HOUSTON, Texas -- The first time Jake Plummer snaked outside the pocket, Broncos receivers didn't know what to do. They had grown accustomed to Brian Griese as a pocket passer. Practice with an improv was different.

"They didn't know what to do," Plummer said of his baffled receivers. "The next time I broke out, Ed McCaffrey broke deep and you bet your ass I threw 40 yards for a touchdown."

	Jake Plummer threw 18 TDs and 20 INTs last season for the Cardinals.

To fix the Broncos passing offense, Mike Shanahan hired the most expensive plummer available. Jake the Snake signed a seven-year, $40 million contract to use his feet and his arm. This isn't to knock Griese. Shanahan liked Griese's 62 percent career completion rate, but his time in the Broncos offense passed him by. His winning percentage as a starter was only 53 percent, not good enough.

And the reason for his exodus wasn't because he couldn't play the position. Part of the problem was that the offensive line hasn't been as good as it was when Griese first started at quarterback. The line surrendered 46 sacks last season, and Griese didn't have the mobile feet to prevent that. Plummer did.

"We were looking for two guys in free agency, and if we didn't get one, Steve Beuerlein would have been the quarterback," Shanahan said. "I thought Steve could run the offense very well. What I saw in Jake was the ability to make something when nothing was there."

Plummer's having a blast. His career grew stale in the Arizona desert. Though he's worked with good receivers such as Rob Moore, Frank Sanders and David Boston, Plummer rarely went into a season with hopes of making the playoffs. He's also not had workaholic receivers such as Rod Smith, McCaffrey and Shannon Sharpe at his disposal.

"Jake is going to surprise some people," Sharpe said. "I know people are saying that's the same Jake Plummer who was in Arizona. But I think what he didn't have in Arizona is Rod Smith, McCaffrey, Clinton Portis, a solid offensive line and a solid team. He's not going to go through five offensive coordinators and three systems. He's going to have the same system and the same opportunity to win games."

Shanahan is more pleased with Plummer the more he sees him. For one, Shanahan says that Plummer's arm is stronger than he thought. He says Plummer throws better on the run than he thought. Plus, there's no doubt that he's won over his new teammates.

"What do I find more impressive?" Smith said. "The way he moves. Sometimes, that can help you. Sometimes, that can hurt you. It's another weapon for us. It's a plus. My thinking is when they have good coverage, we are still going to have something. We're not going to have to force a throw. He can move up in the pocket and make a throw."

With the Arizona Cardinals, Plummer was the show. Too often, he forced too many plays, which is why he had more interceptions than touchdown passes. Coming to Denver brings more structure to Plummer's game. Shanahan is a perfectionist. His system is quarterback friendly. It's exact.

"On first and second down, you know we are going to run the rock and you know we are going to play action out of that," Plummer said. "It's deadly. Defenses have to bring guys down in the box to stop Clinton Portis and that will open up one receiver downfield."

Portis was the league's rookie of the year rushing for 1,508 yards. He's increased his weight to 210 pounds, which he believes will make him more durable for his first chance to be the featured back for 16 games.

"My body held up pretty good last year," Portis said. "As the season went on, I got lighter, but the last game of the season was my best game. I've got to learn how to protect myself. You don't want to take unnecessary shots."

What was surprising for Portis is how well he did on inside runs.

"I'd rather run inside," Portis said. "Last year, they wanted to use more as an outside runner. Once I was able to run inside and then out, it opened up my game. If you run inside and it's not there, you can always bounce to the outside."

With Plummer and Portis, the Broncos offense is a little quicker. And the emergence of Ashley Lelie in his second season is another weapon. Lelie is tall and fast and is catching everything. His presence should allow the Broncos to use more three-receiver sets.

"Ashley is one of the best 11 guys, and so is Ed McCaffrey," Sharpe said. "Mike is going to find a way to use them. We may go Zebra package or three- or four-receivers. The only problem with that is that you don't want to take Mike Anderson off the field as a fullback. You've got to find a way to get all of them on the field."

Shanahan's mission is to keep all his offensive players on the field without getting a penalty. Still, a potent offense may not be enough to get the Broncos back to the playoffs. The AFC West is loading with great offenses. The Raiders pass for 300 yards a game. The Chiefs score 30 points a game. The Chargers have the big-play combo of LaDainian Tomlinson in the backfield and David Boston as a receiver downfield.

	“	Jake is going to surprise some people. I know people are saying that's the same Jake Plummer who was in Arizona. But I think what he didn't have in Arizona is Rod Smith, McCaffrey, Clinton Portis, a solid offensive line and a solid team. He's not going to go through five offensive coordinators and three systems. He's going to have the same system and the same opportunity to win games. ”
		— Shannon Sharpe, Broncos tight end

It's the success of the defense that will determine the fate of the Broncos, and stats mean nothing. Last year, the Broncos finished sixth and their defensive coordinator, Ray Rhodes, quit. Shanahan promoted linebacker coach Larry Coyer and believes he will find the right solutions for some defensive deficiencies.

For whatever reason, the Broncos and Rhodes weren't a good fit. Early in the season, the Broncos were a beast for opposing offenses. Rhodes had the big defensive line punishing blockers and letting the talented linebacking trio of John Mobley, Al Wilson and Ian Gold roam the field for tackles.

As the season progressed, things got strained. Rhodes wanted to vary some things, but it never got done. The secondary played mostly in zones and struggled to stop teams in key situations, which is why the Broncos lost four games on the last play.

"Last year, we were trying to get our run defense right, but we were not as concerned about pressuring the quarterback as we were in the past," defensive end Trevor Pryce said. "You get to the point where your run defense is pretty good and people try to throw the ball on you and you don't have answers. Now, I think we are going to be more prepared for both."

Under Coyer, the Broncos plan to be more aggressive at getting to the quarterback.

"That's important because 60 percent of the time, you're playing the pass," Pryce said. "It was our job last year to free up the linebackers and let those guys make all the plays. I wasn't surprised Ray stepped down. I don't think he was comfortable here. I think he brought in a pretty good scheme but it kinda got changed in the middle."

The bigger question is whether the Broncos have the talent to be effective against the pass. Pryce is the team's only true pass rusher and he expects to be double teamed. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal, a Pro Bowler in 2001, is coming off a bad season in which he finished the year as a backup. He's competing against Kelly Herndon for a starting job while tall, unknown Lenny Walls, a free agent rookie a year ago, gets the start on the other side.

"At cornerback, we'll find out," Shanahan said. "We've got some young guys. Some are inexperienced. Having Walls was one of the reasons we made some changes in the secondary and didn't bring back Denard Walker. We felt Lenny could step up and play that position."

Plummer seems to fit well in the Broncos offense. For the defense, though, it could be a scramble.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.