Chris Ballard on Jake Plummer

It did seem as though the question was left on the table.

 

Maybe this is a dumb question, but which two?

Plummer was already a seasoned vet when he got to Denver and while I agree Shanahan ran him out of town, he did milk Plummer pretty effectively first. I can't imagine you are talking about Cutler, who was pretty successful under Shanahan before feuding with McDaniels.

Shanahan isn't/wasn't perfect, but I think some of the heat being placed on him here is a big much. He probably switched away from Plummer too early, but I guarantee Denver would be in a better position today if Shanahan hadn't been fired. (Though, that says more about McDaniels than Shanahan.)

"Mastermind"? Time has revealed probably not. But he was plenty successful.

 

This is an interesting fly-in-the-ointment take on Plummer, and I was wondering if you couild be a little more specific about what he did to make you feel that way about him when you covered him. Just curious. The intensity of his personality certainly comes out in the SI piece, so that's consistent with what your experience with him was.

 

I liked his style at ASU and despite the obvious comparisons to Montana made by everyone I was disheartened when he went to the Cards in the 2nd round and the Niners went with Jim Drukenmiller in the 1st.

He seems like a guy who has found what he's wanted (great when you make $30M and don't spend it like he says, and then live modestly.) Congrats to him.

As for the close to bride, who really knows what anyone's relationship is. He's happy now, that's probably what all that matters. Even if he made promises he did not keep, better that he bailed then than later.

 

Holy Bull,

His typical response to the most innocuous of questions would be "fuck you" or "fuck you guys." Or in a press-conference setting just mutter something under his breath that the mikes wouldn't pick up as he arrived/left, but that those of us sitting around him could hear.

 

In that case, "unrelenting asshole" works for me.

 

Maybe he has Turrets Syndrome

 

I read the story in the magazine and enjoyed it. The picture that accompanies it has him drinking a Bud Light with Clamato. Ick.