Last November, former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer made it clear that the outspoken faith of now Jets quarterback Tim Tebow was beginning to wear on him. In the wake of Tebow’s introductory press conference to the New York media on Monday, Plummer seems to be backing off his bold statements.
Five months ago on XTRA 910 in Phoenix, Plummer made the statements criticizing Tebow.
“I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ then I think I’ll like him a little better,” Plummer said. “I don’t hate him because of that; I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.”
Tebow, who started 11 regular season games in Denver last year, has become a polarizing figure off the field for weaving his Christianity into nearly every public statement. While fielding questions on Monday at the Jets training facility, Tebow mentioned his faith five times during the 32-minute press conference. Each reference, however, came after being questioned about his beliefs.
Plummer clarified his views on Tebow during a Wednesday interview on KKFN in Denver.
“I don’t know if you can say what bugs me about him. I think I just, throughout my whole life I understand people’s beliefs and what they believe in and it always kind of rubbed me the wrong way. After a game, the people I always thanked were my teammates because they were there,” Plummer said.
“Whatever belief you believe in that’s fine, but when I did say that about him it was in no disrespect to him as a person. I just thought it would be nice for him to take credit for himself and to his teammates for once.”
Plummer, a bit of a cult icon in Denver, lined up in favor of Broncos general manager John Elway signing Peyton Manning as a free agent. The move to bring in Manning ushered the Broncos trading Tebow.
“The kid has a big heart. He’s a humanitarian, but to back up what Elway did, you don’t win Super Bowls with a humanitarian at a quarterback. You win Super Bowls with a genius quarterback who knows what is going on and that is Peyton Manning,” Plummer said.
“Until the league catches up with this new style that is going on with these athletes at quarterback like Cam Newton, him and [Mike] Vick, until those offensive coordinators get creative enough, I don’t think you will see a team win a Super Bowl with one of those guys. It’s bound to happen soon, but in the meantime I think this city is hungry for a Super Bowl.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
