As Jake Plummer rolled nimbly to the left on one play, swiftly to the right on another, throwing accurately wherever he went Saturday night, game-day adrenaline had another endorsement.
Funny how the aches and pains felt in practice are soothed and cured come kickoff.
Plummer entered the Broncos’ preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers with a left knee that was becoming sorer by the day. Yet, while helping the Broncos remain undefeated in the preseason with a 26-21 victory before a paid crowd of 70,794 at Invesco Field at Mile High, Plummer could not have performed better in his first-quarter appearance.
“If you see me limping and not moving, then there’s reason to worry,” said Plummer, who is 13-of-19 for 171 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in his two quarters of preseason play. “It’s football. This is my eighth year going into year nine. You ask anybody in here who has played eight years, as many snaps as I’ve had, they’re going to have something that hurts right now..”
The game was marred by the collapse of San Francisco 49ers guard Thomas Herrion, who was rushed to St. Anthony’s after collapsing in the 49ers’ locker room after the game.
Broncos fans and objective experts may have spent all spring and summer discussing the importance of red-zone efficiency, special teams, turnovers and pass coverage. This could all become analytical mumbo-jumbo, however, if Denver’s most prominent players either don’t return from devastating injuries or understand their bodies enough to avoid them.
Veteran cornerback Champ Bailey, a regular- season Ironman, figured the best way to extend his current NFL start streak of 96 games was to sit out the Broncos’ first two exhibition games because of a nagging hamstring injury.
To the contrary, defensive end Trevor Pryce and running back Mike Anderson need the preseason to rediscover the explosive starts and stops that can only be simulated on game day. Pryce, who missed virtually all of last season recovering from back surgery, had two sacks in the first quarter Saturday and helped the first-team offense hold the 49ers scoreless into the second quarter.
“It’s good to be back,” Pryce said. “We didn’t cue it up like it was a real game, but it felt to good to come out here and play. I feel good, but my ankle hurts. I’m tired, cold, but I’m still pretty hungry.”
Anderson, who missed the 2004 season because of two groin tears, ran hard, ran strong and ran forward for 39 yards on just five carries, and also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from a rolling Plummer on the Broncos’ first drive.
“Adrenaline, our game depends on it,” Anderson said. “We thrive off it out here.”
As for Plummer, he displayed all the mobility and precision passing that once caused a Hall of Fame coach to compare him favorably to a Hall of Fame quarterback. “When Plummer came out of college,” legendary former 49ers coach Bill Walsh said last week, “the way he moved and threw the ball, he had all the skills of Joe Montana.”
Although the consensus is Plummer has yet to prove he’s as cool as the other side of the pillow, as Montana once was characterized, an ability to combine escape with productive passing wasn’t all the two had in common.
Plummer showed Saturday he’s as tough as they come. After undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the offseason, Plummer had all but fully recovered as training camp opened four weeks ago.
An inadvertent collision, however, knocked the knee in such a way that his between-workout ice packs started getting larger, the protective wrappings getting sturdier. Not once, however, has Plummer missed a workout. And against the 49ers, Plummer ran off the question mark from his questionable knee. He completed 7-of-9 passes for 95 yards, including the short touchdown pass to Anderson. Plummer also had a 12-yard scramble on his second series that set up a first down at the 49ers’ 14.
Only holding penalties, as the Broncos were running in for touchdowns, prevented Plummer from directing two touchdowns in his two first-team drives.
If the knee hurt, Plummer proved he could handle it.
“If it’d hurt you’d know,” Plummer said. “Let’s make it a non-issue until something happens. Let’s drop it, please.”
The goals
Here were five goals for the Broncos entering their preseason game Saturday against San Francisco and how they fared:
1. Stronger running game
With Matt Lepsis back at tackle, tailbacks Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell combined for 85 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
2. Better showing from first-team defense
Trevor Pryce was credited with two sacks and 49ers rookie QB Alex Smith got nowhere near the goal line.
3. 10 points from first-team offense
Big check here. Jake Plummer needed just two drives to get his 10. And it would have been 14 if not for two goal-line holding penalties.
4. Continued improvement from Bradlee Van Pelt
This will be deemed a learning experience. Although the young QB again displayed magical scrambling skills and moved the Broncos, he missed open receivers.
5. Two defensive turnovers
The next turnover gained will be the first of the Broncos’ preseason.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
