Jake Plummer
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers — No. 16 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Date of Birth: December 19 1974 | |
Place of Birth: Boise, Idaho  |
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| Height: ft in ( m) | Weight: lb ( kg) |
| National Football League Debut | |
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| 1997 for the Arizona Cardinals | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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| Career History | |
| College: Arizona State | |
| NFL Draft: 1997 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42 | |
Teams:
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Jason "Jake" Steven Plummer (born on December 19, 1974) is an American football quarterback who is currently listed on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. He has played in the National Football League for ten years, six with the Arizona Cardinals and four with the Denver Broncos. He announced his decision to retire following his trade to the Buccaneers in 2007.
Career: 1997-2006
1998 was an up and down year 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 berth since 1982. He then led the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 1947, a 20-7 win on the road against the Dallas Cowboys. Plummer's ability to lead his team to victory in close games led to his "Snake" nickname. He was named as a Pro Bowl alternate.
Plummer struggled through 1999, largely due to injuries. 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. He threw for 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. His 24 interceptions were the most in the NFC.
In 2000, Plummer posted slightly better numbers (2,946 yards, 21 interceptions, 66.0 quarterback rating), and reached 10,000 career passing yards through 47 starts. In his 14 starts, he compiled a 3-11 record and the Cardinals finished 3-13, in last place in the NFC East.
2001 was Plummer's best season to that point. He was one of only 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. The streak was snapped on January 6, 2002, when Plummer threw an interception to rookie Redskin linebacker Antonio Pierce. Plummer led the NFL in fourth-quarter passing yards (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 2002. His statistics were below league average (53.6 passer rating, 2,972 yards, 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions). He eclipsed the 15,000 passing yard mark against the San Diego Chargers on September 22.
Plummer signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2003, replacing Brian Griese as starting quarterback. With the instruction of Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, Plummer had his best season to date. 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, but the Broncos were again beaten by the Colts, 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 the Colts), earning the Broncos a first-round bye. The Broncos' first game was against the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Game at Invesco Field. Plummer's 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, with Plummer the cause of 4 Denver turnovers.
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.[1] 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 game 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.[2] 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.[3]
Although Jake Plummer does not appear in Madden NFL 08 on either Tampa Bay's roster or the free agent pool, his name is included among the game's list of real-life NFL records, specifically the top single-game passing performances. This means that despite his retirement, Plummer was still an active member of the NFL Players Association at the time of the game's release and could have been included.
Though he had announced his retirement, he was still under contract to the Buccaneers; thus, Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden met with Plummer to try to convince him to play in the 2007 season. [4] The attempt was unsuccessful. As he did not show up for 2007 training camp, the Buccaneers will attempt to recover his signing bonus as well as a $14,000/day fine.
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 2006 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.
Personal
Jake Plummer frequented 'Club Rio' in Tempe, AZ during his college years at Arizona State University.
Married former Broncos Cheerleader, Kollette Klassen, on August 26th, 2007. Jake and Kollette met in 2005. They now reside in
Plummer's home town of Boise, Idaho.
Plummer has a basset hound mix named Shelby.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jim Flynn (2007-07-26). Bucs News & Notes July 26, 2007. PewterReport.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
Inducted into the Arizona State University Hall of Fame, September 2007.
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 |
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