04/19/24
March 11, 2007
"The Snake" sheds his career. : Former Arizona Cardinals savior-in-waiting, former inheritor of the Elway throne, Jake Plummer calls it a career after being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Plummer, who says he's healthy and has a great life, leaves this career behind for another as...a handball player?
posted by The_Black_Hand to football at 12:43 PM - 29 comments
Here is another guy who never quite played up to his potential.This is partially because he wasted precious years with the Cards.However he is smart to walk away at 32 still healthy. Sooner or later a QB takes a big hit.Montana, Aikman and most others all did.
posted by sickleguy at 01:33 PM on March 11, 2007
I think he actually retired last year.
posted by dyams at 06:00 PM on March 11, 2007
Why bother wasting ink space on this loser...he's a never-was..go play hand-ball pal..you'll be a loser at that too..i'm sure no tears are being shed in Tampa or Denver, the league is better off without you...enjoy the "real" work force now !
posted by french-connection at 08:06 PM on March 11, 2007
french-connection, -- never mind. I think you're going to find a lot more players retiring before their productive years are up. Why would you stay in the league and risk being crippled on some play, when you know the league and the NFLPA have no interest in taking care of you? Make a little nest egg and get the hell out to go do something less taxing and more fun with the last fifty years of your life. You're only going to see more people like Tiki and Jake looking at past players like Conrad Dobler and Earl Campbell and thinking, those people were stars, icons who held up the league in their time, and they're being ignored and bankrupted by their own crippled bodies. Why would anyone put themselves through that? Seriously, who wants to be the next great horror story, the next Andre Waters, the next Ted Johnson? At least the other leagues have a marginally better record of taking care of their ex-players. The NFL's record is pitiful, and so more and more guys are going to take their contract money and run the minute they think it's not going to get any better for them. Jake Plummer may have been a disappointment as a player, but as a businessman in charge of his and his family's life, he's obviously no idiot.
posted by chicobangs at 09:35 PM on March 11, 2007
french-connection, what NFL team did you play on again? I think Jake was a better quarterback than the times and teams of his career indicated. I wish him well in his retirement.
posted by steelergirl at 10:10 PM on March 11, 2007
Why bother wasting ink space on this loser...he's a never-was..go play hand-ball pal..you'll be a loser at that too His last 4 years he was 40-20. I think he was 7-4 when he was replaced. Not exactly a loser or never was. While he left a lot to be desired, he was certainly a servicable QB. I don't believe he could take any team deep into the playoffs, but he proved in both of his stops that he could take a team TO them (even those hapless Cardinals). It's a shame it went down like it did... you wish he could go out on his own terms (and Houston sure wishes the same as well as they would just be happy to sniff the playoffs and wouldn't be concerned about WINNING in them in the short term).
posted by bdaddy at 10:37 PM on March 11, 2007
Why would you stay in the league and risk being crippled on some play? "Plummer has three years left on his contract and was due $5.3 million in 2007. " I would have to say $5.3 Million is reason enough to play quarterback in South Florida. If the risk of being crippled on some play had anything to do with it, then he should have never started playing football. Maybe he could've been an underachieving handball player his entire career.
posted by FishingDr at 04:29 AM on March 12, 2007
Why bother wasting ink space on this loser Next time you feel this way, do us all a favor and keep your comments to yourself.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:47 AM on March 12, 2007
The link is broken now. I would have to say $5.3 Million is reason enough to play quarterback in South Florida. Plummer had the opportunity to compete for a job in Tampa, so the $5.3 million wasn't guaranteed. More importantly, Tampa is in central Florida not south Florida.
posted by bperk at 07:50 AM on March 12, 2007
If the risk of being crippled on some play had anything to do with it, then he should have never started playing football. Isn't it possible that his priorities and motivations changed over time? Teenagers and young adults, particularly those with athletic gifts, often think of themselves as being indestructible. Plummer is now in his 30s and may have a different set of priorities. However, several NFL writers have suggested (in articles I've read about this story) that Plummer would continue playing if he could get a starting gig, which wasn't going to happen in TB. I hope that he isn't disingenuously invoking the perils of the NFL in an attempt to disguise his demands for primacy. Of course, I believe he's well within his rights to do so, or to give any excuse he chooses to explain his retirement, temporarily or permanently. It's his career. Whether he wants to quit the NFL to lobby for the military-industrial complex in Washington or to slap handballs around in the Boise suburbs, it's his life. I suspect some of the commenters in this thread would not appreciate it if their life decisions were judged so harshly by strangers.
posted by Venicemenace at 08:00 AM on March 12, 2007
What has Jake Plummer ever done to some of you people in here?Geez!Give the guy a break!As for slamming the NFL for its practices w/players,bet you boycott & refuse to watch or bet on any games etc. dontcha???french-connection,they wasted ink space on you,so why not Plummer too???:) David!
posted by squirrelone at 08:36 AM on March 12, 2007
I always liked him I know Broncos fans would like to kill him but he just wasn't a playoff quarterback I'd bet $ he's back in the nfl within a couple of years possibly Buffalo or Washington?
posted by luther70 at 10:06 AM on March 12, 2007
Not every player is championship material.And it takes more than a QB to win games.Jake did alright for the teams he played with.And a person's outlook on life & priorities DEFINITELY changes with age. Good luck to Jake in his life.
posted by LadyGen at 10:28 AM on March 12, 2007
Now we just need to find a way of getting some of Squirrelone's punctuation to fall down into luther's posts. Although, that looks a lot like a question mark at the end there. As for Plummer, he was a pretty run of the mill Quarterback, (though that hardly marks him out on a franchise that once thought Stoney Case might be the answer), but I can't think of any reason to mock him for choosing to retire and go do something else while he's still healthy. I'm sure his family appreciate it too, if only because he can do away with that ridiculous beard now.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 11:21 AM on March 12, 2007
The Raiders could definately use a QB like Plummer. Wait a minute... the Raiders could use a QB...period!! I wonder why Jake has such animosity towards the TB franchise? He would rather quit than to play for the Bucs? You would think he would be happy to finally have a defense behind him. There is no way that he could be scared of playing behind Sims, is there?
posted by yay-yo at 11:55 AM on March 12, 2007
I read that Plummer had mooted retirement before the trade was even triggered and that Tampa new about that, but rolled the dice anyway and lost. His decision may have been different if he had been going to a place where he'd be the number 1, but I just don't think think he wanted to go be a back up somewhere. He didn't quit because of the Buccs, he quit because of the situation. He wants to play, or not play, not somewhere inbetween. At least that's might reading of it.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 12:49 PM on March 12, 2007
You would think he would be happy to finally have a defense behind him Last time i looked, Denver had a real nice Defense
posted by Debo270 at 01:08 PM on March 12, 2007
Tampa new about that, but rolled the dice anyway and lost. They traded a conditional pick in 2008 for Plummer..so I would guess they lost minimal now that he's retired. What I didn't understand is Jake was due $5.3 Million. Something like 4 minutes after the Jake trade went through, Tampa picked up Garcia. They also already have Simms as well as that other guy that started half the year for them last year. Given all that it was almost ASSURED that Tampa would end up cutting Jake rather than keeping his 5 million salary just to be a backup (given they already have 3 people at the position). So if Plummer really wanted to go to Houston and Houston wanted him (both of which are true by all accounts), then all he had to do was stick around for a bit and he would have either been cut or traded there. By the way, to the comment about him being a "loser" and a "never was", I just found this tidbit: His .722 winning percentage with the Broncos from 2003-06 is the fourth-best in the NFL behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.
posted by bdaddy at 01:31 PM on March 12, 2007
By the way, to the comment about him being a "loser" and a "never was", I just found this tidbit: His .722 winning percentage with the Broncos from 2003-06 is the fourth-best in the NFL behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. It's kind of interesting that all of the other guys have won championships.
posted by yay-yo at 04:51 PM on March 12, 2007
What about Phillip Rivers? Shouldn't he have a better winning percentage than that?
posted by bperk at 05:46 PM on March 12, 2007
wow guess i opened a can of worms here eh, i just gave "my own" opinion sorry it offended some of you.
posted by french-connection at 06:03 PM on March 12, 2007
every body but The_Black_Hand...hell every team you like i hate...grew up in Buffalo....those punk Canes beat us last year becaude we had 5 starters out...and as for the Dolphins!..in Buffalo your raised to hate the Fish...so i can give a rats ass what you thought of my opinion.
posted by french-connection at 06:09 PM on March 12, 2007
i can give a rats ass what you thought of my opinion If you're only here to yell and not listen or actually, y'know, partake in a discussion, then Sportsfilter is not the place for you. And put the victim pose away. You threw the first stone.
posted by chicobangs at 08:37 PM on March 12, 2007
All players at the pro level face the same challenges as Plummer did. It just the QB position is the most scrutinized. Players get benched, and then if there is better alternatives (judged by coaching staff). So what is the big deal? A few years ago, Jake was the best available at the position, and we did win quite a few games (as a team). Jay Cutler , a much better option with far more potential is here. And it's almost draft time. the future is ---------------------------> that way.
posted by Bronc Gal at 11:09 PM on March 12, 2007
chicobangs...stfu..i aint here to yell suzie, it's an open forum right?...if you dont like my opinions dont read them..i read the rules, i no what to say and what not to say...christ it's peeps like you on every forum who like to talk political bull that annoys me..hey, if i get banned for posting this, so be it..but i will not be intimadated by whiners like you...i love sports and i talk about them.
posted by french-connection at 07:07 PM on March 13, 2007
french-connection, if in fact you had read the rules of the site, you should no(sic) that we don't tell other members to stfu or call them whiners. We also try to use proper grammar for the most part, and while it don't think it specifically references the quasiword 'peeps', we actually try to use real words in our discussions. Chico does not need me to defend him, and in fact we often find ourselves on opposing sides of issues. However, there is never a loss of respect. Now, on topic, I applaud Jake Plummer for getting out while the getting is good. He has made a lot of money, hasn't been badly injured, and was relatively successful at his chosen career. I hope I'll be able to say the same when I retire from my first career. I'm sure he would have liked more team success, but sometimes that just doesn't happen. Among North American sports, football is the most team oriented, you are only as strong as your weakest link. The man threw for 161 touchdowns in the N.F.L.(and ran for 17 more) and almost 30,000 yards. He was not the greatest of all time, but he was far from brutal. He does hold the Denver Broncos record for most yards passed for in 1 season, and co-owns the team record for most T.D. passes in one year. Good on you, Jake.
posted by tommybiden at 08:26 PM on March 13, 2007
hey, if i get banned for posting this, so be it..but i will not be intimadated by whiners like you...i love sports and i talk about them. Vote Libertarian!
posted by yerfatma at 12:27 PM on March 14, 2007
i will not be intimadated by whiners like you It's always so much easier to be tough on the internet than it is in real life.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:24 PM on March 14, 2007
Stupid SportsFilter, not havin' a "Handball" tag.