Looking at the worry in Logan's eyes and the astonishment on his face, Lu Ke laughed heartily, "Wait, you won't tell me that you were so nervous that you had insomnia last night, right? That's why you arrived at the training ground early today?"
Looking at Lu Ke who was gloating about his misfortune, Logan's head was full of black lines, lamenting that he had made careless friends, but involuntarily, he felt slightly relaxed.
The two people pushed open the door of the locker room, turned their heads, and then saw the quiet and peaceful locker room. Everyone was silently busy with what they were doing. No one spoke or commented, only the exchange of eyes in the air. The sound was slowly surging; the shaking sound of the locker room door suddenly became extremely harsh, and the creaking sound of "beep babbling" seemed to be trying hard to remind everyone:
Speak, who speaks?
But no one was making any noise.
Today, all the players seemed to be arriving a little earlier than usual, not just Logan. All the rookie players have arrived; and most of the senior players have arrived. The sight is filled with crowds, but there is no sound in the ears. The slowly flowing silence invisibly brings out the nervous emotions. .
There is no need to search deliberately. In the exchange of eyes, you can find the other two focal points in the locker room: Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick.
The equipment bag on Alex's shoulder has not been taken off yet. It looks like he has just arrived at the training base. He is standing in front of the locker, taking out his equipment one by one, and Vernon Day is standing next to him. Weiss was communicating in a low voice, it seemed like it was just some pleasantries from the morning meeting.
Colin sat on the bench in the center of the dressing room, crossed his right leg, and was bending over to tie his shoelaces. He was concentrating on his movements, as if he didn't feel the surge of air around him at all. He was tying his shoelaces with all his heart and mind. Strive for excellence. Braylon Edwards stood not far away diagonally opposite, saying nothing, just staring at Colin, seeming to be hesitating whether he should step forward.
The appearance of Lu Ke and Logan broke the balance in the room. In an instant, all eyes were directed towards them. Then, they were directed at Alex and Colin. The pull of the energy gradually began to become It's hot and suffocating.
Such a situation was a bit funny in Lu Ke's eyes. He could tell that everyone was holding back.
The conflicts in the locker room in the previous three weeks accumulated little by little, triggering Jim Harbaugh's rage. He suppressed it forcibly, and maintained calm on the surface. No one wanted to offend the head coach who just took office this year, and it was still A head coach with an iron-fist style; but the undercurrent of momentum is rising steadily.
Pares Harrelson stared at Lu Ke, his sharp eyes wanting to eat him alive. Although Lu Ke never knew that there was any irreconcilable conflict between him and the defensive team, but now it seems that he You really need to stand in the boxing ring with Pares and have a good fight with fists and fists, otherwise Lu Ke is worried that Pares may explode in the next second.
Braylon Edwards was no exception. His copper bell-like eyes were about to fall out, and his bloody and violent aura was not concealed at all. In the past three weeks, Braylen has been completely relegated to the sidelines. He has completely lost his competitiveness in the position of wide receiver. Occasionally he plays as a rotation player, and he is almost invisible. Lu Ke did not make any attempts to attack him. Pass the ball.
In fact, on the football field, fists may be too simple and crude, but sometimes they are indeed effective - although the quarterback problem has never been solved by fists; now, the smell of gunpowder in the San Francisco 49ers locker room is I had to suppress it and wait for today's quarterback showdown to decide the outcome.
As a result, men's issues that were originally supposed to be resolved fist to fist now had to be demonstrated with eyes to eyes. The street duel instantly turned into a palace fight. Unconsciously, the meaning of the starting quarterback battle began to change. , this kind of incompatible awkwardness and embarrassment made Lu Ke couldn't help laughing.
"Morning." Lu Ke showed a bright smile and took the initiative to say hello. This move broke the balance in the locker room, and the depressed and dull atmosphere instantly became lively.
"Morning, Bambi." Ted Ginn was the first to respond, and then Kyle Williams also joked with a smile, "Are you done warming up?"
At the same time, there were also sparse greetings from Chino Hachar, Michael Crabtree, Jonathan Goodwin and others, "Good morning, Bambi."
Among the greetings, Mike Rupadi's complaints immediately started loudly, "While you were sleeping in, Bambi's training had already started. Study hard."
"Go away, it sounds like you are so hard-working, are you later than me today?" Williams pushed back without showing any signs of weakness.
Rupati showed off her biceps and then pushed her crotch hard, "How do you know I'm sleeping in instead of exercising in the morning?" Such a response immediately made everyone start to cheer. , that awkward and awkward tension finally calmed down.
Without warning, Kaepernick stood up suddenly, picked up his helmet, took steps silently, passed Lu Ke, and left the locker room. There was no daily conversation or even eye contact. It was as if Lu Ke did not exist at all. The figure quickly disappeared into the passage corridor.
As both rookie players this year, the competition between Lu Ke and Kaepernick is more direct and fruitless. After experiencing the "pause" of concussion, the connection that Kaepernick established among the rookie players seems to be gone; and the four losses in the preseason, compared to the three wins in the regular season, Kaepernick It seems even more lacking in confidence.
In today's quarterback duel, Kaepernick is not only fighting for the starting job, but also fighting for himself and the rest of his career.
Rookie quarterbacks always start their careers on the bench. Aaron Rodgers even sat on the bench for three seasons, but it was Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre who kept Rodgers on the bench. Not just another rookie player, let alone an undrafted rookie - Colin Kaepernick is a second-round pick!
As a result, Kaepernick left the locker room with a murderous spirit, full of high morale. After hesitating for a moment, Braylon Edwards followed and trotted out of the locker room.
Lu Ke withdrew his gaze and walked towards his locker, and inadvertently saw Vernon Davis. He nodded politely, without a smile or words, but at least he expressed greetings.
Alex Smith, who had his back to Lu Ke, noticed Davis's action and turned his head. He smiled politely. After saying hello, he looked back and quickly started to prepare.
Pares Harrelson walked over in a swaggering manner and said deliberately exaggeratedly, "Alex, how are you, are you ready? Show it off on the training ground today? Let the children see what experience is. Experienced? What does it mean to be a true veteran on the field? These experiences are priceless."
Although the words were addressed to Alex, Pares's eyes kept drifting in the direction of Lu Ke intentionally or unintentionally, but the action was too obvious, and it was a bit clumsy. Lu Ke deeply believed that athletes were still not suitable. Palace fight drama.
"Pares, hurry up and get ready. See you on the training ground later." Alex patted his friend on the shoulder and said simply.
However, the other party didn't seem to hear it and laughed exaggeratedly again, "Yes, yes, let's go to the training ground quickly. Everyone is waiting for your return, waiting for you to show your unique short passing layout. The play, even Tom Brady complimented you, didn't he?"
"Pares!" Alex said in a deep voice, "I said, see you on the training ground!"
Obviously, Alex didn't want to continue the war of words. His decisive attitude made Paris suddenly feel like he was asking for trouble. He shrugged, "I know, I know, see you on the training ground. As long as you are ready." , everything is fine! I just want to tell you that the members of the defensive team are always with you."
After saying that, he raised his hands high in a gesture of surrender, turned around, and left in a swaggering manner.
Lu Ke felt that Pares must be a movie lover. Especially Western movies, I have definitely watched too many.
Looking back, Lu Ke was immediately startled. Six or seven people including Logan, Marcus, Aldon, Kendall, and others were huddled together, standing behind him, staring at the people walking towards him with bright eyes. Parez on the other side of the locker room, then Marcus was the first to say, "Joker."
"Scoundrel."
"Fool."
"……Neuropathy?"
The last voice was Kendall's. He seemed unsure, and then he saw everyone's eyes focused on him. Kendall shrugged, expressing his innocence, "I feel like we should continue the relay. But I don’t know how to answer it.”
With a bang, Lu Ke burst into laughter, "Instead of watching the excitement here, why not go to the training ground to watch the excitement? The stage is over there." This reminder suddenly made everyone's eyes light up, and they were chattering and pushing. He started getting busy as soon as he hit the ground, changing his training clothes and getting ready to play.
When the members of the coaching staff arrived at the training base, the players had already consciously completed the warm-up and were performing basic relaxation training in groups on the training ground. It is indeed rare to see such a conscious and active scene.
It was clear to Kip Chryst that the issues in the locker room were not resolved. Even three wins only alleviated the intensification of conflicts, but did not really resolve them.
For competitive sports, winning is always the best solution, but that does not apply today. Kip couldn't fathom why.
Maybe it has something to do with Lu Ke's Chinese identity, maybe not. After all, there was no precedent before Lu Ke as a reference; maybe it has something to do with Lu Ke's status as an undrafted rookie, or maybe Lu Ke's starting position is not due to strength, or maybe It's Lu Ke's college career that lacks reference samples... But no matter what, today's quarterback battle is inevitable.
For the victory and for the locker room.
