Rookie Plummer Gets Call For Cards
Arizona Cardinals coach Vince Tobin went with a hunch Tuesday, naming rookie Jake Plummer to start at quarterback Sunday against the Tennessee Oilers.
Plummer, who starred at Arizona State and finished third in last year’s Heisman Trophy voting, earned the job Sunday when he took the Cardinals on a 98-yard, 14-play drive that put Arizona ahead 10-7 against Philadelphia.
The Eagles forced overtime and won the game 13-10, but Plummer had a chance to demonstrate his leadership in the hostile environment of Veterans Stadium.
“I put Jake in and he brought us on a drive, 98 yards, and I want to see what else is there,” Tobin said. “That’s really the final analysis. I think there’s something there that can be really, really good, and I want to look at it.”
Plummer was 5 of 9 for 98 yards, one TD and no interceptions, earning a rating of 130.8 in his first NFL action.
Special teams getting it done for Giants
Before the Giants’ unexpected ascension to the top of the National Football Conference East standings, one of the glaring flaws in the organization was the lack of impact players. While the offense and defense have thrived with a workmanlike effort, the impact has come from an unexpected source.
While the likes of Danny Kannell and Charles Way on offense and Jason Sehorn and Jessie Armstead on defense are making names for themselves, the Giants’ special teams are still loaded with no-name players who are making big-time plays.
In Sunday’s 26-20 overtime victory over Detroit, it was Amani Toomer, whose 53-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Giants a second-half lead. And equally impressive was David Patten’s effort on the ensuing kickoff, when the 5-foot-9-inch, 180-pound rookie dashed across the field and leaped over a pile of players to make a diving, touchdown-saving stop of Glyn Milburn.
Around the league
Seattle Seahawks running back Lamar Smith will miss four weeks with a broken left leg, the team said. Smith, the team’s leading rusher with 280 yards, suffered the injury to his fibula during the second quarter of Seattle’s 17-9 win at St. Louis…The Seahawks have waived defensive end Antonio Edwards for the second time this year. Edwards was waived by the Seahawks Aug. 5. He re-signed with Seattle Sept. 24 and was active for three games… Fans leaving the Patriots-Jets football game Sunday tackled a 320-pound Massachusetts teen after he stabbed two Jets fans during an argument. The 16-year-old boy and two adult companions were arrested by New Jersey state police after the game and remained jailed on Tuesday… . Denver Broncos fullback Howard Griffith, the lead blocker for AFC rushing leader Terrell Davis, might miss Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills because of a torn knee ligament… . Atlanta Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler may be able to play in Sunday night’s game at Carolina after tests showed no serious damage from his second concussion of the season.