[Tuck4Bama]

AUBURN -- After playing through pain Saturday with a broken bone in his hand, defensive tackle Pat Sims was in no mood to be questioned about the play of Auburn's defensive front in the loss to Mississippi State.

"Did you watch the game?" Sims asked incredulously after an icy pause. "Did you see them push us back?"

Head coach Tommy Tuberville said after the game that "the defense was a little soft in some areas," particularly in the final quarter. That quote was relayed to Sims, with the emphasis on the defensive line alone being soft.

Sims was not pleased.

"If that's how he feels, that's the head coach. I can't say anything about it," he said Tuesday. "I'll tell you what, there ain't nothing soft about me or my fellow defensive linemen. But if that's what coach Tuberville said ..."
Later in the day, Tuberville was full of praise for Sims, a junior from Fort Lauderdale who briefly quit the team in 2005 but has emerged as a consistent defensive star.

"He played one-handed last week and had (four) tackles for a loss," Tuberville said. "He had a hand problem and what they wanted to do last week was make sure it didn't get stretched. If you noticed, everything was covered on one hand. He had no fingers to grab. That's pretty difficult when you're a defensive player.

Sims plays through pain- al.com