No more football??? Noooooooooo!!!

Were any of us ever that young?

Well, we took some time off because the end of the NFL season always comes as a shock. The Super Bowl was pretty good, and it played out like we thought it would...Cardinals stay close enough (to cover the spread) but ultimately fall to the more experienced Steelers. For a few brief moments we had visions of a Cardinals title in our heads but after the last touchdown the Steelers had way, way too much time on the clock.

So another year come and gone, and LPP goes into hibernation for the Spring. However, we'll still do our best to keep you updated on Jake, the Broncos, the NFL, Mike Shanahan, and anything else we fell might be interesting. For instance, this interview with Jake from 2 weeks ago where he answers questions about Shanahan, Cutler, and Denver's new coach Josh McDaniels. He even makes a not-so-subtle comparison between Pumpkin Pie and Jeff George, which even made us sort of go "wow, can't believe he went there" even though it could end up being deadly accurate if Cutler never develops past where he is now.

Let's face it, Cutler had one of the better (by reputation, mind you) offensive minds in football holding his leash for the past three years. If his future coaches can't get him over the hump where numbers actually translate into success, Pumpkin Pie is going to be more of an Archie Manning than a Peyton Manning, and we all know the city of Denver won't stand for it. The current Broncos receiver corps is one of the top five in the league, so this isn't like Jake's team having a gimpy Rod Smith and nothing else or Elway's "Three Amigos" having to give themselves a clever collective nickname because individually they were fairly average. Granted, the running game is damaged unless Peyton Hillis is the real deal, but Elway used to get to Super Bowls with a substandard running game (at least when Dan Reeves was running the show.)

Will Pumpkin Pie step up and be more than just a Pro Bowler with a poor record? Will the Broncos shake the ghost of Shanahan and rise again to dominate an AFC West that is absolutely ripe for the taking? Will Jake the Snake Plummer return to bring the thunder to some lucky and deserving NFL team? Will LetPlummerPlay.com close its doors after proving without a shadow of a doubt that we were absolutely 100% right about the state of the Broncos over the past 3 years and that anyone who told us different was higher than Michael Phelps at a house party?

Well...maybe, maybe, probably not, and we'll see. Congratulations to the Steelers, kudos to the Cardinals, best of luck to our Broncos, best wishes to Jake, and all the best to the loyal few who still come around and read...

LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!

Apparently we were right about two things

1. Jake will be rooting for the Cardinals on Super Bowl Sunday.
2. Jake was far from upset when he heard the news about Shanny.

This article that caught up with our patron saint came out a few days ago, but we just read it a few hours after our last posting. Good luck with the ongoing handball career Snake, and thanks for not disappointing...somehow we just knew.

The Cardinals finally do something without Jake

Second-best QB in Arizona AND Denver franchise history? YOU BET YOUR ASS.

By now it's old news, but we would like to congratulate the Arizona Cardinals for finally getting over the hump and making their first Super Bowl. Since the end of oh, the Korean War, the Cardinals' biggest highlight had been Jake Plummer and Co.'s triumph over the heavily favored Aikman-Irvin-Smith Dallas Cowboys during the 1998 playoffs. So this is a pretty big deal. Jake's an old Arizona State guy, so it's probable that he had more emotional investment in the Cardinals' victory than the Broncos' recent bed-pooping, at least we think so.

Though it's hard for us to say as Jake fans, we will acknowledge that win or lose, this is probably the best Arizona Cardinals team of all time, and Kurt Warner is more than likely their best quarterback. However, Jake still gets our vote as the most interesting and dynamic QB to ever take a snap in the cardinal and white, and for damn sure he didn't have Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Not to mention that the '98 Cards had to face the dynasty Cowboys and a 15-1 Vikings squad, not two inexperienced and nameless NFC South squads and an Eagles team whose quarterback doesn't even know the rules of the game. Come to think of it, both Cards team had the same regular season record!

You know what? We think the 98' Cards could take these guys. Jake "The Snake" would find a way. Nevertheless, good luck Arizona. We here at LPP are pulling for you by default to take down the Steelers just because...

...well...

...since Jake's retired and the Broncos are currently terrible, it really is just because. Yup, no reason other than Jake's former association with the Arizona franchise. If you see this Jake, we hope you're pulling for them, too.

Go Cardinals, a franchise that ten years ago saw a chance for playoff glory, and instead of doing something petty and stupid, went ahead and...

LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!

Agree? Disagree? Bring it up on the message board.

Poor Fatty

Wade probably hates him, too.

Wade Phillips must be getting tired of Shanny eyeballing his jobs after the roster gets loaded up with talent. But we've always said, Shanahan isn't a team builder, he's a team poacher. Give him the current Cowboys roster and sure, he could probably do better than Wade Phillips. So could Grandpa. Don't get all huffy if Shanahan goes to Dallas in 2010 and wins a Super Bowl, Denver fans. That team's already loaded. But once the talent dwindles and he has to put a new team together on his own, guess what will happen? Same shit, different logo.

The Crazy 8&8's

Where have we seen this before?

SHANACANNED

Well, maybe we should just shut down now. He's fired. Fired! Mike Shanahan is gone, baby, gone after the Broncos embarrassed themselves, the city of Denver, and fans around the world by crapping the bed against the Chargers in a must-win situation they had several opportunities to avoid.

Now don't get all whiny on us and say "oh, who better can they get now, LPP?" Better than what? The glory days of Elway and Terrell were long behind Shanny. Long, long, long. Sure, he's had moderate success since then, and while it's notable in a league where perennial powerhouse like Oakland or Miami can hit the skids for years at a time, "moderate success" is not enough for fans with any sense of pride or hope. The ten-year rebuilding plan is over. Shanahan failed. And if the next coach isn't as successful, well guess what? At least ownership is TRYING instead of putting the entire franchise on Jay Cutler's shoulders and praying for Elway-esque miracles like Shanahan seemed to be doing this year.

Pat Bowlen finally sees what we've been seeing for almost 3 years. At best...BEST...Cutler might have been able to do what Elway did in the early days, dragging a team into the playoffs with little name-brand help. But one man can't win a Super Bowl by himself, and those old Broncos runners-up always had Dan Reeves' solid defenses to keep the score within Elway's range. Shanahan's defenses have ranged from solid in the good years to absolutely horrific in the lean years. And these recent years have been LEAN.

We respect that Shanny was able to ride coattails to back-to-back championships without getting in the powerhouse roster's way. We respect that he never let the Broncos turn into a complete 1-15 type of joke during his tenure. We even respect that he inserted and then stood by Jay Cutler as the #1 QB...even though he did it about six months sooner than he should have. But 1998 was a LONG time ago. The old dog's tricks aren't cutting it anymore. We don't feel sorry for Shanny. He can have a job tomorrow if he wanted, in Cleveland or Cincinnati or St. Louis or even a playoff pretender like Arizona or (yes, even) San Diego. And he will be paid millions for it. The Broncos may suck next year but let's face it, with or without Shanny, a Super Bowl wasn't in the cards as they were currently dealt. A fresh start is needed if only to prove that Pat Bowlen cares enough to try.

We'll have more on this later on after we've digested it. We'd also like to direct you here, because we know this guy's ecstatic.

Thanks for the memories, Mike Shanahan, even the bad ones. However, after reviewing your performance, we regret to inform you that your services are no longer required.

And we didn't even really get into how you should have...

LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!

LPP Proven Right since 2006

Thanks a whole lot Mike and Jay.