Phil Simms has a warning for the quarterbacks christened to open their rookie seasons in the starting lineup: Preseason football is not the real thing. A different game looms. Surely, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, who sizzled in camps and exhibitions, have heard all about the faster, more complex tests that will come in the regular season.
Soon, they will see this for themselves. “Better people chasing you. More disciplined people keeping your butt in the pocket.
Every aspect of the game is truly different,” Simms, the onetime Super Bowl MVP and longtime analyst, told USA TODAY Sports. “And they’re going to gameplan the hell out of you.” Maybe that’s why Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton added some colorful perspective as he named Nix the starter on Wednesday .
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more. “We didn’t have cake and candles,” Payton quipped. Nix, who beat out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, was the last of the first-round quarterbacks taken in a record-setting draft marked by the selection of six passers in the first 12 picks.
Of all the rookies, Simms maintains that Nix had the toughest trek to the lineup. “What Sean does with quarterbacks, it’s rough,” said Simms, the former New York Giants quarterback who co-hosts a podcast with his son, Matt, “Simms Complete,” that is distributed on YouTube. “The calling of the play, all the things that he wants you to do to get to the right play.
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