Former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer recently agreed to appear in the planned Canadian football movie Kick. He’s slated to play the veteran pivot of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in what will be his first speaking role in a film.
Plummer recently spoke to 3DownNation about his appreciation for the CFL and a handful of its players that he’s grown to admire over the years.
“I think Doug Flutie is one of the greatest and is maybe the greatest quarterback to ever play the game,” said Plummer. “I loved watching him play and he did really well in the CFL.”
Flutie played eight seasons in the CFL and was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player a record six times. The three-time Grey Cup MVP threw for 41,355 yards, 270 touchdowns, and 155 interceptions before returning to the NFL where he started 52 games over the following eight years.
Three-time CFL all-star Travis Moore worked out in Arizona during the CFL off-season and it didn’t take long for he and Plummer to cross paths. The pair developed a friendship and often trained and played basketball together.
“I was always trying to get him a look in the NFL but for some reason — I don’t know what it was — he couldn’t get there,” said Plummer. “He dominated in the CFL. It dawned on me that there’s a really weird disconnect here from both levels of football. Is one better than the other?”
Moore caught 645 passes for 9,930 yards and 79 touchdowns as a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders between 1994 to 2005. He is currently entering his third season as Saskatchewan’s receivers coach having broken into the CFL’s coaching ranks in 2009.
“He had better hands than some of the guys we were giving chances to with the Arizona Cardinals,” said Plummer. “Why would you not have a reliable vet come from the CFL who knows how to play and prepare? It was kind of confusing to me.”
Plummer worked closely with longtime CFL head coach Marc Trestman when he was hired as Arizona’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 1998. The pair helped the Cardinals achieve a 9-7 record that season and beat the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC Wild Card game.
“He was a good friend and a great coach,” said Plummer. “Watching him coach in the CFL and win championships and a Grey Cup in Toronto was really cool.”
Plummer has limited acting experience but knows his ten years of playing experience in the NFL will help him play the role of a grizzled veteran quarterback. He looks forward to helping showcase a league that he feels doesn’t get enough attention from south of the border.
“The CFL is an awesome league and it doesn’t get the respect it deserves.”
