The Elway Clause

As a Broncos fan, I find it a little upsetting that Jake Plummer refused to agree to a trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, instead opting to retire after a ten year career. Plummer could have been considerate, helped out the Broncos by accepting the trade, and then retired later in the year.

As a Jake Plummer fan, I find it a little upsetting that the Broncos organization, and (most) of their fans have (had) no faith in Jake, and essentially forced him to make one of the harder decisions of his career. In the end though, the organization screwed Jake, and he is screwing them back. I commend him for this decision.

John Elway is like an English Monarch. Officially, he has no real power, but in the eyes of Coloradans, he controls the empire.

No one will ever live up to what he did for the city. Taking the Broncos to 5 Superbowls, leading countless comebacks with countless amazing plays. He has already taken the position of greatest Denver sports personality of all time, and will hold that title forever. That is unfortunate, because although Elway is the greatest Denver has ever seen, his prowess in the city is impossible to live up to. Nothing anyone else does will ever be good enough. That includes Jake Plummer.

Jake's record in Denver: 39-15.
John's record: 148-82-1.

Of course John won more games, because he was given chance after chance, after a bad season he was still around, after Superbowl blowouts he was still around. He compiled his career record, the 148-82-1 just mentioned, for a impressive career win percentage of .643.

Jakes winning percentage in Denver: .722.

But still, Jake was never given a second chance. He took the Broncos to the AFC Championship game, and less than two months later the Broncos drafted one of the best QB's in the draft. He started out last season with a 7-2 record, and yet rumors that he was losing his starting job were constantly flying around. Eventually he did lose that starting job, to a rookie QB, who in my opinion, still needs a few years before he is a a started, at least with a franchise like the Denver Broncos.

Jake was the first QB to stick around for a while after the Elway era. The first to win a playoff game after Elway. Jake was a good quarterback. He put his heart and soul into the city, the team, the organization, and unfortunently, because of the "Elway Clause," he never got anything back. I'm sad to see Jake go, I'm sad to see him go out in this fashion, but it's the right thing to do. After years of giving himself to this team, and to a city who wouldn't support him, he finally did something for himself, and it was the right choice.