BRONCOS-BENGALS Plummer, Lewis hoping change does them good

Denver opens the season in Cincinnati with a new starting quarterback.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- For Jake Plummer and Marvin Lewis, it's time to start making believers.
The mistake-prone passer and the first-year coach have to win over impatient cities and locker rooms full of players waiting to see how they work out.
The Denver Broncos have handed their future to Plummer, who had more touchdowns than interceptions in only one of his six seasons at Arizona.
The Cincinnati Bengals have made themselves synonymous with Lewis, who was put in charge of transforming the NFL's worst team.
Their season opener today will either start winning over the cynics, or prove them right.
"Right now, everybody's got one foot in, and they're not quite sure they want to buy in," Lewis said. "That sounds familiar, doesn't it? That's human nature."
Mile-high slump
The Broncos have been in only one playoff game since John Elway retired after leading them to their second straight Super Bowl title in the 1998 season.
After Brian Griese tried and failed, the Broncos turned to Plummer, who led Arizona to a playoff victory in 1998, but not much else.
Plummer has given indications of Elway's flair for the dramatic -- 21 comeback victories with the Cardinals -- and a seven-year, $40 million contract that makes the comparisons are unavoidable.
"The organization has put a lot of eggs in his basket, and we hope he doesn't trip on the way to the market," tight end Shannon Sharpe said.
If he does, he'll hear it. Plummer has already been booed in Denver during the preseason, an indication of the fans' expectations.
"It's been a couple of years since we've been to the playoffs," Plummer said. "The players' expectations are just as high, if not higher."
Main problem
Plummer's main problem has been his propensity to make mistakes when he tries to make big plays. He threw 90 touchdowns and 114 interceptions with Arizona.
The Bengals have saved a few blitzes for the opener, trying to turn him into the weak link in the first game.
"All of the stuff that goes along with being the new guy on a team will be there -- a lot of the focus on me," Plummer said.
All of the Broncos know it's important for Plummer to have a good debut.
"I think he is smart enough to know that if he doesn't, he is going to get ridiculed, but that is part of the quarterback position," coach Mike Shanahan said. "I think he is also tough enough to understand that there are going to be those tough games, and with that comes the scrutiny of the position. But I like what I see."
Bengals fans like what they've seen of Lewis, but aren't quite ready to commit after a dozen years of letdowns. First, they need proof that things are going to be different in his first season.
"There's been a lot of talk around the city about what we're doing, how we're looking," offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "We need to come out and win, not just look good."
Looking good has been the mantra in Cincinnati for 12 years. Lewis substantially raised the bar in his first eight months on the job, releasing underachieving veterans and making inroads with a front office that resisted change.
He has barely made a dent in the cynicism. Only 39,956 tickets were sold for the first preseason game under Lewis, the smallest exhibition game in Paul Brown Stadium's four-year history. The season opener hadn't sold out by midweek.
Players are eager to prove the franchise is headed the right way. Lewis warned them during the week to make sure enthusiasm doesn't get the best of them.
"That happens a lot," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "Sometimes in openers you get down 10-0 and you were so excited and had such great expectations going into it that at 10-0 you feel like the game is over. "
We have to make sure it doesn't happen if that situation occurs."
It happens a lot in Cincinnati. The Bengals are 9-36 in August and September since 1991, the start of their reign as the NFL's doormats. With a tough opening schedule -- Denver, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo -- the setting is there for another first-run flop.
Outside the locker room, there aren't many believers at this point.
"People that know football no longer pick on us," Lewis said. "But other people who aren't educated, they can and do. They deserve that right if they want, but they don't have anything invested in us like other people do. We'll change that quickly."