When last winter’s free agent quarterback roulette began, Jake Plummer was the one almost everyone wanted. Sure, he visited with the Bears and said all the right things.
Then he hopped a plane and signed with the Broncos, which everyone knew he was going to do all along. Plummer is a native of Idaho and played at Arizona State. Jerry Angelo and Dick Jauron would go hiking through the Rockies together before Plummer would move to the Midwest.
Just to add to Jauron’s long season, Plummer has regained his health just in time to face the Bears Sunday in Denver. Plummer, who hadn’t played since the Oct. 5 loss to Kansas City, warmed up the Broncos’ offense at the expense of the San Diego Chargers in one of those 37-8 games that wasn’t really that close.
“He played extremely well and made some plays that a lot of quarterbacks can’t make,” Denver coach Mike Shanahan said.
“He’ll be the first person to tell you that it is very tough to come back after being off for four weeks and ask a guy to come in and play at the level he played at. I was very impressed with that.”
The Broncos are 6-4, but 5-1 in games Plummer has started. He completed 23-of-34 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, the TDs all to tight end Shannon Sharpe. Alas, he did throw one interception. But it’s a sign of the kind of year he’s having that he had thrown 139 passes without one.
“Nothing was perfect, but he hung in there and kept on competing and really gave us the spark we needed,” Shanahan said.
For Plummer, this season has mirrored his career, one filled with promise and frustration. If the San Francisco 49ers had listened to their longtime coach Bill Walsh, Plummer likely would have been their first-round pick in 1997, and who knows how that might have affected NFL history.
He went to Arizona on the second round and led the Cardinals to a wild-card playoff berth in 1998. The Cardinals beat Dallas for their first postseason victory in 51 years. But then everything in the desert went south. When Plummer’s contract expired last winter, it was time for him to leave Arizona.
This year’s season opener was something of a disaster for Plummer–he threw three interceptions and completed only 12-of-25 passes, but the Broncos still won at Cincinnati 30-10. After that the offense started clicking. A month later the injuries knocked him out. While Plummer was out, backup Steve Beuerlein was knocked out for the season with a broken finger, forcing the Broncos to use third-stringer Danny Kanell. Without Plummer, the Broncos went 1-3.
“It’s hard to explain as a player what you feel when you’re watching and can’t do anything to contribute,” Plummer said. “But I definitely felt great getting out there. We have expectations and a level as a team that we’re striving for.
“[Sunday’s game] was a big step for us, because we came out and made plays for the first time in a while. That’s not a knock on anybody before me, because Danny did a great job, but we just didn’t make the plays. That goes for a lot of guys. There were some of his balls that should have been caught.”
Plummer is the NFL’s fourth-ranked passer, behind only Steve McNair, Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper. He has completed 62.4 percent of his passes, 11 for touchdowns, and has only four interceptions. In facing a quarterback like Plummer, the Bears have to be conscious of his ability to get out of the pocket and make plays. He didn’t pick up the nickname “Snake” because he runs straight ahead.
“You have to be careful to stay in your rush lanes, but you can’t not be aggressive,” Bears defensive end Alex Brown said. “When he gets out of the pocket, he can make plays with his feet. We have to be aware of that.
“If you make a decision to go, you have to go 100 m.p.h. and try to make the play.”
“Jake gives us a different dimension,” running back Clinton Portis said. “He’ll pick up third-and-6 by running the ball, or he can throw it downfield and create big plays. When you have a guy who can do so many different things, then the defense has to prepare for all of that.”
Nobody seemed happier to get Plummer back than Sharpe.
“With Jake, you figure the guy has been out five or six weeks, and for him to be as sharp as he was, he didn’t miss a beat,” Sharpe said. “It was just up to us to make big plays, and that was what we were missing the last four or five weeks. Once given the opportunities to make big plays, we were fine.”
The additional bad news for the Bears is about Sharpe, 35, the all-time leader in pass receptions by a tight end.
“Actually, really, truly, this is the first time I have been healthy all year,” he said.
Just in time for the Bears.
