Snake as in Jake

can arizona's golden boy shake off last year's terrible season?

So what if he's small---by NFL standards---and so what if he was injury-plagued last season? At 6'2" and 190 pounds, 25-year-old Jake Plummer is still a likely heir to John Elway and Dan Marino---a young, charismatic quarterback who's turned the forgettable Arizona Cardinals into a team to be taken seriously. Prickly Arizonans have a love-hate relationship with Senator John McCain, but everyone loves Plummer, who personifies the laidback desert lifestyle---mountain-biking, hanging out and backpacking with his pals rather than being fanatical about his training schedule.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that his specialty seems to be nail-biting come-from-behind victories. His first two seasons saw nine dramatic last-minute wins (more than Dan Marino, John Elway or Jim Kelly had during their first two years) and earned him the nickname Captain Chaos. And despite a broken finger and a serious thumb injury last year---"It was almost ripped off," he says---he won his second consecutive NFL Quarterback Challenge contest during the offseason, keeping hopes alive for this year.

[Q] Playboy: Which is better: a comeback victory or sex?

[A] Plummer: Man, I'd rather go on a last-second drive. Those are memorable moments. You don't remember every moment you had sex, but you remember a fourth-quarter comeback. There's no drug around that could re-create that feeling. It's just an awesome feeling that's hard to explain. Plus, you have 10 other guys feeling the same thing. It's almost like you're not even there.

[Q] Playboy: What does it feel like when you enter the stadium, with all the cameras and cheering?

[A] Plummer: It's amazing. That's one of the feelings you play the game for. It's like when you're anxious about something you're really geared up to do and you have to wait and wait. Then finally you do it, but in front of 70,000 people who are either trying to kill you or are cheering for you. It's a powerful moment. You come out, you get introduced, your juices are flowing, adrenaline is going.

[Q] Playboy: Is it really like gladiators going into battle?

[A] Plummer: Pretty close. You're put in there and you beat each other up. The stuff you can't do on the street, you're allowed to do in our arena. Although, I'm probably the wimpiest gladiator of them all because I don't get to beat up on anybody. I just get smashed. But I'm probably the smartest one, because I get to engineer all that stuff. It's fun, but I'm glad they can't kill you because I'd be pretty susceptible to being stabbed in the back [laughs].

[Q] Playboy: Part of your job is being chased by a 320-pound lineman bent on taking your head off. Is it scary?

[A] Plummer: I don't go out there worrying about it. but I've been getting chased all my life playing quarterback. And I'm not one of the bigger quarterbacks. It's intense. You know they're coming to get you. There's just a sense. It's hard to explain. But I put all my faith in the guys who are blocking for me. That trust factor is huge. If I have a good year, then they have a good year.

[Q] Playboy: What's the worst hit you've ever taken?

[A] Plummer: I've taken quite a few, but probably the worst was in my rookie year. We were playing the Steelers and I took off scrambling. Levon Kirkland. who's a 270-pound linebacker, tackled me and I kind of slipped underneath him and his leg hit me in the helmet and I was out, instant blackness. I don't know if you've ever passed out. You're out and then you hear the faint sound of the crowd, then it slowly comes back full blast. So it's like you're waking up. And there were real prickly feelings in my tongue. I kind of knew where I was. I went back in the huddle and called the play right and everything. But then I handed it off to the wrong guy. Man. if I didn't have a concussion. that was probably the closest I've been.

[Q] Playboy: Do you try to get up without showing any pain?

[A] Plummer: Oh yeah. If anything, I'll get up and throw something right back at them. Say, "Hey, good hit. Come real hard next time!" Then they turn away and you go [bends over]. "Oohhh . . . man!" You can't show any weakness. You gain respect that way. I'll just throw it right back at them. "Hey, you're 300 pounds, but you're just a big wimp. You can't hurt me. I'm 190 pounds and I didn't even feel it." Then they walk back and wonder. What the hell! So they come back at you harder and that's when I like it. They come at you out of control. and that's when they miss.

[Q] Playboy: Do the linebackers trash talk or try to intimidate you from across the line?

[A] Plummer: There are players who are known for it. But I don't really hear it. Some of them say stuff like. "I'm coming for you, man." And I'm going. "Yeah, cool, come get me."

[Q] Playboy: Do you have any other fears going into the game---fear of failure, fear of injury?

[A] Plummer: What drives me is to do my best. Fear also drives what I do, although some guys might be ashamed to admit it. Every game I think, I hope I don't get hurt. Also, I think the fear of failure drives me. You know, you're behind, your back's against the wall. Most of the time in a comeback, it's going to come down to what I do with the ball. That determines whether we win or lose. So there's a fear of making the wrong decision, of letting my teammates and our fans down.

[Q] Playboy: Howie Long has said he lives in pain all the time. Do you fear the long-term repercussions of playing pro ball?

[A] Plummer: That's scary to me. I love football and I want to play for as long as I can, but when you get into multiple knee and back surgeries, this stuff is going to come back and haunt you. I played golf with Joe Montana a while ago and he does this [gestures as if pushing his eyeball (continued on page 158)Jake Plummer(continued from page 104) back into place]. And I'm wondering what's going on. He says he got hit so hard and so many times on the back of his head that he gets, like, double vision. So he has to push his eye up so he can see. And I'm going, "Geez, is this what I got to look forward to?" Scary, man!

[Q] Playboy: What really goes on in the locker room before the game?

[A] Plummer: Oh, man, that's like our sanctuary. That's our place to get away from the real world, and when we go in there everyone just knows me as Jake. Some crazy things can go on in there. You got the jokesters, who like to rile up other guys, looking around for some fresh bait to get them going. There are guys who like to get into rapping and singing. It's sort of loosey-goosey compared to college. That was an adjustment for me, because I was used to coming in with headphones on, real intense, no one talking. Get dressed and get ready to go.

[Q] Playboy: We hear you're big on playing Bob Marley before a game.

[A] Plummer: You know, you can get so excited and make it a bigger deal than it actually is, so Marley's music helps me kind of relax.

[Q] Playboy: So you're not really looking to get pumped up?

[A] Plummer: I've got to keep level-headed, ready to make good decisions, as opposed to a defensive lineman or a safety who has to go out and try to kill somebody. The music mellows me out. You don't want a quarterback who goes out there screaming and yelling. I got to communicate with my offense, and things can't bother me. If I have a bad play, I got to get ready for the next. I'm going out there to lead the team. I can't be out of control.

[Q] Playboy: What role does football play in the American sports scene?

[A] Plummer: It's America's game. The Super Bowl is the most widely watched sporting event every year. They play 162 games in baseball, but if we lose one game in football it's said to be the equivalent of losing 10 baseball games in a row. If you think about a baseball team losing 10 games, everyone's just killing them. So you realize the importance of every single football game, and that's why the fans love it, because it's do or die every Sunday.

[Q] Playboy: Supplements such as androstenedione and creatine have been in the news lately. Do you see much of them around the locker room?

[A] Plummer: Yeah, there's always something to get you better. If there is and if you can get away with it, guys are going to do it. Because it's cutting edge and if you don't perform, you're gone. [Tongue in cheek] Just look at me, I've taken all these steroids in my life and I'm real pumped up. Actually, I laugh when they steroidtest me. It's kind of a joke.

I've taken creatine, but I don't think it has as much an effect as people think. You can get all that if you eat healthy and have the right workout schedule. I don't see it as a problem. If there is a problem that needs to be addressed, it's people getting into trouble with drugs and violence. That's more an issue for me, though you have to keep a handle on steroid use enhancing people's performances. Personally, I don't see that. I see players taking supplements that everyone can buy in the store. Everybody does that.

[Q] Playboy: How do you handle football groupies?

[A] Plummer: I really don't see them around. It's probably different for other teams, but the Cardinals really haven't done anything. I would think for the Rams---they're Super Bowl champs---there are groupies following them around. The Cowboys, I've heard stories about the groupies they have [laughs]. The groupies probably don't know who the Cardinals are. I hate to say that, because what I want to do is to make people aware of us. But people probably think there are 10 girls sitting on the bus in short skirts saying, "Pick me, pick me." That's not what it's like at all.

[Q] Playboy: So it ain't rock and roll?

[A] Plummer: That it ain't.

[Q] Playboy: What about other temptations?

[A] Plummer: Whether you're a football player or not, you're going to be tempted. I realize that the length of my career is not going to be that long compared to my life. You can push those temptations away and realize the importance of what you're doing now. It helps you stay focused. Also, growing up in Boise, living a pretty modest life with my family, it was never a priority to see how many women I could be with or how many drugs I could do. Stay up so many nights in a row? It's not something that's particularly enticing to me.

[Q] Playboy: Football is obviously not a 12-months-a-year grind for you.

[A] Plummer: We have that six-month off-season, which allows me to do some fun things. Training takes up some of that time, but a lot of players get caught up with it all year. I'm not like that. You need a release. For me, missing a week of working out or going backpacking right before the season starts---that's not going to make me have a bad year. There's so much that goes into having a good year, and missing some workouts isn't part of it. A few days of righteous bonding with my brothers and cousins in the Sawtooth Mountains is just awesome. Just to be up there, clear your mind, breathe clean air. You've got to do it for medicinal purposes. I'm not a seven-day-a-week-get-up-at-six-in-the-morning-supplements-work-out type of guy. That's not living life. I mean, I try to give 100 percent to football. But there has to be a good balance.

[Q] Playboy: Two seasons ago the Cardinals had all those comeback wins, then surprisingly went to the playoffs. How did that feel?

[A] Plummer: It was amazing. We weren't the best team in the league, but we found ways to win. That's why they called us the Cardiac Cards---we had so many lastsecond scores. The fans said we were giving them heart attacks. In about three or four games, we were out of the game but came back in the fourth. It was a great year and no one expected it.

[Q] Playboy: How did you get the nickname Captain Chaos?

[A] Plummer: [Laughs] It was just the most chaotic, crazy, out-of-control time, and that's when I take over and seem to right the ship. But it's hard to live like that every game. That's part of growing up and becoming a mature football player. Those nicknames are great, but you don't want to be known as the most chaotic quarterback, although making comebacks will get you recognized.

[Q] Playboy: You've said you don't have the most powerful arm, but you've won the NFL Quarterback Challenge contest two years in a row. What other talents are you bringing to the table?

[A] Plummer: I've been working out hard the past two years, improving my arm strength. I feel I can throw with the best guys in the league, but there's always Drew Bledsoe, Jeff George, guys who throw it through a brick wall. I can't do that. My feet are my biggest attribute. I take pride in my footwork, and an accurate ball most times depends on where your feet are. I also have quick feet, and that's been my saving grace. They help you get out of trouble and also help in the last minute when you have to pull something out.

[Q] Playboy: Will your career be unfulfilled if you don't win the ultimate prize?

[A] Plummer: Dan Marino is a good case. He was a great quarterback every year and no one's ever going to duplicate his stats. He was amazing, but he's always going to have a knock that he never won a Super Bowl. Well, I don't buy that. Now, obviously, I want to win a Super Bowl because it's the pinnacle. If you don't want to be the best then why do it? But I've already done so much more than I ever dreamed---if I couldn't play anymore, I would still see my career as a success. Although, I wouldn't be satisfied. You do have to look at the big picture.

Fear also drives what I do. I'm not ashamed. Every game, I hope I don't get hurt.