Phil Simms tells son Matt Simms: Be careful out there

Matt Simms predicted after getting upended trying to lunge for a first down in his NFL debut Sunday that he would be hearing from his father, Phil, afterward. He was right. "He was happy that I played hard but just wanted me to be a little smarter, I guess," Simms said. "I don't blame him. I understand."

Simms said he suffered no ill effects from the play against the Bengals, on which he landed on his back and came up just short on a fourth-and-11 scramble. "I'm good," he said. "Good thing for me I'm still young. Those will age me quickly, for sure. But I wanted to stay on the field and enjoy the moment as much as I could."

After a full half season as the Jets' unexpected No. 2 quarterback, Simms said he feels himself improving daily.

"Every week, every day at practice going against one of the better defenses in the league, just prepares me that much more for when I am called upon that I'll be ready to go. Every day I just go about it as if it's the Super Bowl or playoffs and play as hard as I possibly can while giving the defense a good look and preparing myself.

"I'm happy that I got that awkward first snap out of the way and now the first o-line saw me in there and heard me call plays and do the snap count and all that. Obviously the game was out of hand, but just the fact people in the huddle heard me, knew I was poised and under control, it helps a lot."