Jake Plummer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jake Plummer | |
|---|---|
 Jake Plummer on the cover of Sports Illustrated. |
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| Date of birth | December 19, 1974 (age 32) |
| Place of birth |  Boise, Idaho |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| College | Arizona State |
| NFL Draft | 1997 / Round 2/ Pick 42 |
| Pro Bowls | 2005 (alternate) |
| Stats | |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1997–2002 2003–2006 |
Arizona Cardinals Denver Broncos |
Jason "Jake" Steven Plummer (born on December 19, 1974) is a American Football quarterback who played for ten years, six with the Arizona Cardinals and four with the Denver Broncos. He formally announced his decision to retire following his trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007. To date, however, he has not filed his retirement papers with the National Football League offices, meaning that his retirement is not yet official.[1]
Contents |
[edit] High School and College Career
Born in Boise, Idaho, Plummer went to high school at Capital High School in Boise. An All-American at Capital, Plummer passed for 6,097 yards and 68 touchdowns, completing 69 percent of his passes. In addition, he also ran for over 600 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Plummer led the Capital Eagles to a state high school football title in 1991, defeating the previously unbeaten Twin Falls Bruins in the championship game.
As a four-year-starter at Arizona State University, Plummer was a fan favorite and carried his team through many victories, including a 19-0 upset over a Nebraska Cornhuskers team that was on a 26-game winning streak and a near-win at the 1996 Rose Bowl against Ohio State University.
[edit] Early NFL Career
Drafted in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, Plummer started the 1997 season as the Cardinals' third-string quarterback behind Kent Graham and Stoney Case - however, he made his first appearance on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles. Plummer entered the game with 10:26 left in the 4th quarter and promptly led the Cardinals on a 14 play, 98 yard touchdown drive to tie the game. That season, he set rookie records for the Cardinals in passing (157 of 296 for 2,203 yards) with 15 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. In only his fourth NFL start, he set an NFL rookie record with 388 passing yards against the New York Giants, breaking Troy Aikman's mark of 379 established against the Cardinals in 1989. Plummer finished 3-6 as a starter and the Cardinals finished last in the NFC East.
The year 1998 was an up and down season for Plummer. He threw for 3,737 yards and 17 touchdowns but was intercepted 20 times. The Cardinals were 6-7 before winning their final 3 games by a total of 8 points, all in dramatic fashion, to clinch the franchise's first playoff birth since 1982. He then led the Cardinals and won their first playoff victory since 1947, 20-6 at Texas Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys. He also received the status of Pro Bowl alternate that year.
In addition to his fairly strong arm, Plummer's greatest talent was his running ability. A quarterback who was more comfortable on the run than in the pocket, Plummer often took off running to escape broken plays. This ability gave him the nickname "Jake the Snake" (or more simply, "Snake"), a label that would stay with him throughout his entire career.
[edit] Career: 1997-2006
The year 1998 was important for Plummer. He threw for 3,737 yards and 17 touchdowns, but was intercepted 20 times. The Cardinals were 6-7 before winning their final 3 games by a total of 8 points, all in dramatic fashion, to clinch the franchise's first playoff birth since 1982. He then led the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 1947, 20-6 at Texas Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys. Plummer's ability to lead the team to victory in these close games gave some credence to his "Snake" nickname. He was named as a Pro Bowl Alternate.
The year 1999 was an injury-plagued season for Plummer. He suffered a sprained thumb in the second preseason game, broke his finger midway through the season and had nagging hip and groin problems as well. These injuries were partly the reason why he had a bad year; 2,111 passing yards, nine touchdown passes and 24 interceptions for a 50.8 passer rating. He finished 4-8 as a starter and the Cardinals went 6-10 to finish 4th in the NFC East and out of the playoffs.
In 2000, Plummer continued his passing woes from the 1999 season, having slightly better numbers (2,946 yards, 21 interceptions, 66.0 quarterback rating), and reached 10,000 career passing yards in only his 47th career start. In 14 starts he compiled a 3-11 record and the Cardinals finished 3-13 and in last place in the NFC East.
The year 2001 was Plummer's best season in the NFL at that point in his career. He was one of two quarterbacks to take every snap for his team (Kerry Collins was the other), and he passed for 3,653 yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He had a stretch of 142 consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception until January 6, 2002, when he threw an interception to rookie Redskin linebacker Antonio Pierce. He led the NFL in fourth-quarter passing yards in 2001 (1,227) and led the Cardinals to a 7-9 record and a 4th place in the NFC East.
Plummer's last season with the Cardinals was in 2002. Again, his passing marks were rather poor (53.6 passer rating, 2,972 yards, 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions), but he passed the 15,000 yard passing yards mark for his career against the San Diego Chargers on September 22.
Plummer signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2003, replacing Brian Griese as the starting quarterback. With the guidance of Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, he had his best season as an NFL quarterback to that point. Controversially, in the first game of the season he pretended to have a concussion to mask a shoulder injury. He finished the season with a career high 91.2 rating. He had the longest run by a Broncos QB on Monday Night Football, 40 yards against the Oakland Raiders. He led the Broncos to a wild card playoff berth where they were beaten by the Indianapolis Colts 41-10 at the RCA Dome.
2004 was a roller coaster ride for Plummer. One of his closest friends and former teammates, Pat Tillman, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Along with matching or surpassing some of former Broncos QB John Elway's passing records (including passing yardage and passing touchdowns in a single season), he also threw for 20 interceptions, and was seen giving an obscene gesture to fans in one game. He led the Broncos to a second straight wild card playoff berth at Indianapolis against the Colts, where they were again beaten, 49-24.
In 2005, Plummer experienced his best season as a professional. Most notable was his streak of 229 passes without an interception, the longest such streak of his career. Plummer helped the Broncos compile a 13-3 record, making the Broncos the #2 team in the AFC (behind only the Indianapolis Colts). This gave Plummer and the Broncos a first-round bye, which led them to play the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Game at Invesco Field. Plummer's solid performance (15-26 for 197 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) helped the Broncos hand the Patriots their first postseason defeat in 11 games. In the AFC Championship, also played at Invesco Field, Plummer and the Broncos were defeated 34-17 by the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
[edit] 2006: Replacement and Departure
On November 27, 2006, after a lackluster performance throughout the first eleven games of the regular season, and directly following back to back losses to the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan announced that Plummer would be replaced as starting quarterback by rookie Jay Cutler.[2] The decision to hand a 7-4, presumably playoff-bound team over to a rookie quarterback was met by fans and media with mixed reactions. Those who viewed Plummer as inconsistent heralded the change as one that would revive the Broncos struggling offense; others claimed such a move was a poor choice, especially given that Plummer had guided the Broncos to the AFC Championship the year before.
Following the end of the regular season, Plummer was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 3, 2007 for a 2008 conditional draft pick - however, a very short time later, rumors began to surface that Plummer was going to choose retirement over competition with Buccaneers quarterbacks Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia.[3] On March 9th, Plummer ended the speculation surrounding him by announcing his decision to retire at a live press conference. Plummer also confirmed his retirement through the Jake Plummer Foundation's website.[4]
To date, the NFL has stated that league officials have not received Plummer's retirement papers, meaning that Plummer's retirement is not official.
[edit] The Beard
Up until the end of the 2004 season, Plummer had always kept his hair short and face shaved. However, the 2005 season was marked with his growth of a wild-looking beard and shaggy hair, something that was not seriously noticed until well into the season. This new look earned Plummer colorful nicknames, such as "Mountain Man Jake", "Pornstache Plummer", and "Grizzly Adams Plummer". At various points throughout the season, Plummer's appearance dominated the talks of football enthusiasts, occasionally even more so than his play. Plummer stated that he was growing his hair and beard in honor of his best friend, the late Pat Tillman, who sported long hair for quite some time. When the Broncos played against the Steelers in the 2005 AFC Championship game, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was also showing slightly longer than normal hair and a scruffy stubble, leading to one radio announcer's statement that the game was a battle between "Grizzly Adams" (Plummer) and "Sasquatch" (Roethlisberger). When the 2006 season arrived, however, Plummer's appearance had returned to short hair and a more well-kept beard.
[edit] References
- ^ Roy Cummings (2007-03-06). Plummer Saga Continues. tbo.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-031.
- ^ Mason, Andrew (2006-11-27). Cutler to Start. DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
- ^ Bill Williamson (2007-03-02). Plummer refuses to take trade. DenverPost.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-02.
- ^ Mike Klis (2007-03-04). Plummer: I'm really retiring. DenverPost.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-031.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Boomer Esiason Kent Graham |
Arizona Cardinals Starting Quarterbacks 1997 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Jeff Blake Josh McCown |
| Preceded by Brian Griese |
Denver Broncos Starting Quarterbacks 2003 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Jay Cutler |
