Adam Klein crossed his legs and pressed heavily on the back of the chair. The plastic seat on the field pressed back, making a "squeaking" groan, as if he was suffering tremendous pain; To his left sat a white-haired old man, who looked about sixty-five years old, with a chubby face, a chubby beer belly, and kind eyes.
The two people were communicating in low voices at this time, and from time to time they gently retracted their jaws, showing meaningful expressions.
Blake Simmons hung up the phone in his hand and put it in his pocket, but did not step forward to disturb him. After waiting for a short while and seeing the white-haired old man leave, Blake walked up and said Adam sat down next to him and cast his gaze on the back of the figure who had just left, "Why is Wade Philips here? Which defensive player is he interested in? JJ Watt? Or Von Miller?"
The white-haired old man is Wade Phillips, who served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from the 2007 season to the 2010 season. This year he officially became the defensive coach of the Houston Texans. This is a veteran who has been coaching in the league for 40 years. As a coach, training the defensive team is his specialty.
Adam raised his chin and pretended to be proud, "What do you think?"
That's not JJ Watt and Von Miller. Blake narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Adam seriously. Unexpectedly, he didn't answer. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and looked towards the center of the court, preparing to proceed. Rookies in the next test, "I just got a call, you'll never guess who it is." Blake responded with a smile, but he didn't show off, but gave the answer directly. The answer was, “Mike Shula of the Carolina Panthers.”
"Are they crazy?" was Adam's first reaction.
Mike Surla, he is a quarterbacks coach who has been with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the past three years and just transferred to the Carolina Panthers this year.
It is worth mentioning that the Carolina Panthers have the No. 1 pick this year, and their quarterback Jimmy Clausen is a complete disaster. Almost everyone predicted they would draft a quarterback, and it was clear that Cam Newton was always the No. 1 option.
At this moment, Mike started to call the scouts, and it was Black. The meaning was self-evident - Lu Ke.
"It's just a Feng Derek test. Has everyone lost their minds and gone crazy?" Adam shook his head helplessly, not hiding his surprise and astonishment: Give up Cam and choose Lu Ke? Even just thinking about it and trying it out, Adam still felt that the Carolina Panthers were crazy.
Blake smiled, "So, Wade Phillips is also here for the number 11?"
Lu Ke, the rookie quarterback of the UCLA Bruins, quickly became the hottest name after yesterday's basic test. Especially since no one had heard of this name before, the dramatic effect was even more obvious. , so that everyone couldn't help but start talking, trying to find out more news.
Lu Ke, this is the name of No. 11. In just one day, almost everyone knew it. After a night of fermentation, it became more and more intense. But Blake and Adam still habitually call them "No. 11", as if this title still carries the miracle of that night in the Rose Bowl.
Adam did not continue to ask for Joe this time and shrugged, "He came over and asked for the names of several defensive players, but yes, he did ask about No. 11."
Obviously, the Houston Texans didn't want people to know that they were inquiring about the quarterback, so they sent Wade, the team's defensive coach, to create smoke bombs and hide the real purpose.
"First the Texans, then the Panthers. I just heard that Brown and Bill are also inquiring." Blake told the latest news he had just received, turned to look at Adam, no need to say anything, his eyes were clear Having made his meaning clear enough, Adam spread his hands with a helpless expression on his face, "The dolphins seem to be exploring around too."
Quarterback is always the most sought-after and important position for every team. Having a top quarterback means that the team can build the entire team around the quarterback in the next ten years. Team; even a team with an elite quarterback, they will consider the situation of the backup quarterback to avoid injuries, avoid age, avoid decline in status, and other issues.
Especially in the past half century, the league has gradually changed the rules on the field and weakened the power of running backs for reasons such as safety protection and game viewing. The NFL has gradually entered the passing era, and the status and role of the quarterback have even more The rising tide lifts all boats, and the core of the offense gradually falls on the shoulders of the quarterback.
Therefore, quarterback is the most high-profile position in the draft every year. In the history of the draft, quarterbacks have been the number one pick the most, thirty-one times; running backs are second, with a total of twenty-three times.
This year is no exception. At least half, if not more, of the teams are in need of quarterbacks. There are a total of 21 quarterbacks in training camp, and they will fully make a comprehensive evaluation before deciding on the draft selection. Now, uncertainty has arisen, and almost every team is starting to stir.
Feng Derrick got a perfect score on the test, which is indeed an irresistible temptation. Changes occurred on the first day of training camp, and each team began to stir up excitement.
Blake looked at Adam's expression seriously, "You don't seem to agree with your expression. What's wrong? I thought this was a good thing. Haven't you been paying attention to the situation of No. 11 today?"
"I just think they will be disappointed." Adam said sincerely, with a little worry in his tone. As a senior scout, he deeply knows how cruel this league is, and he also sincerely looks forward to those with talent and talent. The players can have a bright future. "Those teams are just following the trend. Look at those old Foxes, the Patriots, Colts, and Packers. Which one has acted rashly? If they voted because of the perfect score in the Vondrick test, If they are paying attention, then they are destined to be disappointed. Look at the score of 40 yards on the 11th..."
The following words were not continued, but Blake immediately understood: the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. No. 11 has no foundation at all. Under the raucous pursuit, if the subsequent training camp test is not satisfactory, he will soon fall out of the sight of each team. If he wants to rise again, this It’s even more difficult.
Today is the second day of training camp, and the first thing is to test the 40-yard sprint performance. This is a bit similar to the 100-meter race in the Olympic track and field. The competition between pure speed and explosiveness can be called the most exciting competition.
The same is true for football's forty-yard dash. Every rookie player will participate in this test, which tests the player's speed, strength, explosiveness and some physical training. The entire test will also set timing points at ten and twenty yards to test the players' explosive power. The test data of ten yards, twenty yards, and forty yards have different meanings for players in different positions.
For example, the ten-yard clock is particularly important for offensive and defensive fronts, because in official games, their runs rarely exceed ten yards, and the explosiveness of starting speed is the key.
The current league record for 40 yards was set by Chris Johnson in 2008 with a time of 4.24 seconds.
4.89 seconds, this is Lu Ke’s 40-yard time.
For the quarterback, the 40-yard score is not the most important, but it is a display of physical fitness. The overall average score of the quarterback is 4.87 seconds, but Lu Ke’s score is not even close to the average. Reaching, let alone comparing with Cam Newton, the favorite for this year's No. 1 pick - the latter's time of 4.59 seconds is astonishing compared to his size, almost the level of a bulldozer.
Blake sat up straight and said seriously, "However, speed and strength are not No. 11's strengths. If he tests the twenty-yard return run and the three-cone test, his performance will definitely be even better. More importantly, The strength of No. 11 is not his physical fitness, but his grasp of the situation on the field, his reading of the defense and his accuracy in passing. These are the most important qualities!"
Adam glanced at Blake, "But no one else can see this information."
Black couldn't help but choke. Even for their scouts, the data was only video of two games. To be precise, it was fifteen minutes plus two minutes of game length video. Including all the timeouts, it was not even long. half an hour.
Now, Blake finally understood what Adam meant - after all, Adam was still worried about No. 11, and ultimately hoped to assess No. 11 more comprehensively and in-depth, instead of being reduced to a circus under the hype and halo of gimmicks. clown.
Feng Derrick's perfect score on the test, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Blake couldn't help but sigh heavily, "Let's see tomorrow. Let's see tomorrow." Tomorrow is a special test for each position to show the talents, skills and abilities of their respective positions.
As Adam expected, the attention about Lu Ke only aroused for one day, and then fell silent. Feng Derek's halo of perfect scores disappeared after the second day's test. Overnight, he had not had time to completely transform into The ugly duckling of the swan is back to square one again.
The test included seven events in total, including the 40-yard sprint, 225-pound (102 kg) bench press, vertical jump, standing long jump, 40-yard return run, 60-yard return run, and three-cone run.
Among the seven events, players do not have to participate in all events. For example, quarterbacks and wide receivers do not need to participate in bench press, but offensive linemen and defensive linemen must participate; another example is that the sixty-yard return run is compulsory for wide receivers. project, but there are no hard requirements for other positions, and quarterbacks can also choose to participate based on their abilities.
In the end, Lu Ke's results were really not outstanding, and even a little below average, which was disappointing.
