The role skill test on the third day of the rookie training camp is about to begin.
At this time, the entire stadium had been cleared. Standing on Lu Ke's side, not far behind him, there was a large row of scouts and quarterback coaches. Looking around, there were at least twenty people. Standing majestically within the ten-yard area in front of the end zone, accompanied by two TV cameramen carrying cameras, Joe and his party of three were on their way to join them.
On the opposite side of the half court, there were also dozens or twenty coaches and scouts standing, and then the wide receivers and tight ends were scattered near the end zone. In this year's training camp, there are only twenty-one quarterbacks, but there are forty wide receivers and twenty tight ends. All of them have to undergo receiving tests, and even a few running backs have joined in. , in order to prove that he has the ability to run the ball and catch the ball, the entire team is very large.
After two days of training camp, the tension has not decreased at all. To be precise, as time goes by, everyone clearly knows their performance. Good people want to continue, and bad people want to continue. The situation was reversed, so the tension was still gradually rising.
In the role skills test, because the routines are all prescribed, there is not much room for free play, and each team considers more basic skills. For example, the quarterback's passing accuracy; for example, whether the receiver will drop the ball or his route running ability; another example, the cornerback's coverage area and defensive actions, and so on.
These details are not decisive, but they can change the draft position of rookies. Maybe the No. 1 pick becomes the No. 3 pick; maybe the second-round pick becomes a third-round pick. The most intuitive result of such a difference is: the change in income. , the signing bonuses for first-round picks and second-round picks are naturally different. Therefore, every player is gearing up and looking forward to a better performance.
Cam and Lu Ke are no exception.
He could still feel the sharp and piercing gaze on his shoulders, following him like a shadow. He knew without looking back that it must be Cam, but Lu Ke ignored it and gradually calmed down and concentrated. Physical fitness is his shortcoming, and his passing skills are his strengths. Without confrontation from defensive players, his passing accuracy can be maximized. This will be the stage for him to prove his ability!
The role skills test soon began, because there are three times as many receivers as quarterbacks, so each quarterback must pass to three receivers, short pass, medium pass, long pass, sideline Passes, center passes, straight passes, rainbow passes, etc., test the quarterback's passing ability in all aspects.
The four quarterbacks came on stage one after another to complete the test; then it was the turn of the much-anticipated Cam Newton!
Standing at the twenty-yard line, Cam seemed confident, comfortable, and eager to try, but he seemed a little too excited, so that the control of the passing force was not accurate. There was no doubt about his arm strength, but his accuracy and control were unsatisfactory. , the first three passes were all deviated, and they were all made too hard, causing the receiving player to fail to adjust his speed in time and miss the ball.
Such an amateurish mistake made the scouts at the scene scream in surprise. They couldn't believe that such a mistake actually happened to Cam.
Fortunately, under the heavy pressure, Cam returned to normal slightly, and the fourth pass was finally successful. However, overall, the results are still not outstanding. Without any pressure from the defensive players, only twenty-two of the thirty passes were made, and eight of them were slightly inaccurate. The accuracy of the passes seemed to be poor. It is too stable and the control ability has yet to be tested.
For an ordinary quarterback, this result is above average; but for a Heisman winner, it still fails to meet people's expectations.
After the test, Cam was extremely upset. He got angry at himself and hit the palm of his right hand with his left fist to express his dissatisfaction.
From Cam to Lu Ke, from No. 5 to No. 11, there were many players in between. By the time Lu Ke came on the court, it was already an hour later. Cam gradually regained his composure, while Lu Ke gradually became tense.
In the sight of Cam's disdain and disdain, ridicule and ridicule, Lu Ke took a deep breath and walked forward calmly. Under the spotlight, he knew that his moment had finally arrived! If you can't shine at this time, then the dream of a professional player can end here and return to ordinary life down to earth. This is the most sensible thing, even the system can't help.
After taking a long breath, his whole mentality calmed down, but his emotions began to get aroused. Every time he stepped onto the field, he could feel the excitement in his bones, as if he was born to belong to this stage!
Then, Lu Ke raised his head, looked at the coaches standing not far away, nodded, and signaled that he was ready.
Kip stood with Joe and Carl. He did not speak, but looked at the two people next to him with a smile, and motioned for them to pay attention to the quarterback in front of them: a Chinese American, with perfect scores on Feng Derrick's test, and a little-known , these three elements combined are enough to make people curious.
Qiao nodded secretly, lowered his voice and said, "His preparation posture is very standard, and his overall momentum is very stable. This is better than Newton."
"Are you kidding?" Karl rolled his eyes. His impression when we first met was not very good, and it hasn't changed much now. "I think he is just a clown who tries to impress people. Maybe he deliberately participated in the draft in order to enter an Ivy League school. Being in the limelight.”
"You'll know how good your passing skills are," Kip said with a neutral attitude and a smile. But the next second, his voice got stuck in his throat because the test officially began.
Kick-off, step-back, observation, passing, the whole action is done smoothly and in one go! More importantly, the rotation and arc of the football flying in the air are very stable, without any deviation at all, and it falls steadily into the arms of the receiving player, almost effortlessly. Clean and precise, such performance is really eye-catching.
This eight-yard short pass is just the beginning.
Among the other twenty-nine passes, the short pass was fast and precise, and the entire shot was extremely clean, like a hot table knife cutting butter, which was really pleasing to the eye; the long pass was as powerful as a rainbow, and the arm swing was as wide as a bow. The two methods of Eagle, Rainbow Ball and Bullet Ball are accurate, not only showing outstanding arm strength, but also showing precise control; the mid-pass is steady and appropriate, covering the whole field, it can almost be said that you hit where, different routes All permutations and combinations are easily mastered.
Thirty passes, twenty-nine crosses!
This is the quarterback who has performed best among the eleven quarterbacks so far since the role skills test began today! The outstanding performance really impressed the coaches and scouts.
What's even more rare is that during the passing process, Lu Ke showed precise control, which was really outstanding. Every pass landed firmly on the receiving player's chest, just like a textbook standard.
The only regret is that the accuracy of the mid-pass is slightly unstable. The deviation is within half an arm to an arm range. The one pass that is not passed is a mid-pass, and the deviation also occurs three times. However, this It is still within the acceptable range. Flaws do not hide the virtues!
In terms of pure passing skills, perhaps Lu Ke has the most solid basic skills among this year's rookie quarterbacks. Moreover, the cannonball arm and control accuracy are indeed unexpected surprises.
After Lu Ke's thirty passes, Joe couldn't help but come out again. As the quarterback coach of the New Orleans Saints, his co-quarterback is the elite Drew Brees. He has profound insights into the passing offense and can be called one of the best passing coaches in the league. , he asked Lu Ke to do his best to pass the ball, and wanted to see the limit of Lu Ke's long pass——
In previous tests, the benchmark for long passes was about forty yards, which did not push the limit further. Because the test mainly looks at the basic skills of the quarterback, and the quarterback's ultimate ability has been recorded by scouts in NCAA games. However, Lu Ke is a special case. There is very little scouting information. In the rookie training camp, everyone is exploring the details of this quarterback. That's why Qiao made such a request.
Lu Ke was not timid and stayed where he was calmly, waiting for the quarterback coach and wide receiver coaches to finish communicating on the walkie-talkie, and then officially began to challenge the long pass.
On the first long pass, the rugby ball flew sixty yards through the air, landed just below the receiver's shoulder, and was pocketed. Such an understatement of passing the ball triggered a chorus of exclamations from the scene - such passing skills are already at the forefront in the league, not as good as Aaron Rodgers, but not far behind. But the problem is: How stable is it?
Next, Lu Ke passed five more long passes in a row. When he passed the last long pass, the football's flight trajectory was already unstable, swaying, and the entire parabola was out of control. It can be seen that Lu Ke's physical fitness is still not enough to complete the severe test of six consecutive long passes; what's more, he had just completed 30 consecutive passes before.
However, among the six long passes, the closest two were about fifty-five yards, very stable, and very accurate; the farthest one was about sixty-five yards, and the deviation was a bit large, two big steps away from the target. The wide receiver missed the ball and was unable to catch it. It can be seen that sixty yards should be Lu Ke's current relatively stable level.
For a quarterback whose physical fitness is unsatisfactory, such an achievement is wonderful! However, don't forget that this is a result achieved without confrontation from defensive players. In official games, it is absolutely impossible for Lu Ke to complete the pass so comfortably. This also means that Lu Ke is a person with extremely obvious strengths and weaknesses, so how should he choose?
"Ding", the voice came out again in my mind: Is there a special mission again?
