"Good morning", "What time did you go back last night", "There is training today, but you actually went to the bar last night", "Isn't your leg weak today"...
All kinds of playful banter and jokes flowed past my ears in the breeze. It seemed that I could smell the leather of football, the grass of the stadium and a hint of comfort before the start of the season, which made my heart want to play. Jump over the barbed wire fence, enter the venue on the other side, and peek into the space where miracles are born.
Lu Ke withdrew his gaze, slowed down the car, gathered his thoughts, and began to look for an open parking space in the parking lot.
The home stadium of the San Francisco 49ers is Candlestick Stadium in Candlestick Park, and the training base is on the other side of Candlestick Park, with beautiful and pleasant scenery.
As the parking lot of a professional league training base, the scene in front of you is not the kind of luxury cars in Hollywood movies. To be precise, after a simple scan, there is not a single luxury sports car, and the most beautiful car is just one. There was only a black BMW coupe, and most of the others were pickup trucks or SUVs. This is much lower-key than expected.
After parking the car in an orderly manner, Lu Ke left the parking lot with his equipment backpack, asked two staff members, and then found the spare locker room with ease. In the past three months, after participating in trial training many times, Lu Ke has become familiar with the entire process and will no longer panic.
It was ten o'clock in the morning, and the team's formal training had already started for an hour. The warm-up was completed one after another, and individual training in groups was about to begin. As for the players who participated in the trial training, they went on the field to undergo inspection and assessment. The time has come.
It was another ordinary trial, nothing special compared to the previous ones. It was still an occasion to test players’ abilities, it was still a competition between undrafted rookies and free agents, it was still full of obstacles and difficulties. Challenge; however, this is not a casual trial, because this is a trial opportunity from the San Francisco 49ers.
The preseason of the 2011 NFL season is about to start next week. In Friday's game, the San Francisco 49ers will go to the Louisiana Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints away from home, officially opening their new season.
At this moment, all trial training has basically come to an end. In the last week, the team needs to further conduct tactical adjustments, and then formulate the items and content that need to be tested in the preseason, and have a clear goal and plan for the preseason. understanding. But at such a critical moment, Lu Ke received a trial invitation call from the San Francisco 49ers, and Kip Chryst called in person.
Such behavior is definitely unusual. However, the actions of the 49ers are no secret. You only need to open the web page and browse football-related news, and you can easily find the answer on the front page:
Alex Smith, the main quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, strained his cruciate ligament during preseason training. After consultation with doctors, it was initially determined that he would need to miss the game for at least six to eight weeks; what happened next Further observation is needed, and playing time will be decided based on the recovery status.
At this time, there are less than six weeks left before the official start of the season. Such news is like a bolt from the blue!
After missing the playoffs for eight consecutive years, this offseason is undoubtedly turbulent and fateful for the 49ers. The senior management has drastically fired the team manager, head coach, and main quarterback, looking forward to... Complete overthrow and reorganization, bottoming out and rebirth.
As the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, Alex started 50 games in the first six seasons of his career, winning only 19 of them. He was never able to lead the team into the playoffs. Although it cannot be called parallel imports, its performance is far below people's expectations.
The quarterback's arm strength is his biggest weakness. He has never completed 23 touchdowns in a single season, and his passing average is only 6.8 yards per carry. His long pass attempts The ratio is the lowest among quarterbacks in the league, but his turnovers are also the lowest among quarterbacks in the league.
It can be said that he is a steady quarterback with a conservative style and stable passing. However, due to his lack of mid-range and long passes, he lacks the ability to fatally strike and the ability to decide the outcome in the game.
During the draft that year, the scouting report said, "Aaron Rogers is a system player. Excellent running backs in college share most of his pressure, and he usually plays short screen passes and quick ball tactics. , avoiding real confrontation and leaving it to the offensive line and receivers to complete the task. In contrast, Alex Smith is the one who leads Utah to win, and he is the key man. I don't think California relies on Aaron Rodgers wins."
Therefore, the San Francisco 49ers, who held the No. 1 pick, chose Alex Smith and missed Aaron Rodgers. Six years later, Rogers reached the Super Bowl, and the 49ers management team finally lost patience. After the contract expired, they chose not to renew it and fired Smith from the team.
Alex Smith becomes a free agent.
However, during the offseason, Alex never found a new home. Instead, Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke took the initiative to contact Alex after discussion, saying that the team welcomes him to return at any time as long as he is willing. After careful consideration, Alex chose to return to the 49ers and signed a one-year contract for only $5 million.
In the draft, the 49ers selected quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Their intention could not be more obvious. Alex is just a transitional quarterback. They need to develop their own rookies, but they do not want to pay. The price was as huge as in 2005, so in the end, they used a second-round pick, aimed at the target, traded up decisively, and selected a rookie with potential.
But what is certain is that Alex will still be the 49ers' main quarterback in the 2011 season, giving Colin enough time to grow up; even a veteran quarterback like Alex will use his experience to Teaching it to first-year rookies helped Colin quickly adapt to the rhythm and intensity of the professional league.
After experiencing such ups and downs, the 49ers were united to start the new season, but now they have encountered such bad news again. All plans for the past three months have been overturned, and both the coaching staff and the management team have been forced to leave. Without starting to work on alternatives—
The point is, is Alex absent for six weeks, eight weeks, or longer? If it is only six weeks, then it is just missing the first game of the season, and the impact will not be big, but if it continues to be delayed, the situation will be different.
So, should they force Colin Kaepernick into the starting quarterback position? Or draft an experienced veteran from the free agent market to serve as a tinker?
However, what is certain is that drafting a backup quarterback is imperative. To make up for the vacancy left after Alex's injury, if Alex's injury recovers in time, they can fire the backup quarterback at any time and get back on track; but if Alex's illness delays longer, they can It won’t be too much.
The trial training was born under this background: the San Francisco 49ers needed a firefighting backup quarterback.
Such emergencies are not uncommon on the rugby field where physical confrontation is extremely fierce. Generally speaking, teams prefer experienced veteran quarterbacks who can play at any time and adapt to the rhythm of the game at any time. Their performance may not be amazing, but at least they are experienced enough and do not need to be coached like rookies.
As an undrafted rookie, Lu Ke knew his disadvantages, but he still seized the last opportunity and returned to San Francisco.
The only consolation is that the 49ers selected Colin in the draft in the hope that Colin can become the team's future pillar. Even if they don't want to encourage the team's success, due to special circumstances and special handling, they chose Colin to be the main four-pointer. The probability of Wei is still very high. So, when it comes to picking a backup quarterback, free agents and undrafted rookies have equal chances.
Take it easy, take it easy, take it easy...
"Hey, Lu Ke." A voice greeted him in the locker room. Lu Ke turned his head and looked over, and then saw an absolutely unexpected figure, "Scott?"
Scott Tolsin, the quarterback of the University of Wisconsin Badgers, is also a friend he met during the rookie training camp. However, after the training camp, Lu Ke broke off contact with Scott, but today they met again in the 49ers' trial camp. The fate was indeed wonderful.
"Are you coming over for a trial training too?" Scott came over and lightly tapped Lu Ke's shoulder with a smile on his face, "Me too." Lu Ke showed a surprised look, and Scott immediately smiled. , “I’m also an undrafted rookie.”
In this year's draft, a total of twelve quarterbacks were selected, which also means that a total of nine quarterbacks were not selected in the rookie training camp.
Lu Ke laughed dumbly, "It seems that our competition will continue today."
Scott also smiled and left the locker room side by side with Lu Ke.
Not far away, there was the training ground for the 49ers' official members. There was constant noise and noise, but the trial training ground was not here, but on another court next door. So, the two of them reluctantly took a step forward. , did not speak, but their eyes showed similar envy and helplessness, they exchanged glances with each other, and they both laughed.
"You know, there are a lot of free agents today." Scott arrived at the scene a little earlier than Lu Ke, and the information was more comprehensive. "I just saw Matt Hasselbeck. It was just amazing." unbelievable!"
Matt Hasselbeck entered the league in 1998. After spending three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, he moved to the Seattle Seahawks and stayed there for a full ten years. He is a true veteran of the league. The strength is not top-notch, but it is above average.
Lu Ke also widened his eyes, and then showed a smile, "It seems that today is another tough battle."
