Jake Plummer retires

[maddogchen]

Rather than get traded? What?

The Bucs want Jake Plummer, but the feeling isn't mutual.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a deal to acquire the quarterback from Denver on Friday for a fourth-round draft pick in this year's draft.

But according to a league source, Plummer has decided to retire, nullifying the deal that would have sent him to Tampa Bay. Plummer apparently was not interested in joining a team which would not name him to an immediate starting spot, which the Buccaneers refused to do.

Plummer would have had to battle returning starter Chris Simms for the starting job in Tampa Bay. The deal also could have opened the door for an AFC West battle between the Broncos and Oakland Raiders for the rights to free agent signal caller Jeff Garcia, who has received initial interest from both teams.

Plummer lost his job in Denver last season to rookie Jay Cutler after playing inconsistently over the first half of the season. Plummer also fell out of favor with the Broncos during the playoffs in the 2005 season after a poor performance in the AFC championship game against Pittsburgh.

The 32-year-old Plummer finished last season with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 11 starts. Plummer played well in the previous three seasons, throwing 60 touchdowns and 34 interceptions in that span.

Plummer seemed to lose his confidence as last season progressed. After losing his starting job, Plummer was upset with how Denver coach Mike Shanahan dealt with the change. Plummer was particularly angry that he received a phone call from his position coach to inform him of the change rather than hearing directly from Shanahan.
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[KLin]

Dear Jake,

Don't let the door hit you on your way out. :laugh:

 

[marincounty]

Jake the Fake, good riddance.

 

[Shortcut]

news: jake plummer threw 2 picks while deciding to retire

 

[Ilmater]

I love the move. Some say he's just a whiny athlete, but he's a guy that would rather leave the NFL - where he's scheduled to make over $5M next year no matter where he plays - than play for the Bucs... for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. He's doing what he feels is right. I don't know if he's married or has kids, but maybe he doesn't want to move his family right now. Maybe he just doesn't want to learn a new system.

I don't care how he was as a player, he's a great human being, and I wish him the best.

BTW, I'm a Rams fan, so I couldn't care less about him professionally.

 

[Red Dawn]

He didn't want to play for Chucky

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: Ilmater
I love the move. Some say he's just a whiny athlete, but he's a guy that would rather leave the NFL - where he's scheduled to make over $5M next year no matter where he plays - than play for the Bucs... for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. He's doing what he feels is right. I don't know if he's married or has kids, but maybe he doesn't want to move his family right now. Maybe he just doesn't want to learn a new system.

I don't care how he was as a player, he's a great human being, and I wish him the best.

BTW, I'm a Rams fan, so I couldn't care less about him professionally.

Well said.

-Giants fan.

 

[zinfamous]

Couldn't handle the "Not Elway" factory. That crazy town will never get a "tolerable quarterback" until they get over their collective Elway-is-God attitude.

Plummer was good; he just had a sh1tty year.

 

[ntdz]

Jake Plummer just got SCREWED OVER by the Broncos. He wins 75% of the games he starts for them and then they basically throw him out on the street.

 

[BCYL]

I feel bad for the guy... sure he played inconsistently for the Broncos last year, but he did play well most of the time and should be given another chance...

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: zinfamous
Couldn't handle the "Not Elway" factory. That crazy town will never get a "tolerable quarterback" until they get over their collective Elway-is-God attitude.

Plummer was good; he just had a sh1tty year.

If you have been to Denver, you would know it wont happen anytime soon... Elway's name is EVERYWHERE, and I really think people there really believe he IS god...

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: BCYL
I feel bad for the guy... sure he played inconsistently for the Broncos last year, but he did play well most of the time and should be given another chance...

he was given another chance. he was traded to a diffrent team to try an ddo better.

 

[phreaqe]

Originally posted by: BCYL

Originally posted by: zinfamous
Couldn't handle the "Not Elway" factory. That crazy town will never get a "tolerable quarterback" until they get over their collective Elway-is-God attitude.

Plummer was good; he just had a sh1tty year.

If you have been to Denver, you would know it wont happen anytime soon... Elway's name is EVERYWHERE, and I really think people there really believe he IS god...

this is exactly how its going to be in Green Bay when Brett Farve retires. i grew up right around there and there is nothing to do but worship the packrs and Brett Farve. I feel bad the for next packers QB unless he is amazing he will get looked down upon even if he has a decen season.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: phreaqe

Originally posted by: BCYL

Originally posted by: zinfamous
Couldn't handle the "Not Elway" factory. That crazy town will never get a "tolerable quarterback" until they get over their collective Elway-is-God attitude.

Plummer was good; he just had a sh1tty year.

If you have been to Denver, you would know it wont happen anytime soon... Elway's name is EVERYWHERE, and I really think people there really believe he IS god...

this is exactly how its going to be in Green Bay when Brett Farve retires. i grew up right around there and there is nothing to do but worship the packrs and Brett Farve. I feel bad the for next packers QB unless he is amazing he will get looked down upon even if he has a decen season.

he better lead them to a super bowl title his first year.

 

[hdeck]

Originally posted by: Ilmater
I love the move. Some say he's just a whiny athlete, but he's a guy that would rather leave the NFL - where he's scheduled to make over $5M next year no matter where he plays - than play for the Bucs... for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. He's doing what he feels is right. I don't know if he's married or has kids, but maybe he doesn't want to move his family right now. Maybe he just doesn't want to learn a new system.

I don't care how he was as a player, he's a great human being, and I wish him the best.

BTW, I'm a Rams fan, so I couldn't care less about him professionally.

it's not so much that he doesn't want to play for the bucs as he doesn't want to play for anyone but denver. good for him i say. retire, go commentate some games or become an analyst & enjoy easy living for the rest of your life rather than continuing to be banged up year after year.

 

[SVT Cobra]

It's a shame...but it is also about time...

 

[D1gger]

You have to admire his attitude. He could have gone to Tampa and made $5m for sitting on the bench, and he decides he would rather retire than take the easy money.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: D1gger
You have to admire his attitude. He could have gone to Tampa and made $5m for sitting on the bench, and he decides he would rather retire than take the easy money.

Exactly

 

[TheNinja]

Big Whoop. Nobody is winning anything with this guy at the helm. He has just as many career INTs and he does TDs. Does anybody on any team really trust this guy in a big game?

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: BCYL

Originally posted by: zinfamous
Couldn't handle the "Not Elway" factory. That crazy town will never get a "tolerable quarterback" until they get over their collective Elway-is-God attitude.

Plummer was good; he just had a sh1tty year.

If you have been to Denver, you would know it wont happen anytime soon... Elway's name is EVERYWHERE, and I really think people there really believe he IS god...

I have. I go at least once a year. This is why I made the comment
You get sh1t on if you don't buy your car from one of his many pos dealerships.

 

[ballmode]

We all know that Peyton Manning can't lose....


GO COLTS!

 

[Pacfanweb]

Come on Jake....you don't think you can beat out Chrissy Simms for the QB spot? Simms is one of the worst QB's in the NFL....he's only there because of his name, same reason he was starting at Texas.
Geez, he wasn't even as good as a dude named Major Applewhite at Texas.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

The Bucs also signed Jeff Garcia, so it would be a three-way battle.

 

[Ilmater]

I have to bring this thread back to mention one other point on this, because I am reading a ton of stuff on the internet today where columnists are bashing him.

If YOU had a job, making really good money, and the company wanted to move you to another state, would you be a quitter if you decided to stay where you are? Why does everyone think it's so easy for professional sports players to pick up their family or even just leave their friends, just because they're paid a lot of money? If he has kids, they have to either switch schools and find new friends, or stay where they are and not see their dad for months out of the year. Or maybe he just made a lot of friends in town and wants to hang out with them. Isn't it somewhat admirable that he clearly has found some happiness in where he is in life and feels that staying that course is best for him? Isn't that what we all want?

This basically tells me that Jake Plummer doesn't need another $5M or more to find happiness in his life, and basically there are a ton of jealous people out there that wish they could make that choice.

 

[angminas]

I don't know anything about Jake Plummer personally, except that I hate the way he smirks in pictures. If he acts like he looks, that explains a lot.

I watched him play a lot of games for the Broncos and he always seemed to be underachieving. You'd watch him make a brilliant bootleg to save the series, then he'd toss it into triple coverage. And again, and again. It was embarrassing to watch, because it didn't have to be that way. Very talented guy, but he lacked something. Discipline, respect, give-a-damn...I don't know him enough to know what it was. But he didn't ever put the last piece in place, and I'm glad he's gone. I would have been happy to see it done much sooner.

There's another side to this, you know. Plummer has been around for a long time, and the Broncos did the responsible thing to get Cutler. (As is proven by Plummer already retiring - where would the Broncos be if they hadn't planned for this?) Now, with the season mostly blown due to simple incompetence (not all Plummer's fault, the defense failed to adjust after they were figured out), a talented young QB sitting on the bench, and the veteran QB making the same dumb throws he's been making for ten years, the smart thing to do is to get a start on next season and give Cutler some experience when he can't really hurt the team. He got better rapidly, something you can't say of Plummer, and we now have a much better chance next year.

If anyone thinks Plummer didn't get a chance, they haven't watched him play enough. He's been getting chances for many years, and he's never pulled the trigger. What makes it worse is, I believe he has the ability to. I do respect him walking away when he thought it was time, but that reinforces my guess that he really didn't care enough to win the big one. Denver is not a team that is resigned to mediocrity. When things go wrong in Denver, changes are made. Denver's goal every year is to win the Super Bowl, and Plummer just wasn't part of that picture.