Phil Simms Phillip Martin " Phil " Simms ( born November 3 , 1954 ) is a retired American football quarterback who spent his entire 14 - year career playing for the New York Giants of the NFL . He is currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network . After a standout career at Morehead State University , Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League ( NFL ) with the number seven selection overall in the 1979 NFL Draft . Simms played his entire professional career with the Giants and was named Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) of Super Bowl XXI , after he led the Giants to a 39 – 20 victory over the Denver Broncos and set the record for highest completion percentage in a super bowl , going 22 for 25 . He also was named to the Pro Bowl for his performances in the 1985 and 1993 seasons . He finished his career with 33 , 462 passing yards and has since gone on to a career broadcaster of NFL games — first as an analyst for ESPN , then as a in - game color commentator with NBC , and currently with CBS . He is the father of former NFL quarterback and current New England Patriots assistant coach Chris Simms and New York Jets quarterback Matt Simms . Early life and rookie season . Simms was born in Springfield , Kentucky on his grandfather ' s farm , a place now called Maple Hill Manor in Washington County , Kentucky where he attended St . Dominic ' s Elementary . While an elementary school student his family moved and Simms grew up in Louisville , Kentucky . He attended Southern High School in Louisville and was quarterback of the Southern Trojans , graduating in 1974 . Simms chose to attend Morehead State University in nearby Morehead , Kentucky . The team featured a ball control offense , and Simms ' numbers at Morehead State were unspectacular — in his senior season he completed 92 of 173 passes for a 53 . 2 % completion percentage and totalled 6 touchdown passes , 11 interception s , and 1 , 229 yards . The team also finished with a paltry 2 – 6 – 1 record in his senior season and failed to make a bowl game during Simms ' four years . Simms finished his career at Morehead State with 409 completions in 835 attempts for a 48 . 9 % completion percentage . He also totalled 32 touchdowns , 45 interceptions , and a school - record 5 , 545 yards . Before the 1979 NFL Draft , Bill Walsh , who was the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers , flew to Morehead State with Assistant Coach Sam Wyche to work out Simms . Walsh was so impressed with him that he planned to draft Simms in the third round , actually preferring him over another young quarterback they scouted and ultimately drafted , Joe Montana . But the New York Giants decided to make Simms their first round pick to the surprise of many . As Simms acknowledged , " most people have never heard of me . " When Simms ' s name was announced by Commissioner Pete Rozelle in front of the audience at the draft ( which was held in New York ) , his selection was booed loudly by the Giants fans in attendance . Simms was not happy being a Giant either , " All I was thinking was which teams I would rather play for — the Green Bay Packers , the Kansas City Chiefs , San Diego , San Francisco . . . " Nonetheless , he became popular with his teammates who jokingly dubbed him " Prince Valiant " in his rookie training camp . Simms won his first five starts of his rookie year . He led the team to a 6 – 4 record as a starter , throwing for 1 , 743 yards and 13 touchdown passes and was named to the NFL All Rookie Team . He was runner - up in 1979 for Rookie of the Year , losing out to future teammate , Ottis Anderson . Early career : 1980 – 1986 . Simms ' next four years were marred by injuries and inconsistent play . He finished the 1980 season with 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions , while completing a subpar 48 . 0 % of his passes for 2 , 321 yards . In 1981 , Simms threw for 2 , 031 yards , 11 touchdowns , and 9 interceptions on 54 . 4 % completion percentage before suffering a separated shoulder in a November 15 loss to the Washington Redskins . With Simms out , the Giants went on a run led by Scott Brunner and advanced to the second round of the playoffs . Simms suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game against the New York Jets , preventing him from playing the entire 1982 season . Following the season , Ray Perkins resigned as head coach to take over the same position at the University of Alabama , and was replaced by the team ' s defensive coordinator Bill Parcells . In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Simms . One of Parcells first decisions as coach was to replace Simms as the starting quarterback with Brunner . Simms asked to be traded after the benching , but his request was ignored . During the sixth game of the Giants ' 1983 Season , Simms came in to replace the struggling Brunner against the Philadelphia Eagles . On his second drive , Simms suffered a season - ending injury when the thumb on his throwing hand hit a player ' s helmet on his follow - through . The injury was reported as a dislocation , but according to the book , " Simms to McConkey " , written by Phil McConkey , Simms , and Dick Schaap , the injury was much more severe , with the thumb literally hanging off after impact , and the bone sticking out through the skin . During his first few years on the team , Giants fans were merciless in their treatment of Simms , who they felt was a disappointment . He commented that his wife " had to sit up in the stands and listen to them cuss me . " However , in 1984 , after many seasons plagued by injuries and up - and - down play , Simms finally emerged as a team offensive leader . During his 1983 injury , offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt talked Simms into watching more game film , something he had not regularly done in college or the pros . He gained a better understanding of NFL defenses , his team ' s formations , and pass protection schemes , and improved his ability to audible at the line of scrimmage . He also changed his strength training regimen in an attempt to make his body more resistant to injury . He passed for 4 , 044 yards ( second most in the National Football Conference ( NFC ) ) , 22 touchdown passes , and led the Giants to a playoff berth . He was voted to the Pro Bowl and named Pro Bowl MVP as he led the NFC to a comeback win over the American Football Conference ( AFC ) by throwing three touchdowns . In 1985 , he passed for 3 , 829 yards , 22 touchdowns , and led the Giants to 10 victories , the most for a Giants team since 1963 . In a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 1985 season , Simms passed for 513 yards — the fifth most passing yards in a single game in NFL history . In 1986 , he passed for 3 , 487 yards and 21 touchdown passes during a season in which the Giants won 14 games . In week 11 , he completed a desperate fourth - and - 17 pass to Bobby Johnson late in the game to set up Raul Allegre ' s game - winning field goal , which gave the Giants a 22 – 20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings . Simms later commented : Super Bowl XXI . On January 25 , 1987 , the Giants met the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI . In the biggest game of his life , Simms had one of the finest performances in Super Bowl history . He completed 22 of 25 passes ( with 2 of his 3 incompletions being drops by receivers ) for 268 yards , setting Super Bowl records for consecutive completions ( 10 ) , accuracy ( 88 % ) , and passer rating ( 150 . 9 ) . In addition , he threw 3 touchdown passes and his passer rating set an NFL postseason record . " This might be the best game a quarterback has ever played , " Giants coach Bill Parcells later said . Two of the most famous plays from the game were the flea flicker to McConkey , and the touchdown pass caught by McConkey off of the fingertips of Giants tight end , Mark Bavaro . The Giants defeated the Broncos 39 - 20 , and Simms was named MVP of Super Bowl XXI . He is credited for being the first to use the phrase " I ' m going to Disney World ! " following a championship victory . Later career : 1987 – 1993 . Simms performed well in the strike - shortened 1987 NFL season , finishing with the second highest quarterback rating in the NFC . He threw for 2 , 230 yards , 17 touchdowns , and 9 interceptions . He passed for 3 , 359 yard , 21 touchdowns , and 11 interceptions while completing 54 . 9 % of his passes in the 1988 season . The Giants rebounded from a 6 – 9 record in 1987 to finish 10 – 6 but fell just short of the playoffs due to the NFL tie - breaker system . In 1989 , the Giants started 8 – 1 and finished 12 – 4 , Simms passed for 3 , 061 yards , 14 touchdowns , and 14 interceptions on 56 . 3 % completion percentage . He performed consistently most of the season except for a two game stretch against the Eagles and 49ers where he produced seven turnovers , six of which resulted in points for the opposition . He also struggled in the Giants playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams , and the Giants lost 19 – 13 . In 1990 , Simms was having one of his finest seasons , leading the NFC with the highest quarterback rating ( 92 . 7 ) and the Giants to an 11 – 3 record . But his season was cut short due to a broken foot suffered in the fourteenth game against the Giants ' eventual Super Bowl XXV opponent , the Buffalo Bills . The Giants went on to defeat the Bills 20 – 19 in the Super Bowl with Jeff Hostetler filling in at quarterback . After the Giants Super Bowl victory , Parcells resigned and was replaced by the team ' s running backs coach Ray Handley . One of Handley ' s first decisions was to select Jeff Hostetler as the team ' s starting quarterback following his performance in Super Bowl XXV . Simms only saw spot action in two games prior to Week 13 , when Hostetler broke his back in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Simms finished the game and reclaimed the starting job , but only won once in his remaining four starts as the Giants failed to return to the playoffs at 8 - 8 . Simms was named starter for the 1992 season after beating out Hostetler , who Handley was still high on as a quarterback , in the preseason . However , Simms suffered a severe arm injury in a Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders and missed the remainder of the season . In those two seasons Simms only amassed a combined 1 , 905 yards , 13 touchdowns , and 7 interceptions while completing 59 . 3 % of his passes . The Giants finished the 1992 season at 6 - 10 , which led to the termination of the unpopular Handley and the hiring of former Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves . As part of an overall house cleaning , Reeves released Hostetler and named Simms his starting quarterback . He started all 16 games in 1993 , being one of only seven quarterbacks to do so , and led the Giants to a resurgent 11 – 5 season including a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs . However , Simms underwent shoulder surgery after the 1993 NFL Season to repair a torn labrum . The surgery was successful , and team doctor Russell F . Warren ' s prognosis for recovery was excellent , and Simms was expected to be ready in time for training camp . However , later during that offseason , Simms was released by the Giants , and subsequently decided to retire . Upon his release , co - owner Wellington Mara called it " a day of overwhelming sadness . " In his 14 seasons with the Giants , Simms completed 2 , 576 out of 4 , 647 passes for 33 , 462 yards and 199 touchdowns . His career passing yardage total ranks him twenty first in NFL history . He added 349 carries for 1 , 252 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground . Simms owns many of the New York Giants passing records . He set team records for most passes completed and attempted in one game ( 40 and 62 , respectively ) , season ( 286 , 533 ) and career ( 2 , 576 , 4 , 647 ) , most career touchdown passes ( 199 ) and most 300 - yard games in a career ( 21 ) . " Sports Illustrated " considered him to be the " Most Underrated Quarterback " in NFL History in their August 27 , 2001 issue entitled , " The Most Overrated and Underrated " . Life off the field . Simms and his wife Diana live in Franklin Lakes , New Jersey . They have three children : Chris , Deirdre and Matthew ( former freshman QB at Louisville , and later Tennessee ) . Simms is fond of New Jersey , remarking in 1987 ; " I wasn ' t overjoyed about coming to New York . When I thought of New York I thought of New York " City " . But out here , it ' s just like anywhere else . " On September 4 , 1995 , Simms ' jersey was retired in a halftime ceremony of a game versus the Dallas Cowboys . During an emotional speech , Simms stated that he wanted to don his jersey one final time , and throw " one more pass " to teammate Lawrence Taylor . Simms later commented , " [ a ] ll of a sudden it kind of hit me , I ' ve put Lawrence in a really tough spot ; national TV , he ' s got dress shoes and a sports jacket on , and he ' s had a few beers and he ' s going to run down the field and I ' m going to throw him a pass . " Simms then motioned for Taylor to run a longer pattern , and after 30 – 40 yards , threw him the pass . Taylor later stated that the situation made him more nervous than any play of his career , " I ' m saying to myself ( as the pass is being thrown ) , ' If I drop this pass , I got to run my black ass all the way to Upper Saddle River because there ain ' t no way I ' m going to be able to stay in that stadium ' . " Taylor caught the pass however , and the capacity crowd in attendance cheered in approval . Since he has been retired for more than five years , Simms is eligible for selection into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ; he has yet to be inducted , however . After his retirement as a player in 1994 , Simms first joined ESPN then went on to join NBC ' s lead broadcast crew , teaming with Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire on that network ' s coverage of Super Bowl XXX and Super Bowl XXXII . Simms also announced Weightlifting at the 1996 Summer Olympics and served as a sideline reporter on the " NBA on NBC " for NBC Sports . In 1998 , he moved to CBS with the AFC package , teaming first with Greg Gumbel ( through the end of the 2003 season ) and currently with Jim Nantz on the CBS ' s lead broadcast team . He also worked with Armen Keteyian , Bonnie Bernstein and Lesley Visser . He hosts " Inside the NFL " on Showtime ( another CBS holding ) with Warren Sapp and Cris Collinsworth . He has appeared on CBS Daytime since joining CBS , with a 2007 appearance as himself on the CBS soap opera " As the World Turns , " and in February 2010 an appearance on " The Price Is Right " ( with Nantz ) to present a Super Bowl XLIV Showcase , including saying the show ' s signature " A New Car " . Simms is part of the new commentary team , along with his broadcast partner Jim Nantz , in the Madden NFL 13 video game . Passing statistics . Key to Abbreviations GP = Games Played Att = Passes attempted Com = Passes Completed Pct = Completion percentage Yds = Yards TD = Touchdown s Int = Interception s Rate = Passer rating