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Broncos do Plummer no favors
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist
DenverPost.com
This cowtown ain't big enough for three quarterbacks.
Already running from the long shadow of John Elway's legend, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer now has young savior Jay Cutler breathing down his neck.
Somebody is going to get hurt here.
Let the sacking of the incumbent Denver quarterback begin. This could get real ugly.
Real fast.
Faced with intense pressure, what Plummer does best is implode.
I love that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan finally discovered a worthy heir to Elway in the NFL draft.
But, in the process, I fear Denver has thrown away any chance to win the Super Bowl this season.
The possibilities for Cutler range from earning a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to being declared a bust never able to cut it on Sunday, but one thing is guaranteed.
Shanahan has bought himself a quarterback controversy capable of splitting a locker room and dividing the city.
When their crafty wheeling and dealing was done, what the Broncos acquired with the 11th pick of the first round was everything Plummer is not. Despite getting knocked down repeatedly at Vanderbilt, a football school of hard knocks and tougher losses, Cutler seems to be uncommonly genial and self-assured.
Asked to compare himself with Vince Young and Matt Leinart, the sexier picks at quarterback in the 2006 draft, Cutler did not bat an eye or back down.
"I can play with them any day of the week," Cutler said Sunday. "Going to Vanderbilt obviously was a disadvantage as far as the media and the exposure you are going to get.
"But I think the NFL - coaches and general managers and some of those people - knew I could play. It was just a matter of time for everyone else to catch up to speed."
Broncomaniacs will be squirming and screaming to find out if greatness becomes Cutler.
Throughout his NFL career, how many times has a mop and bucket been needed to clean up the mess made by Plummer when the pressure was on?
He wilts under the Arizona sun, or flips hecklers the bird, or bristles at teasing about his deadbeat beard, or bumbles and stumbles in the AFC championship game.
You might still believe in Jake. But Shanahan has seen enough.
"If you back away from competition," Shanahan said Saturday, "you shouldn't be the guy anyway."
Privately, the Broncos suggest Cutler will push Plummer to mind his P's and Q's, make fewer dumb choices and maybe even establish a steady relationship with a barber.
But divorces played out in public are seldom amicable.
Unless Cutler is a total flop, how can this relationship possibly end happily for Plummer?
No occupation in Colorado begs the paranoia that accompanies constant second-guessing more than being quarterback of the Broncos.
The projected target date for Cutler to take over as the starter is September 2007. I'm not sure Plummer will last that long, with the entire state not only looking over his shoulder, but on his back for every mistake.
By drafting Cutler, Shanahan made a bold, well-considered and wise decision for the future of the franchise.
In the short term, however, Shanahan has placed Plummer in the no-win situation.
In defeat, Plummer will be doomed to be the scapegoat for Broncos failures. In victory, Plummer will be the man who stands in the way of Cutler's development.
Shanahan has never done a better job of coaching than the 14 victories he coaxed from the Broncos last season. He will never have a tougher assignment than keeping Denver's faith in its quarterback this season.
Reading the play is not Plummer's strength.
That big, red exit sign on the wall, however, is flashing unmistakably for him.
You can put a shaggy beard on Plummer, but we see through the disguise.
Plummer is a lame duck.
Anyone who thinks he can lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl is daffy.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3771238
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist
DenverPost.com
This cowtown ain't big enough for three quarterbacks.
Already running from the long shadow of John Elway's legend, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer now has young savior Jay Cutler breathing down his neck.
Somebody is going to get hurt here.
Let the sacking of the incumbent Denver quarterback begin. This could get real ugly.
Real fast.
Faced with intense pressure, what Plummer does best is implode.
I love that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan finally discovered a worthy heir to Elway in the NFL draft.
But, in the process, I fear Denver has thrown away any chance to win the Super Bowl this season.
The possibilities for Cutler range from earning a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to being declared a bust never able to cut it on Sunday, but one thing is guaranteed.
Shanahan has bought himself a quarterback controversy capable of splitting a locker room and dividing the city.
When their crafty wheeling and dealing was done, what the Broncos acquired with the 11th pick of the first round was everything Plummer is not. Despite getting knocked down repeatedly at Vanderbilt, a football school of hard knocks and tougher losses, Cutler seems to be uncommonly genial and self-assured.
Asked to compare himself with Vince Young and Matt Leinart, the sexier picks at quarterback in the 2006 draft, Cutler did not bat an eye or back down.
"I can play with them any day of the week," Cutler said Sunday. "Going to Vanderbilt obviously was a disadvantage as far as the media and the exposure you are going to get.
"But I think the NFL - coaches and general managers and some of those people - knew I could play. It was just a matter of time for everyone else to catch up to speed."
Broncomaniacs will be squirming and screaming to find out if greatness becomes Cutler.
Throughout his NFL career, how many times has a mop and bucket been needed to clean up the mess made by Plummer when the pressure was on?
He wilts under the Arizona sun, or flips hecklers the bird, or bristles at teasing about his deadbeat beard, or bumbles and stumbles in the AFC championship game.
You might still believe in Jake. But Shanahan has seen enough.
"If you back away from competition," Shanahan said Saturday, "you shouldn't be the guy anyway."
Privately, the Broncos suggest Cutler will push Plummer to mind his P's and Q's, make fewer dumb choices and maybe even establish a steady relationship with a barber.
But divorces played out in public are seldom amicable.
Unless Cutler is a total flop, how can this relationship possibly end happily for Plummer?
No occupation in Colorado begs the paranoia that accompanies constant second-guessing more than being quarterback of the Broncos.
The projected target date for Cutler to take over as the starter is September 2007. I'm not sure Plummer will last that long, with the entire state not only looking over his shoulder, but on his back for every mistake.
By drafting Cutler, Shanahan made a bold, well-considered and wise decision for the future of the franchise.
In the short term, however, Shanahan has placed Plummer in the no-win situation.
In defeat, Plummer will be doomed to be the scapegoat for Broncos failures. In victory, Plummer will be the man who stands in the way of Cutler's development.
Shanahan has never done a better job of coaching than the 14 victories he coaxed from the Broncos last season. He will never have a tougher assignment than keeping Denver's faith in its quarterback this season.
Reading the play is not Plummer's strength.
That big, red exit sign on the wall, however, is flashing unmistakably for him.
You can put a shaggy beard on Plummer, but we see through the disguise.
Plummer is a lame duck.
Anyone who thinks he can lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl is daffy.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3771238
