| | By John Clayton
ESPN.com
The venom still burns inside Jake Plummer after his snake-bitten
1999 season. Five injuries and only six wins. That's not what he had
in mind.
"I learned a lot of lessons about myself," Plummer said. "The
lesson you learn is that one year doesn't make a man. It doesn't turn you
into a bad quarterback in one year."
|  | | Jake Plummer won't be in such a hurry to make plays. |
More than ever, Plummer must be The Man to save the Cardinals
franchise. The defensive line lost tackle Eric Swann. Defensive end Simeon
Rice is a holdout with no sign of his possible return. With a defensive line
in transition, more pressure will fall upon the offense to eat up possession
time on the clock and score points.
In some ways, the team's needs may force a few changes in Plummer. The Snake has to shed some new skin. For one, Plummer is being asked to
gamble less with his throws in the first quarter.
"The thing that Jake has to learn is in his field generalship that
the first quarter is different than the fourth quarter," Cardinals coach
Vince Tobin said. "You have to be more conservative early in the ball game
and not force a ball. Let the game come to you a little bit and try not to always make something happen when bad things are happening."
Attentive, Plummer is listening. He hears that early in the game. He understands now that it's not a bad idea to break free for a scamble instead of making a forced throw. It's also not a bad idea to dump the ball to a running back.
"You always want to get the first down on every play," Plummer
said. "It's still one of those questions where throwing downfield may be
too costly. It's doesn't matter if you get that first down in the first
quarter. If you don't get it, then you are always going to get another
chance. In the fourth quarter, you've got to force it because you don't get
another chance."
So Plummer has to contain himself, which isn't easy because he's a playmaker. This is his fourth season. His interception totals have gradually
increased over the past three seasons from 15 in 1997 to 20 in 1998 to 24
last year. But because of personnel losses on defense, Plummer's margin of
error can't continue to increase.
"Jake is very resilient," Tobin said. "He is confident in his
ability. Any time you go through an experience not as good as you would
like, it gives pause to reflect. You have to elevate some of the things you do
and have done."
Plummer stopped short of calling 1999 a nightmare. "It was tough,
real tough," he said. He had a thumb injury, two separate broken fingers on
his right hand, hip and groin problems. His quarterback rating dropped to
50.8, worst in the league.
"I was dealing with stuff I didn't know how to deal with,"
Plummer said. "It's the first time I've really been injured. I learned a
lot of lessons about how to treat and approach injuries that should help me
down the road."
From those experiences, Plummer vows to make some subtle changes.
"My goal is to take what the defenses give an offense," Plummer
said. "You will see a lot different quarterback out there, a more patient
quarterback."
|
“ |
I
think the biggest thing Jake has to realize is that he doesn't have to do too much.
Sometimes, he feels like the whole weight is on his shoulders. ” |
|
|
— Rob Moore, Cardinals receiver |
Helping with that patience will be an improved running offense. The
Cardinals drafted Thomas Jones for that reason, and even though he has yet
to beat out Michael Pittman as the starter, Jones shows all the flashes of being a
great back. But he, too, needs more patience.
In last week's exhibition opener, Jones was too fancy with his moves. He'd try to make several hip fakes or jukes five yards away from a defender.
At Virginia, Jones' moves would leave defenders stumped. In the NFL, those
moves result in an easy tackle.
"This game is so much faster and more physical," Jones said.
"It's a matter of getting adjusted to the speed. When you give a guy a move
in this league, it's not going to happen for you."
Still, the threat of a running game will open up the middle of the
field for Plummer to attack.
"I think the biggest thing Jake has to realize is that he doesn't
have to do too much," wide receiver Rob Moore said. "Sometimes, he feels
like the whole weight is on his shoulders. But if everybody does their part,
it will take the pressure off of him."
All could collapse if the Cardinals defense can't stop the run.
Through the draft, the Cardinals had assembled what they thought was an
all-star defensive line -- Andre Wadsworth and Rice at the ends, Swann and Mark Smith at tackle. They cut Swann. Wadsworth hasn't practiced
because of injuries. Smith held out in a contract dispute but recently
returned. Rice is still holding out.
These Cards have anything but a full house on this line.
"We're not going to be the biggest defensive line and we're not
going to be the smallest," defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis said.
"We're still going to stay on the cutting edge of schemes to gain an
advantage."
Middle linebacker Ronald McKinnon said the Cards will have to do
more stunting at the line of scrimmage.
"We're probably about 20 pounds lighter on the defensive line,"
McKinnon said. "I know we've have had a nutritionist work with the
linebackers to make them lighter and faster. We're going to be able to run
better."
"Will we be as talented as last year? Probably not," Tobin said. "Of course, maybe the results will be better."
All that talent last year produced a 4.2-yard against rushing
average and a staggering 141.6 yards a game rushing. The signing of Tony
McCoy and the drafting of Darwin Walker, Mao Tosi and Jabari Issa for the
defensive line has to make up the difference.
"We are going to be very functional," McGinnis said. "If ifs and
and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."
If Plummer can stay away from injury, that's all he wants for a
merry season.
John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
| |
ALSO SEE
Clayton's postcard from Chargers camp
Clayton Across America: 31 camps in 28 days
Cardinals: Plummer has to fix leaks
Arizona Cardinals
|
