Phil Simms Wants to See More of This Trait from Giants QB Daniel Jones

Simms believes Daniel Jones has what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the league despite his mostly rocky career path thus far. But he'd like to see Jones become more fiery.

Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms knows a thing or two about having people doubt whether your athletic skills and worthiness to lead one of the most storied NFL franchises are good enough.

Simms went through that himself when, as the Giants first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) in 1979, critics were stunned by the decision made by general manager George Young to pluck an upstart quarterback out of Morehead State in Kentucky.

The decision started rocky, largely due to Simms's inability to stay healthy over the first five years of his career. Eventually, Simms came into his own as an NFL quarterback, leading the Giants to their first-ever Super Bowl championship in 1986.

Simms, known for his grit and resolve, never stopped believing in himself, even when the chips were down and the odds stacked against him, and that's the same advice he has for current Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who, like Simms, has battled injuries and critics questioning his worthiness to lead the Giants as their franchise quarterback.

"Listen, no matter who, unless you're Patrick Mahomes and a few people, you go through these periods, and you've just got to fight," Simms told Giants.com's Michael Eisen. "Would I have anything to tell Daniel Jones? 'Hey, man, buckle up. That's it. It's going to be rough. Just show how tough you are, do it, and just keep working. That's all you can do.'"

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After playing in just 12 games between 1981 and 1983, Simms, who holds the Super Bowl completion record of 88 percent, didn't miss a start from 1984 to 1986. He has seen what Jones can do when healthy and thinks the Giants are in a good spot with their quarterback position.

"He definitely has starting NFL talent," Simms said. "That's the one thing I'll argue for as long as you want. If you don't have that, you're not going to be, 'Oh, I've got all this other stuff.' I think success gives you confidence, and then you could turn into another guy. I think he has that chance, but like I said, it's going to be really rough."

There is one thing, however, that Simms wishes Jones would show more of when he's on the field, and that's passion.

Simms was known for his fiery passion on and off the field, a swagger that often manifested itself in toughness where whenever Simms would get knocked down by a defender, he'd often bounce back up, daring them to hit him again.

One of Simms's most famous on-field confrontations came in 1990 with San Francisco 49ers legendary safety Ronnie Lott during a Monday Night Football game. Lott took umbrage to some disparaging remarks that one of his teammates, former Giants defensive lineman Jim Burt, claimed Simms had made about the defender over the years.

Simms, as it turned out, was innocent, but that didn't stop Lott from going after the quarterback. But rather than back down, Simms stood toe-to-toe with the future Hall of Famer, yelling back at him, the confrontation becoming so heated that the two men had to be separated. Eventually, Lott learned that Burt had made all of the allegations up, but the whole thing still led to a fiery display shown by Simms.

Now a part of CBS's Super Bowl broadcast team, Simms wishes Jones would show the same kind of fire.

"I wish he'd yell at somebody sometimes," he said. "Not that that makes you a quarterback, but it just tells me something about you, too. I didn't do it on the field, but poor (center) Bart Oates. He'd sit next to me on the bench, 'Bart!' I would just look back and go, 'Why didn't he punch me?'"

Perhaps if Jones gets the chance that general manager Joe Schoen keeps saying will happen once the quarterback is medically cleared to return from a torn ACL, he might fulfill Simms's wish.

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