ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Jake Plummer, the quarterback, is now Jake Plummer, the media personality.
"I said I would never do it," he laughed. "I can remember multiple times where I said I would never be that guy that's pontificating and saying all these things. But I've given it a lot of thought and I'm going to try to stay within my boundaries and give a little different insight, hopefully, that people will enjoy.
"It's just a new phase."
From his work with the Pac-12 Network to his new Snake's Takes podcast, fans will be hearing more and more from the former Broncos signal caller.
Plummer talked with DenverBroncos.com Thursday about his new ventures, sitting in the crowd at Broncos games and his take on this year's Denver team.
Have you enjoyed working with the Pac-12 Network?"I started doing that last fall. I had about eight studio appearances. It's a nice gig because I'm not tied to it. John Lynch does FOX football and he's gone from Wednesday to Sunday. I'm doing the Pac-12, which is nice because it's not every weekend and it's just for a day or two. And it's in San Francisco, which is pretty cool. I'm starting to do some color (commentary), also. I'm doing some color for the ASU spring game to see if I'm any good at that. So I might get some Pac-12 games to do some color this year, which would be fun."
Are you enjoying this next phase of your career?
"Yeah, you know, it's fun. I said I would never do it. I can remember multiple times where I said I would never be that guy that's pontificating and saying all these things. But I've given it a lot of thought and I'm going to try to stay within my boundaries and give a little different insight, hopefully, that people will enjoy. It's just a new phase. It's something to do. There's so much of it out there -- for me it's a chance to voice a little bit about things I'm interested in. We'll see how it goes. Doing the TV thing was a whole new experience, and now doing this podcast, the nice thing is I can do it at home or wherever I am on the computer. I'm learning more about it each day. It gets run by Twitter and Facebook and all the social media sites, which is so strange to me, but it's a new frontier, like I said. So I'm interested to get involved with it."
You've even started a Twitter account?"I just started it. I said I would never Twitter, and now I have a Twitter account. Never say never, right?"
What do you want to get out of the podcast, and what do you hope fans get out of it?
"I want to give a fresh perspective on things and shed a positive light on a lot of sports and athletes and even topics outside of just sports, trying to make people think. Maybe think about things they're not used to thinking about or hear a different opinion or even just start a conversation. Whether it's a debate or conversation, in the likeness of my old buddy Pat Tillman, who loved to spark people's thoughts and get them talking and speaking and thinking about themselves and other things, I'm going to try to do that. I'm going to try to get people to hear what I have to say and maybe have them thinking in a little bit different ways, whether they agree with me or not."
What else have you been up to in your spare time?
"I've been doing a lot of training, staying in shape. You realize after playing and not working out, not doing much for a little while, the whole body needed to get refocused on. So I've been trying to get healthy physically and mentally. I don't want to be a stat, as ex-NFL players, a lot of them become. I've been trying to do that and keep healthy and fresh and then working a little bit with some local coaches, doing some consulting with them as far as maybe helping them with their offenses a little bit. Working with a few young kids, young quarterbacks, go out and play catch with them and again try to get them to approach the game maybe with a little fresh perspective from an old quarterback who went through it all from age 12 to 31. Doing some fun stuff like that, then raising two kids, two boys of my own. So I'm staying pretty busy."
We've seen you back at Sports Authority Field at Mile High for Broncos games. What is that experience like as a former quarterback?
"It's been awesome. It's been a lot of fun. I lived up in the woods in north Idaho for five years then relocated back here to Colorado, didn't know what to expect. It's a lot different when you're not playing. People will see you, but they're not clamoring all over you and asking you to sign anything that they pull out of their pockets and that kind of deal like when I was playing. Now it's real enjoyable. I get to be around my fans and be around the people that I was playing hard for, putting it all on the line for on the field. Going to the games has been at first a very therapeutic experience, being able to sit and watch Peyton Manning run out onto the field for the first time against the Steelers two years ago and then kind of think, 'Man, that was me not too long ago running out of that same tunnel evoking such a crazy response from fans.' It was just a fun time in my life. I'm able to think back and reflect and kind of take stock of that and be appreciative of what I accomplished, how much fun I had doing it even though it ended not the way -- everyone thinks it ended poorly for me, but the way it went down was just right. I ended up being able to go away from the game on my own terms and now I can come back to it. I've been having a lot of fun going to the games, tailgating, going in just like a regular fan, sitting in my seats and having a beer with the fans, just having a good time watching a very awesome team play."
Do you ever miss it?
"Oh yeah, definitely. I went away, didn't miss it at all, then getting back to the games and seeing that excitement and just what they're working for -- their goals and the whole ambition of the team to win it all -- you miss having that kind of goal to shoot for. It's such an enormous accomplishment just to be in the NFL, but then to have such success and to play so well, like this team has, it makes you miss it. I don't miss everything about it, but I do miss the camaraderie and the teammates, going out there and competing. That's what I miss."
What do you think of this year's Broncos team?
"It's crazy they've had two phenomenal seasons in a row, and I think the guy behind it all, once again, the guy who every quarterback prior to Peyton Manning lived in the shadows of -- John Elway -- his legacy just continues to grow with what he's doing in the front office. I think he's just a brilliant football mind who is bringing in a lot of great players and putting together the pieces for a team that's not just going to be successful last year or maybe this year, but for a long time. He's grooming young kids and bringing in some very key vets. You have Peyton Manning kind of setting the tone for everybody, but I think bringing in some young, aggressive, exciting players is going to help add to the mix of that team. They're going to think Super Bowl-or-bust, and I could see them making it all the way back again. It's a long road, but last season was a lot of fun to watch and they ought to be very happy and proud of what they accomplished, but not satisfied."
