Better check the rearview mirror, Jake Plummer.
A bright orange Broncos bandwagon driven by rookie phenom Jay Cutler is on your bumper. And he’s blaring the horn.
It’s enough to make a football player snap. Get so mad he feels like kicking or screaming.
And wonder if his time as Denver’s starting quarterback is shorter than anybody dares to think.
Plummer, without an ounce of artifice in his body, is easy to like.
But it ain’t easy being Jake.
For three years, Broncomaniacs have been on Plummer’s tail. When are you going to shave that shaggy beard? Who called off your wedding in Hawaii? How come you can’t be more like John Elway? Why can hecklers make you flip out? And where on Earth did you learn to drive like a maniac?
It’s enough to cause a guy to run away to Idaho and live in a shack.
Sick of it all, after an allegation of road rage made headlines this week in Denver, Plummer said: “Image tarnished, whatever. Role model, blah, blah – I’m here to play football.”
At age 31, old enough to know better, Plummer obviously does not get it.
No quarterback of the Broncos can pick his nose, much less pick a fight in rush-hour traffic, without kicking up a brown cloud of gossip in this dusty old cow town.
His first week on the job in Denver, Cutler understood his responsibilities don’t end when he leaves the stadium to grab dinner and a movie.
“Everyone’s watching, no matter where you go,” Cutler said. “And you always have to be on your toes.”
Kind of makes you wonder which quarterback is the NFL rookie and what he can teach a veteran entering his 10th season in the league, doesn’t it?
What Cutler is going to teach Plummer is how to grab a seat on the Denver bench.
Let the quarterback controversy begin.
Better pick a side in this debate, Broncos Nation. And better not wait.
If this rookie quarterback from Vanderbilt is as good as coach Mike Shanahan thinks Cutler is, there’s no reason he cannot play early for Denver.
Doubt it?
There is a far greater possibility Cutler will play a meaningful role for the Broncos this season than the chances of Plummer retaining the job as starting quarterback in 2007.
Asked Thursday how long it will take for Cutler to become effective in the NFL, Shanahan replied that if you put pressure on a quarterback to win offensive shootouts with his arm, the timetable is two or three years.
But, Shanahan emphasized, if your team owns a great defense and a strong running game, you would be surprised how early a young quarterback can win in this league.
A Denver team whose current strengths are ball control and a stingy defense that often allows a quarterback to play with a lead on the scoreboard while minimizing his risks is ideally designed for Cutler to thrive while learning on the job.
The defensively stout, strong-running Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl with Ben Roethlisberger, who never would have been a championship quarterback in his second season if he had not gained so much experience as a rookie.
Truth be known, Plummer is my kind of people. Any millionaire who drives a Honda Element earns points for keeping it real. The problem? Plummer is better suited to be a burger- and-fries guy than our town’s football icon.
Indignant calls to impeach Plummer as quarterback solely because he lost his temper during a fender-bender are so ridiculous as to be a sublime indictment of infotainment disguised as serious news.
The problem with Plummer is not anger management.
It’s game management.
All last season, it was apparent Shanahan put the brakes on Plummer’s perpetual adolescence with conservative offensive game plans.
Cutler is the future of the Broncos.
And the future begins now.
Hey, I have been guilty of losing my cool when somebody crowded my bumper and blew the horn.
Haven’t we all?
But here’s one piece of advice that might drive you crazy, Mr. Plummer. The trouble on your tail is not some middle-aged dude behind the wheel of a Ford truck. It’s Cutler. And he’s coming fast.
Sometimes, the object in your rearview mirror actually is closer than it appears.
Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
