It’s time to lay off of Jake Plummer

        3-0 That’s Jake Plummer’s record against the 3 time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. He’s taken the Broncos to the playoffs 3 times in 3 years. Including last years AFC Championship game.

    Under Gary Kubiak, Jake Plummer has had the best 3 years of his career.  Yes, he’s had a lot of interceptions in his first 2 years, but last years performance should be an indicator of Jake becoming more mature as a football player.

    So how come 4 years ago Denver Bronco fans were cheering, `We Want Jake!!’ And now, they want him gone. Would it still be that way if he did take the Broncos to the Super Bowl?  And what if Jake did help them win the big one?          Jake Plummer has grown up since his first year in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals.  He even managed to lead the Cardinals to their first playoff appearance in team history and it’s first and only win in the playoffs.  He’s regressed back to old habits in Denver.  But it happens.  It’s a way of life.  People make mistakes.  Even John Elway made mistakes in his career.  But Denver still loved him.  

    Jake’s problems have not always been his fault. The 2004 football season, and the AFC Championship game are key moments I’d like to concentrate on.

     Jake Plummer has won 34 of 46 games in Denver over the last 3 years and through Week 3 of the 2006 football season. Last year he threw 229 consecutive passes without an interception. And only threw 7 interceptions. A big improvement from his 20   interceptions in 2004.  Let me take you back to 2004.  The beginning of the season went very well for Jake Plummer. The rushing attack by Rueben Droughns and Mike Anderson was at a peak performance, and an offensive line that was having it’s best pass protection since the John Elway era.

    Then, Denver played, I believe the Cincinnati Bengals. A cut block by George Foster breaks the defensive lineman’s leg. The Bronco’s offensive line was a shooting gallery for the press and NFL officials.  If you go back and look at the stats after that game, Denver’s offensive line made multiple mistakes. Rushing totals went down and the interceptions started coming like crazy. Denver’s pass protection took a big hit in its moral and technique after that game.  5-8 of Plummer’s interceptions came from opposing players and even his own offensive line were constantly in his face.  When he was pressured and completely surrounded, the ball was constantly tipped at the line of scrimmage.  At least half of the tipped balls that year were intercepted.   (6-8 interceptions to be approximate).

    Everyone blames Jake for the AFC Championship loss to the Steelers. Why? Jake doesn’t play defense. He didn’t give up 24 points by the end of the first half. But, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have played better. But putting all the blame on his shoulders is a load of crap.

    Bronco fans are the most loyal fans I’ve ever seen. 13-3 or 6-10. Super Bowl winners or Super Bowl losers. Broncos fans have always been there. Old Mile High and Invesco Field has almost always been sold out.  Or a few bodies short of sold out. But they’re also the hardest on their players.

    After only the first week against the St. Louis Rams everyone was screaming, `We Want Cutler!!’ Whoa, Deja Vu anyone? What’s going to happen to Jay Cutler if he doesn’t take Denver to a Super Bowl by his 3rd or 4th year. Heck, the way Bronco fans are anymore, if he doesn’t win the Super Bowl his first year at the helm they’ll be screaming, `We Want Someone Else!!’

    If you look back at the Rams and Chiefs games you have to look at the play calling by the Broncos Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. Plummer’s strength lies in the bootleg and throwing on the run. Without a doubt, Jake is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL when he’s on the move, not in the pocket. There was not a single bootleg or rollout that put Plummer on the move in the first 2 games of the season. Why not? Only Shanahan can answer that. The offensive line didn’t help the situation any. Lots of pressure and size challenged Denver’s line and caused many turnovers.

    Fans expect to much out of Jake. They expect him to make diamonds out of crap when everyone around him is screwing up. Mike Shanahan needs to step up his play calling and start going to Jake’s strengths, instead of his middle areas.  Namely, staying in the pocket the whole game is not going to get great production from Plummer.

    I’ve been a Broncos fan my whole life. I grew up an Elway fan and I feel he is definitely in the top 5 of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. So why was so much expected of Brian Griese and Jake Plummer? Griese had it the worst of the 2. He has a Hall of Fame father who is the only quarterback in history to be undefeated and win the Super Bowl. Then, in Brian’s second year he has to follow a man loved by Denver for 16 years. A man who’s done things at quarterback some people only dream of. Brian started his career accepted by Bronco fans despite starting 6-10 his first season. But as his play began to falter, so did the fan support. Now, he’s a second string quarterback that probably won’t start for an NFL team before he retires. Unless there is an unexpected injury.  

    To finish this story, I’d like to make a few last points for Jake Plummer and why fans shouldn’t be so hard on him.  First, he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.  Need I say more about that.  But, as before mentioned, he did take the Cardinals to the Playoffs and he even pulled out the victory over, I think it was the Cowboys, but don’t hold me to that.  He’s always played for a team where he had to force passes and try to make plays himself to try to win games.  When he came to Denver, it was a culture shock being surrounded by so much talent, not having to force passes into receivers, and trying to make plays by himself.  The first two years were rough, learning the system and breaking old habits.  Remember, he almost won the Rose Bowl by himself.  Second, would be his coaches.  No coach made as big an impact on Plummer as Gary Kubiak did.  And I believe no other coach will be able to bond with him as well.  His previous coaches  always seemed to put the pressure on Jake’s shoulders and expect him to win.

    I think if Jake Plummer had began his career in Denver, he would have made a better impact as a winning quarterback.  His production in Arizona wasn’t great, but for that team his stats were fair.  He did the best he could with very little help.  On one side of the coin, what if he’d had a team like Denver when he was young.  Ed McCaffrey, a younger Rod Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Terrell Davis before he was injured, an offensive line that most of the Super Bowl starters were returning.  A dream team for a player with Plummer’s talent.  But on the other side of the coin, he could have been another Brian Griese.  The pressure of following John Elway could have been to much for a young Jake Plummer.  But we’ll never know.  Bronco fans, give Jake time, he doesn’t have a lot of seasons left in his career.  So he hasn’t won the Super Bowl in 3 years, neither did Elway.  It took 15 years for John.  I believe Jake could take Denver to the Super Bowl, and possibly even win.  But he does need support from the fans, no matter what.  I think the support of the fans would make a difference.  Jake doesn’t seem to care anymore.  When you see him on the field, he always has a look to him like a guy who just doesn’t care anymore.  And why should he?  Denver drafted a young, talented quarterback to replace him eventually.  Probably by next season.  So what’s the point of trying or caring about winning if he feels no one wants him there.  

    Fans need to believe in Jake, he can make the plays and he can find ways to win.  If he makes a mistake, don’t let the first thing out of your mouth be, `We Want Cutler!!’, or `Get him out of there!!’  Go back to the old days, `Next Play, Jake’, `Let’s go, Jake’, or heck, why not even `You Can Do It Jake’.  Would it kill you to actually cheer for him, instead of wanting to lynch him because of a couple of mistakes.