneault over 50 games – 35 starts, 24.2 minutes a game and 8.3 points per game.
9. Tre Mann, 2021-22, 10.2: 10.4 points per game last season. Westbrook, Giddey and Theo Maledon are the only Thunder rookies ever to average double-digit scoring.
9. Kyle Weaver, 2008-09, 10.2: Long forgotten, but a rotational player that first year in OKC. Weaver made 19 starts and averaged 20.8 minutes and 5.3 points.
11. Alex Abrines, 2016-17, 10.1: Abrines’ best of three Thunder seasons was his rookie year, when he averaged 15.5 minutes and 6.0 points a game.
11. Hamidou Diallo, 2018-19, 10.1: Didn’t play much – 10.3 minutes per game – but showed some promise.
13. Darius Bazley, 2019-20, 9.6: Averaged 18.5 minutes a game and scored just 5.6 points a game but made nine starts.
14. Reggie Jackson, 2012-13, 9.2: Sort of a rough rookie year, 11.1 minutes and 3.1 points per game, then was forced into action as a starter when Westbrook was injured in the playoffs. Then became quite the player.
15. Andre Roberson, 2013-14, 9.0: Never much of an offensive threat but showed some defensive chops, even as a rookie.
16. Theo Maledon, 2020-21, 8.2: Not real productive, despite averaging 10.1 points a game. Maledon led OKC in minutes played.
17. Luguentz Dort, 2019-20, 7.6: Was in the G League to start his rookie season, but his playing time consistently went up. Dort ended up starting the final six games of the Houston playoff series and scored 30 points in Game 7.
18. Terrance Ferguson, 2017-18, 7.4: Played in 61 games, even started 12, but didn’t do much.
19. Domantas Sabonis, 2016-17, 6.9: Made 66 starts and played 20.1 minutes a game, but shot just .399 from the field and averaged only 5.9 points a game. But you could tell he was something special.
20. Aleksej Pokusevski, 2020-21, 6.1: A terrible rookie year – 34.1 percent shooting, 2.2 turnovers per game – but the Thunder stuck with him.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Roy Williams, Chris Simms dueling ages after Superman play in OU-Texas
