Despite appearances, Plummer isn't Tebowing. We think. (US PRESSWIRE/Getty Images)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

It wasn't that long ago that Jake Plummer was Denver's winning quarterback. From 2003-2006, the Broncos never won fewer than 10 games, and made it to the AFC Championship game in 2005.

Plummer retired after the 2006 season, when then-head coach Mike Shanahan handed the offense over to Jay Cutler. They haven't been to the playoffs since.

Now the honor of "Denver's winning quarterback" falls to Tim Tebow, who is 4-1 as a starter this season. He's also very vocal about his religious beliefs, something Plummer could do with less of.

During a recent radio interview (via Sports Radio Interviews), Plummer said this: “I think he’s a winner and I respect that about him. 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. 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 … like you know, I understand dude where you’re coming from … but he is a baller."

On Tuesday, Tebow, appearing on ESPN's First Take, responded to Plummer's remarks (transcription courtesy of ProFootballTalk.com):

“If you’re married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife, I love her, the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and have the opportunity? And that’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ,” Tebow said. “It is the most important thing in my life, so every opportunity I have to tell him I love him, or I’m given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I’m going to take that opportunity.”

One distinction might be that, in general, men don't proclaim their love for their wives during the course of their workday. To put this in football terms, we've never heard a player preface every media interview or press conference by stating that he loves his spouse. Same with after a big play or a touchdown.

As PFT.com's Michael David Smith points out, Plummer has nothing against Tebow's religious beliefs, just that he doesn’t think Tebow should inject said beliefs into a football discussion.

Tebow continued:

Jesus? Nope, that's Plummer. Ironical, we know.

“I look at it as a relationship I have with Him, I want to give Him the honor and glory every time I get the opportunity. And then after I give him the honor and glory I always try to give my teammates the honor and glory, and that’s how it works. Because Christ comes first in my life, and then my family, and then my teammates.

"I respect Jake’s opinion, and I really appreciate his compliment of calling me a winner, but I feel like every time I get the opportunity to give the Lord some praise he is due for it because what he did for me, and what he did on the cross for all of us," said Tebow. "I really appreciate his opinion and I respect him, but I still will give all the honor and glory to the Lord because he deserves it.”

Put differently: Plummer may like Tebow the football player, but could do without the constant reminders of his faith. And Tebow has no plans to do anything but pronounce his love for Jesus every chance he gets.

Whatever you think of Tebow, there's no denying that divine intervention has a lot to do with his success. Because there's no way a guy completing 44.8 percent of his throws, and who completed just two passes against the Chiefs in Week 10 would be on an NFL roster, much less a starting quarterback with a 4-1 record.

So, yeah, he has good reason to be thankful.

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