It’s been two games, and already Jeffery Simmons has been well worth the price the Chicago Bears paid. In two consecutive games against two really good offensive lines, he wreaked havoc. He sacked both Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and made life miserable for opposing guards and centers in the run game. Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a proper showcase of everything he can do, be it rushing the passer, stopping the run, or just talking an incredible amount of trash.
Most of the highlights involved him mixing it up with Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke, who complained about Simmons’ tactics after the game. However, that probably wasn’t his favorite moment. That came late in the 2nd quarter. With 1:09 to go, Simmons zeroed in on right guard Cody Mauch, shouting to block him straight up. Sure enough, Mauch did exactly that. Simmons proceeded to get under his left arm and threw him to the turf one-handed. Fortunately for Mayfield, the play call was a quick pass to the left. Otherwise, Simmons might’ve killed him.
Jeffery Simmons didn’t do that on the spur of the moment.
It felt somewhat odd that he’d decide to single out Mauch like that for no reason. It’s not like they have a history, right? They didn’t play in the same division, meaning they rarely ever saw each other. Well, that isn’t necessarily true. Simmons has a history with Mauch that goes all the way back to August of last year. The Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans held a joint practice during the preseason, meaning the two men would go against each other in various drills. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.
That changed during a one-on-one drill. Jeffery Simmons delivered a bull rush and drove Mauch backward. As the rep was nearing an end, the guard grabbed Simmons, twisted around, and threw him to the turf. Unsurprisingly, Simmons took exception to that. A fight almost broke out but was quickly broken up. Things were never really resolved after that. Nobody thought much about it moving forward. Based on what happened Sunday night, clearly Simmons had been. He’d likely been waiting for that opportunity for over a year.
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Right down to throwing Mauch to the turf. Only he did it on national television. Savage.
There is one lesson to learn from this.
Don’t cross Simmons. A normal human being would’ve let a small practice scuffle like that go, not plotted revenge for over a year. That’s some Ray Finkle-level stuff. It once again speaks to the type of personality that the Bears have added to their locker room. It isn’t just about the talent with Simmons. He is obsessed with football. The guy is maniacal in his approach to the game. He expects nothing but the best from himself and doesn’t take kindly to guys getting in the way of that pursuit.
Mauch is a good player, too. It’s not like Simmons was dealing with a scrub. Sending an above-average starter flying like that is a feat very few in the NFL can achieve. That is yet another reason the Bears should be glad they got him instead of someone else in the NFC. Other players in the league should use this incident as a reminder that Simmons remembers everything.
