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Provided by copyright (c)1997 Associated Press
TUESDAY 10/28/97  5:53:38
^Rookie QB likely to get second chance after big loss<
^By MEL REISNER=
^AP Sports Writer=
   TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) _ The only way to get experience is to play.
That simple philosophy of coach Vince Tobin may be enough to get
Jake Plummer a second chance to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
   Plummer, a 22-year-old quarterback, took the Arizona Cardinals
on a length-of-the-field drive for a touchdown that gave them a
short-lived 10-7 lead over the Eagles on Oct. 19. Philadelphia came
back to win 13-10 in overtime, but Tobin was impressed enough to
give Plummer his first start Sunday.
   That was an experience of a different kind.
   The Tennessee Oilers picked off Plummer four times _ including a
39-yard scoring return by Denard Walker _ sacked him six times,
recovered three fumbles and beat the Cardinals 41-14.
   The Oilers had no turnovers, and the Cardinals' seven were the
most for them in 88 games since a 27-3 loss to New Orleans in their
final game of 1991. It was Arizona's worst home loss since a 38-10
rout by Miami in the 1996 opener.
   Because of the turnovers, Tennessee's offense scored four
touchdowns without having to drive more than 44 yards for any of
them.
   But Plummer completed 67 percent of his passes in the second
half (18-for-27) for 139 yards, two TDs and one interception.
   ``You sometimes learn from adversity,'' Tobin said Monday. ``He
played against Philadelphia the week before, and everything came up
roses for him at the end, on one drive, anyway. In this game,
everything didn't come up roses, especially in the first half when
a lot of bad things happened, and he did hang in there.''
   Having Plummer, who starred at Arizona State, in the lineup
helped the Cardinals (1-7) sell 44,030 tickets, and the rookie drew
repeated applause from fans even when he misfired.
   ``I don't know how long it's going to last,'' he said. ``It was
comforting, but I expect them to treat me like anyone else. You
know, I'm not looking for any favors. I'm just going to try to
improve and hopefully get them to cheer for me, not because I'm
walking out on the field but because I threw a touchdown.''
   Tobin doesn't expect the cheers to last long.
   ``You can only live so long with what you've done in the past,
and this was maybe his honeymoon game,'' Tobin said. ``He's no
different than anyone else _ pretty soon they're going to evaluate
him on how he's doing.''
   But he saw no sign of quit in Plummer or the rest of the team.
Plummer eventually threw two TD passes to Rob Moore, and had a
third nullified because he released the ball beyond the line of
scrimmage.
   Tobin's options are Plummer, Kent Graham, who is still limping
on an ankle he sprained Oct. 12, and Stoney Case, who was
ineffective in the first 50 minutes of play at Philadelphia.
   Linebacker Jamir Miller, who had eight tackles and a sack
against the Oilers, vowed there would be no letdown this weekend.
   ``I'm not going to quit, because I'm a pro,'' Miller said. ``And
I'm not going to accept any of that from my teammates. We're all
professionals, and we have to keep playing hard and make something
happen.''