From the ever-expanding list of life’s difficulties, few test the human condition like the awkward moment.
So dreadful are these uneasy encounters, many people would go miles out of their way to avoid them. Others handle them delicately, buffering them through insincere kindness.
When Jake Plummer first spotted Jay Cutler, he sensed an initial uncomfortable situation and dealt with it head-on.
It was during an offseason workout and Cutler had just become the highest-drafted quarterback in Broncos history. Plummer was about to begin his 10th NFL season as a starting quarterback, fourth with the Broncos. He was coming off arguably his best season, too, playing into the AFC championship game.
But now here was this hotshot kid, a first-round draft choice who from Day One could throw the ball farther and harder than Plummer. Plummer walked up to Cutler and gave it to him straight. I know you want my job, Plummer said. You better want my job. And I’m going to do everything possible to make sure you don’t take my job.
But now that everybody understands each other, Plummer continued, there will be no resentment, no jealousy. Everybody will get along. For the good of the team, it’s the only way.
From that awkward moment, the foundation for the Plummer-Cutler relationship was set. Months later, when Cutler was given Plummer’s job as Broncos quarterback after the season’s 11th game, very little strain came between them.
“I felt bad for him,” said Cutler, who will make his third NFL start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. “He put up with a lot of stuff this year. Had to put up with a lot of stuff with the media, me being here. It was tough on him. I’m sure he felt it, but he did the job the best he could and led this team.”
Since the change was made, Plummer has politely declined to publicly comment about his demotion. His reasoning, he says privately, is he doesn’t want anything he might say – good, bad or indifferent – to become a distraction for the kid.
It’s an admirable stance of silence considering Plummer would not be out of bounds if he felt vindicated. The Broncos were 7-4 when he was the quarterback, 0-2 since.
Nothing against the kid
Cutler has already made some throws in two games that football fans in these parts had not seen since old No. 7 retired.
But there also have been reminders that an NFL quarterback is not made on throwing alone. Yet, Plummer not only refuses to say, “I told you so,” he spends considerable time telling Cutler so, in a brotherly, encouraging manner.
“It’s very tough when you lose your job to handle things the right way,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “I’ve been fired twice, and it’s hard sometimes not to lash out, not to show class. Nobody’s ever happy about being demoted. But Jake has handled himself first-class in every phase. He’s been a total team player. He’s done everything that you would hope a guy would do in that situation.”
Shanahan is appreciative because he knows this could have been a nightmare. Not all veteran quarterbacks take the high road with their heirs apparent. There were reports Joe Montana was chilly toward Steve Young, although Shanahan, who was the offensive coordinator for both in 1992, said the two future Hall of Famers were always respectful and professional with each other.
Chris Chandler didn’t exactly make it easy for Steve McNair to break in as a rookie for the Houston Oilers in 1995. Does anybody think John Elway, old No. 7, went out of his way to help Tommy Maddox, the new No. 1, as in first-round draft pick (25th overall), in 1992?
“We did a Green Bay game a few weeks ago and I asked Brett Favre, ‘Is it your responsibility to bring along Aaron Rodgers?”‘ said Joe Theismann, the former Redskin quarterback who is now top analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. “And he said: ‘No, I’m not a coach. I’m not a mentor.’ Understand something: There are very few quarterback jobs in this world. When you have yours taken away, what are you supposed to be, Mr. Congeniality? There’s a lot of guys who would have handled it differently than the way Jake has handled it.”
Don’t misunderstand
Plummer is far too competitive to accept his role as backup and he would think it comical, if not nauseating, to see himself characterized as a martyr. It’s just that when a player is ingrained with team-before-self during 9 1/2 seasons – all but the first seven games of his rookie season as a starter – he doesn’t suddenly lose this concept.
To speak out bitterly and wallow in pity would be selfish. To help out the kid throughout the game and deliver a Knute Rockne speech during halftime, as Plummer did last week in San Diego, is good for the kid, good for the team.
“Since I’ve gotten the starting job, he’s been great about this whole thing,” Cutler said. “He sat down and talked to me and said nothing was going to change between me and him and he was going to do everything possible to help me through the transition. He’s been a man to his word.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
