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QB change may be in air

Loss to Kansas City only fuels speculation Plummer's job on line

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 24, 2006 at midnight

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jake Plummer ran up the tunnel Thursday night, and it would take awhile for Jay Cutler to catch up to him.

It might be the last time this season that scenario plays out so strikingly.

By the next time the Broncos take the field Dec. 3, it well could be the rookie No. 1 pick taking the lead and Plummer in follow-up mode.

Plummer completed 25-of-39 passes to 10 different receivers against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he led Denver to just one touchdown in a 19-10 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium.

And with Denver's season at a crossroads, speculation is at a fever pitch that Plummer has started his last game for the Broncos.

"We've been inconsistent," Plummer said of the offense, which scored fewer than 20 points for the eighth time this season in falling to 7-4 overall. "And if that's the case, then point the arrow at the triggerman."

Plummer said he's willing to do anything, including pulling an all-nighter at the team's complex to try to improve his own performance, but he knows it comes down to winning.

And after two straight AFC West defeats, he knows change could be on the horizon, although he hasn't been informed of such.

"We lost and I didn't make some plays," he said. "I can't tell you what's going to happen. All I know is I'm going to get on the plane, take a few days off and come back. And if I'm still behind the trigger, I'm going to play my (butt) off as hard as I can, just like I always have."

He said his status probably will become public before he even finds out from coach Mike Shanahan.

"I'm the starter right now, and if Mike wants to put Jay in there, then my play hasn't warranted him to not do it. Whatever he wants to do is what I have to go with," Plummer said.

Plummer entered this critical matchup 29th in interception percentage, 25th in yards per completion and a completion rate of just 54.3 percent. And while there has been talk about his uneven play many times previously, for the first time this week his standing as No. 1 appeared in doubt, barring a very good performance against the Chiefs.

It didn't start well. He threw the ball behind tight end Stephen Alexander on the third play from scrimmage for an interception and later dodged a bullet when a second errant throw into Chiefs hands was wiped out by a penalty. And without support from the run game (16 carries, 38 yards), he couldn't carry the team on his shoulders.

Denver, 4-for-12 on third downs, was down six points in the fourth quarter, and went three-and-out after the defense set up the Broncos at their 36 with an interception. It's the second straight week Denver was within one score in the final quarter but couldn't get the necessary points on offense.

"I'm frustrated, yeah," Plummer said. "But I don't quit."

He might not have a choice, though, but to take a seat with nine days of preparation time for the Seattle Seahawks.

"I haven't heard anything," Plummer said of his tenuous status. "I've heard little bits and pieces from people around me that have said, 'Hey hang in there. Don't listen to what's going on.' It's you guys, the media, that really starts that stuff; it's your job to. I've shut it out the best I can because I know a lot of fans are rooting hard for me. Yeah, there are some that don't want me to play anymore. I can't control their thoughts unless I play well. My whole thought is to go out and prepare and play as hard as I can, and whatever happens, happens."

The quarterback's best throw came after Lenny Walls' penalty erased Patrick Surtain's interception in the third quarter, when he lofted a perfect strike to David Kircus for 36 yards to the Kansas City 24. Seven plays later, he put the ball on point to Alexander in the left corner of the end zone.

But Plummer went 6-of-12 for 58 yards on three fourth-quarter drives, and Denver couldn't get any closer KC's 29.

Although the quarterback before the game received encouragement from teammates, who told him they were going to play for him, those same players might be fighting alongside Cutler sooner than later.

"It's a distraction, obviously," Plummer said. "But I can't let it be. I've got to fight and practice as hard as I can. With a short week, I spent almost every minute of free time studying the game plan. That's all I know how to do. And if I'm struggling or we're struggling, that's what you have to do — keep pushing through.

"The speculation didn't start yesterday. It started the day they drafted Jay, so I've been dealing with it."