NFL Scores : Plummer works on his image
Opie turned into Richie Cunningham and people bought it. California elected a funny-talking action hero to be its governor. Ronald Reagan was elected president after making a movie with a chimp called Bedtime for Bonzo.
Folks leave their former selves behind all the time. So why can't Jake Plummer reinvent himself as a very good NFL quarterback in Denver after being an interception machine for six seasons in Arizona?
In three seasons with the Broncos, Plummer's regular-season record is 32-11 as a starter. He's thrown 60 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions and gotten the Broncos into the playoffs all three seasons he's been there.
But most would call him the least capable of the four remaining quarterbacks in the AFC playoffs. The feeling that Plummer will come undone on Saturday night in Denver's AFC Divisional playoff showdown with the Patriots is definitely afoot.
The Patriots aren't in that boat. They saw Plummer go 17-for-24 for 262 yards and two scores against them in October. And they've watched the rest of his work from this season, in which he's thrown 18 touchdown passes and only seven picks while managing the Broncos' offense in the very competitive AFC West.
"He is a little less risky," Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said of Plummer's change from his Arizona days. "Plummer is one of those guys that's real competitive, and he tries to make a lot of plays and sometimes in the past he used to force plays. Now, I think they have taken that pressure off of him, telling him, 'Hey, if it's not there, just run it or throw the ball away.' Being in a really good system, a lot of good skill players around him, his job has gotten a lot easier making that transition from a Cardinals team to a Denver team."
Aside from taking few chances, Plummer still has good feet. His ability to roll out and move away from pressure makes him a tough guy to keep in the pocket.
"Sometimes he is at his best when he is running," said McGinest. "When he is on the move, he can throw the ball really well running to his left or his right. He is one of those guys who is not good running to just one side. He can do it both ways. He is mobile. He is active. He is one of the most accurate quarterbacks at throwing on the move in the league."
When the Patriots beat Denver on a Monday night two years ago, 30-26, Plummer didn't play. His backup, Danny Kanell, did. As a result, it's just as hard to say the Pats can beat a Denver team with Plummer as it is to say Denver can beat a Patriot team with Richard Seymour. We haven't seen both teams at full strength yet, something Plummer alluded to yesterday.
"(The Patriots) were pretty injured when we played them (on Oct. 16, a 28-20 Denver win)," said Plummer. "The playoffs are different than the regular season. Obviously, the (regular-season) win was a good one for us, but it's a whole different story and it's been a lot of games in between there. This is a new one."
Plummer's performances have been buoyed by the NFL's most productive rushing attack. Mike Anderson ran for 1,014 yards this year (4.2 per carry); Tatum Bell ran for 921 (5.3 per carry).
"The running game definitely helps the passing game," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "The passing game definitely helps the running game. Play-action. The formationing. It's a very well-coached offense all the way around. It's the scheme. The plays. The execution. The techniques and the talent of the players. You're throwing it when you want to throw it, not because you're down by 17 points and have to throw the ball 20 times in the fourth quarter to try to catch up. That's the way to play, and that's why they've had the kind of season and the record that they have."
Belichick is wary of Plummer.
"He's just having a great year," said Belichick. "He manages the team well. He runs everything very efficiently. He's a good scrambler and again he's made more plays buying time to throw than he has pulling it down to run for a whole bunch of yards. He finds that extra time, like he did in our game, and gets the ball down the field to Rod [Smith] or [Ashley] Lelie. That really is a problem. It's a huge problem, because he's athletic. He can get away from the rush and he doesn't take very many negative plays. He doesn't take very many sacks. He hasn't thrown the ball into coverage, and has hit a lot of passes and they move the ball pretty effectively. He's done a great job for them. He's had a great year."
As for his résumé as a loose-armed quarterback in Arizona?
"I wouldn't worry too much about all of that," cautioned Belichick. "They said the same thing about Steve Young when he was at Tampa. He was no good, either. Now the guy is in the Hall of Fame. He went out to San Francisco and set all kinds of NFL records for passing efficiency and completion percentage and all of that. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Watch the guy play. He plays good. He plays real good. He killed us, so that's all I know. We're not playing Arizona, so I'm not really worried about that."
Saturday night is a chance for Plummer to reshape his image. The leader of the team that finally beats Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the playoffs will be recalled. Plummer isn't biting on the importance of that, though.
"I don't try to make statements," he said. "I go out there and play ball. I don't ever worry about what someone is going to write or think or say or make me out to be. I am playing ball to try to win for my guys on the field. If that means I step up and make big plays, then great. If it means I get the ball to Ashley Lelie and he breaks five tackles and goes 80 and he's a big player, then great. One of us is going to step up, and hopefully it's enough to win."
tcurran@projo.com
Folks leave their former selves behind all the time. So why can't Jake Plummer reinvent himself as a very good NFL quarterback in Denver after being an interception machine for six seasons in Arizona?
In three seasons with the Broncos, Plummer's regular-season record is 32-11 as a starter. He's thrown 60 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions and gotten the Broncos into the playoffs all three seasons he's been there.
But most would call him the least capable of the four remaining quarterbacks in the AFC playoffs. The feeling that Plummer will come undone on Saturday night in Denver's AFC Divisional playoff showdown with the Patriots is definitely afoot.
The Patriots aren't in that boat. They saw Plummer go 17-for-24 for 262 yards and two scores against them in October. And they've watched the rest of his work from this season, in which he's thrown 18 touchdown passes and only seven picks while managing the Broncos' offense in the very competitive AFC West.
"He is a little less risky," Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said of Plummer's change from his Arizona days. "Plummer is one of those guys that's real competitive, and he tries to make a lot of plays and sometimes in the past he used to force plays. Now, I think they have taken that pressure off of him, telling him, 'Hey, if it's not there, just run it or throw the ball away.' Being in a really good system, a lot of good skill players around him, his job has gotten a lot easier making that transition from a Cardinals team to a Denver team."
Aside from taking few chances, Plummer still has good feet. His ability to roll out and move away from pressure makes him a tough guy to keep in the pocket.
"Sometimes he is at his best when he is running," said McGinest. "When he is on the move, he can throw the ball really well running to his left or his right. He is one of those guys who is not good running to just one side. He can do it both ways. He is mobile. He is active. He is one of the most accurate quarterbacks at throwing on the move in the league."
When the Patriots beat Denver on a Monday night two years ago, 30-26, Plummer didn't play. His backup, Danny Kanell, did. As a result, it's just as hard to say the Pats can beat a Denver team with Plummer as it is to say Denver can beat a Patriot team with Richard Seymour. We haven't seen both teams at full strength yet, something Plummer alluded to yesterday.
"(The Patriots) were pretty injured when we played them (on Oct. 16, a 28-20 Denver win)," said Plummer. "The playoffs are different than the regular season. Obviously, the (regular-season) win was a good one for us, but it's a whole different story and it's been a lot of games in between there. This is a new one."
Plummer's performances have been buoyed by the NFL's most productive rushing attack. Mike Anderson ran for 1,014 yards this year (4.2 per carry); Tatum Bell ran for 921 (5.3 per carry).
"The running game definitely helps the passing game," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "The passing game definitely helps the running game. Play-action. The formationing. It's a very well-coached offense all the way around. It's the scheme. The plays. The execution. The techniques and the talent of the players. You're throwing it when you want to throw it, not because you're down by 17 points and have to throw the ball 20 times in the fourth quarter to try to catch up. That's the way to play, and that's why they've had the kind of season and the record that they have."
Belichick is wary of Plummer.
"He's just having a great year," said Belichick. "He manages the team well. He runs everything very efficiently. He's a good scrambler and again he's made more plays buying time to throw than he has pulling it down to run for a whole bunch of yards. He finds that extra time, like he did in our game, and gets the ball down the field to Rod [Smith] or [Ashley] Lelie. That really is a problem. It's a huge problem, because he's athletic. He can get away from the rush and he doesn't take very many negative plays. He doesn't take very many sacks. He hasn't thrown the ball into coverage, and has hit a lot of passes and they move the ball pretty effectively. He's done a great job for them. He's had a great year."
As for his résumé as a loose-armed quarterback in Arizona?
"I wouldn't worry too much about all of that," cautioned Belichick. "They said the same thing about Steve Young when he was at Tampa. He was no good, either. Now the guy is in the Hall of Fame. He went out to San Francisco and set all kinds of NFL records for passing efficiency and completion percentage and all of that. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Watch the guy play. He plays good. He plays real good. He killed us, so that's all I know. We're not playing Arizona, so I'm not really worried about that."
Saturday night is a chance for Plummer to reshape his image. The leader of the team that finally beats Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the playoffs will be recalled. Plummer isn't biting on the importance of that, though.
"I don't try to make statements," he said. "I go out there and play ball. I don't ever worry about what someone is going to write or think or say or make me out to be. I am playing ball to try to win for my guys on the field. If that means I step up and make big plays, then great. If it means I get the ball to Ashley Lelie and he breaks five tackles and goes 80 and he's a big player, then great. One of us is going to step up, and hopefully it's enough to win."
tcurran@projo.com
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