Sometimes, playing it safe is playing to win

Sporting News, The, Dec 9, 2005 by Dan Pompei

Because Jake Plummer is taking more sacks, dumping off more passes and throwing the ball away high into the stands, Broncomaniacs are building shrines to him. Perhaps never before has a quarterback been so celebrated for merely avoiding mistakes.

In the past, Plummer had been a careless risk taker who cost his teams many victories. There are Broncos fans who still wake up in cold sweats, screaming about when he threw an interception against the Chiefs--lefthanded.

This season, Plummer has thrown only four interceptions, and he went 229 passes without one--a Broncos record. Plummer's streak, which ended last week, was a testament to coach Mike Shanahan and coordinator Gary Kubiak. They have Plummer playing like a puppy dog who has seen the rolled-up newspaper too many times. He no longer is soiling the carpet.

Boring is better for Plummer. "He's doing a great job of managing the game, to not take so many chances on trying to make the big play," Jets coach Herm Edwards says. "He's not forcing a lot of balls at all. He's bought into it more where he doesn't feel he has to hit a home run."

The project of shortening Plummer's swing began in February. Instead of trying to expand his passing game, as coaches all around the league were doing with their quarterbacks, Shanahan decided to take a different approach. After two seasons in the offense, Plummer was not where the coach wanted him to be. So Shanahan decided to act as if the previous two seasons didn't happen, lie and Kubiak retaught every aspect of the offense to Plummet as if he were a rookie. They even talked about coverages--how to attack a two-deep zone, for instance.

"This is proof it doesn't hurt anybody to do that, no matter how long you've played," Kubiak says.

One of Kubiak's offseason thrusts was to get Plummer to make better decisions by listening to his feet. "Your feet will tell you where to throw the ball," Kubiak says. "They'll read for you."

If Plummer drops back and has to take only one "hitch," or step up, he should be throwing to his primary read. If he has to take two hitches, he should be starting his progressions and looking for his second receiver. If he has to take a third hitch, Plummer needs to be running or dumping off.

"When you hitch and hitch and hitch and you still are staring at one place, you probably are going to make a mistake with the ball," Kubiak says. "When he was taking his hitches, sometimes he couldn't get off the first receiver."

This season, Plummer has been more willing to check down. He has thrown one out of every 5.2 attempts to running backs, compared with one out of every 6.3 attempts a year ago, according to STATS Inc.

This is progress. As is Plummer's willingness to take more sacks because a sack is preferable to an interception. This season, he has been sacked once every 22.5 dropbacks. Last year, it was once every 35.7 dropbacks.

Of course, it's even better to throw the ball away than to take a sack, and Plummer is making progress there, too.

On third down from the Raiders' 4 in Week 10, Plummer threw the ball well over everyone's heads when none of his receivers was open. Last season, he might have thrown an interception in the same circumstance.

Plummer also has developed a nice feel for placing his passes where only his receivers can get to them. On second down from the Eagles' 3 in Week 8, he threw a pass to the back of the end zone, where tight end Stephen Alexander stretched to make a one-handed catch. Perfect--either Alexander would have a touchdown reception or the pass would be incomplete and the Broncos would have another two downs to get points.

"He knows he doesn't have to be a hero," Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith said after an unspectacular performance by Plummer helped the Broncos beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. "All he has to do is give us a chance to make plays for you and throw it away when you need to. He's done an excellent job of that this year."

Heroism has taken an unusual form for Jake the Snake.

Snake's not alive in the MVP race

Let's not get carried away with the immortalization of Jake Plummer.

Despite talk to the contrary, he is no MVP candidate. It's the running game that makes the Broncos' offense go, not Plummer's passing. He hasn't ruined things for the running game, but that isn't what makes a most valuable player.

Better candidates at this point of the season: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.

speed reads

Say what you will about Roy Williams' cover skills, but no one can argue the big impact the Cowboys safety has on games. He's a ferocious hitter and great tackler.

Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe is avoiding pressure better than ... maybe ever. After 13 years in the league, it's about time he figured out what his legs are for.

Terrell Owens might be out of uniform for the rest of the season, but it won't be long before he's center stage again. He won't be able to keep a low profile between now and the end of the season.