In the early morning, Candlestick Park is bathed in the warm morning light. The wind brings the gentle sound of waves. The surging light green and mint blue melt under the golden light. The pores slowly opened due to running, breathing greedily. With fresh and clean oxygen, the muscles of the body relax involuntarily.
After the first week of the regular season, the daily training tasks arranged by the system have undergone earth-shaking changes, and adjustments have been made according to the competition schedule. Correspondingly, Lu Ke also made small adjustments. The warm-up running tasks every morning are no longer the same. It is completed in the training ground, but chooses to unfold it in Candlestick Park. The changes in the field of vision and the layout of the scenery always make people feel relaxed and happy.
In just two weeks, Lu Ke has become accustomed to this new way.
Suddenly, Lu Ke began to slow down his running speed, changed his pace, stood on tiptoes, and moved flexibly, taking small steps as he continued to move forward. At the same time, he clenched his hands into fists and placed them on both sides of his cheeks, as if Like a boxer, he assumed a defensive posture, matching his footsteps, his eyes highly focused, waiting for the opportunity to punch.
This isn't from a systematic drill, but a tip from quarterbacks coach Kip Chryst.
The quarterback's pocket steps are crucial. Moving and dodging within a narrow space leaves no room for thinking and no time for observation - not to mention, the quarterback's eyes must always keep looking ahead. It is even less possible to pay attention to the field of vision and devote energy to the soles of the feet. Therefore, steps are often completed through the body's conditioned reflexes and muscle action memory.
To put it simply, it is instinct.
This is similar to a boxing ring. In a square pocket, you dodge, defend, and then attack to hit your opponent. On the surface, hands are the key to victory; but footsteps are the foundation that cannot be ignored.
From a purely technical point of view, pocket footsteps and speed, explosive power, acceleration, strength, agility, etc. all have a mutual influence on each other; but in addition to these factors, daily repeated training can implant more muscle memory, which can be used in critical moments. occasion, it produced unexpected effects.
However, the specific effect will not be known in a short time. Just like yoga, after a year of consistent exercise, the effects will gradually appear.
By the way, the duration of yoga in daily training tasks is still thirty minutes, but the difficulty of the movements has been updated twice. It seems that his progress is really good. However, the difficulty of the movements seemed to increase too quickly, and Lu Ke was not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing - he felt like he was torturing himself.
"God. You are still here taking your time. Are you Rocky? Come on, come on." The training base was already close at hand, and Logan Newman trotted over with a speechless face, looking at him as he was still training. Lu Ke, who was boxing at a fast pace, couldn't help but complain——
"Rocky", the protagonist of that classic inspirational boxing movie, is named Rocky.
Lu Ke's steps were not disordered, he completed the final training meticulously, and then sprinted into the training base, surpassing Logan, and headed towards the locker room. His steps slowly slowed down, pulling his waist down. He took the towel and wiped the sweat that kept slipping away. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Logan following him, "Why is it so early today?"
I looked down at my watch, it was still five minutes to eight o'clock.
In professional teams, there are strict rules for every week's schedule.
Wednesday is the basic recovery training day, and there is also a public interview day with the media. Players who are troubled by injuries or have personal matters that need to be dealt with are allowed to be absent. The reporting time is 9:30; Thursday is a normal training day, and the training begins. In preparation for this week's game, the reporting time is 8:30; Friday and Saturday are game preparation days, speeding up the game, and the reporting time is 8:00.
If it is an away game, the schedule will be different; if it is a night game, the schedule will also be changed.
Today is Thursday, and there are still thirty-five minutes before the reporting time. Logan is indeed earlier than expected.
Seeing Lu Ke who was so calm and calm, Logan's eyes widened, "Brother, you won't forget, right? Today is that day!"
"So? The reporters were only concerned about it yesterday, and today it's your turn to worry about it again?" Lu Ke was still joking at this time, with a relaxed tone and a relaxed mind. Facing the eager and nervous Logan, Lu Ke looked at He seemed like an outsider, "Relax, today is just an ordinary day, there is no need to make a fuss."
Today is the day when the three quarterbacks of the San Francisco 49ers will face off for the starting position.
Colin Kaepernick successfully passed the league's concussion test; Alex Smith's injury has also officially recovered. He conducted simple passing training last week without any abnormalities. On Monday and Tuesday this week, Alex Si also conducted further recovery training accompanied by Kip and performed well.
Now, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback position has suddenly become crowded - in addition to the three quarterbacks, there is also Scott Tolsin, so among the fifty-three players on the roster , they have a total of four quarterbacks, which is really too many.
The coaching staff must make a decision as soon as possible to determine the starting quarterback, and then remove one of the quarterbacks from the fifty-three-man roster to open up a position to fill a more urgent need.
As for the moved quarterback, whether he should be temporarily placed in the training group, fired directly, or used for another purpose, they also need to consider it comprehensively. After all, both Alex and Colin have just returned from injury, and their status is still uncertain. If necessary, keep four quarterbacks on the roster. Even if it is absolutely necessary, there is no choice.
Therefore, the competition between the three quarterbacks is not only for starting, but also to examine the status of the players, and then measure the players' roster strategy from a long-term perspective, and even Scott will be included in the investigation.
On yesterday's open media interview day, two quarterbacks, Alex and Colin, appeared at the scene. This undoubtedly sent a signal: they are ready to compete, and the San Francisco 49ers are also ready. preparation for formal consideration.
As an undrafted rookie, Lu Ke dedicated three weeks of wonderful games and led the team to three weeks of victory. This is an iron-clad fact; but what cannot be ignored is that the entire season is very long, and the performance of rookie players fluctuates and is difficult to stabilize. , this is also the consensus reached by everyone, and the undrafted rookie is even more uncertain.
From a positive perspective, people can choose Lu Ke, and three wins are the best evidence.
But from a negative perspective, giving up Lu Ke is also a reasonable choice. Alex is an experienced veteran. Let him lead the rookie players and slowly grow. This is undoubtedly a very wise decision, and Colin As a second-round pick, he has the drive and vitality of a young man, and his personal abilities have also been recognized by scouts and coaches.
In the final analysis, Lu Ke's historical record is still too weak and his persuasiveness is still slightly insufficient.
Lack of NCAA game experience and lack of reference data as a formal player. Such shortcomings, even if three regular season wins are added, are still too obvious - you know, Alex has a career of nearly ten years; Collin, on the other hand, started as a starter as a freshman and has an outstanding four-year resume.
It seems that there are enough reasons and enough concerns to choose any quarterback. How the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff will make their decision has also become the focus of many media attention. As one of the parties involved, Lu Ke also accepted the indiscriminate bombardment from the media yesterday.
In the NFL, quarterback is always the position that receives the most attention and pressure. In history, there are countless quarterbacks who came on as substitutes, turned the tide and wrote miracles; but among them, most of them failed to recover and were gradually buried after losing their starting position.
It has never been easy to gain a foothold in the alliance. Just relying on a flash of inspiration is not enough.
Whether he is an undrafted rookie or a Chinese-American player, after his magical three-game winning streak, Lu Ke is truly at the forefront. Now, all media are paying attention to Lu Ke's future prospects, and the discussion remains high.
If Lu Ke said that he was not nervous at all or didn't care at all, he would definitely be lying. At the beginning of the season, everything is full of chaos and surprises. First, Alex Smith was injured, and then Colin Kaepernick was concussed. Lu Ke was appointed at the critical moment and took over the burden of the quarterback. No matter how you argue , luck does play an important role.
Now, Lu Ke is back on the starting line, competing with Alex, Colin, and Scott, using their absolute strength to compete head-on for his own starting position. Deep inside, it is inevitable that I am still a little nervous.
However, tension can turn into motivation, and pressure can turn into motivation. In competitive sports, competition is everywhere and duels happen all the time. Lu Ke once again thought of Tony Romo's words: An undrafted rookie will carry the burden of self-proof throughout his career.
For the No. 1 draft pick, if his performance is slightly less than expected, people may loudly shout "parallel import"; similarly, for the undrafted rookie, if there is any setback or failure, people may take it for granted that "he is inherently weak." They all have to constantly prove themselves and constantly break through themselves.
After three weeks of regular season games - not just three wins, but three real games. Now facing Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, Lu Ke was burning with fighting spirit. He also wanted to know what his current strength was.
The battle for the starting lineup is a battle of life and death for Lu Ke, and it is also a touchstone! Since it is destined to be a battle, let's compete with real swords and guns. The one who laughs in the end will always be the strong and brave.
Lu Ke firmly believed in this.
