Candlestick Park in the early morning was bathed in the warm light of dawn. The sound of the waves rolled in with the breeze, and the light green and mint blue of the ocean melted in the golden light. Lu Ke's pores, which had opened up from running, greedily breathed in the fresh and clean air, and his muscles unconsciously relaxed.
After the first week of the regular season, the system's daily training tasks changed dramatically and were adjusted according to the game schedule. Correspondingly, Lu Ke also made a small adjustment. He no longer did his morning warm-up run on the training field but chose to do it in Candlestick Park. The change in scenery and the view were always refreshing.
In just two weeks, Lu Ke had already gotten used to this new routine.
Suddenly, Lu Ke started to slow down his running speed. He changed his steps, went on his tiptoes, and moved flexibly. He took small, quick steps while moving forward, and at the same time, he held his hands in loose fists at the sides of his face, like a boxer, in a defensive stance. With his footsteps, his eyes were highly focused, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
This wasn't a training exercise from the system, but a little trick taught to him by his quarterback coach, Kippy Christ.
A quarterback's pocket footwork is crucial. Moving and dodging in a tight space doesn't leave any room for thinking or time for observation. What's more, a quarterback's eyes must always be focused on the field in front of them, so it's impossible to focus on their feet. Therefore, their footwork is often done through muscle memory and reflexes.
In short, it's instinct.
This is very similar to a boxing ring, where you have to dodge and defend in a square pocket, and then attack and strike your opponent. On the surface, the hands are the key to winning, but the footwork is the foundation that cannot be ignored.
From a purely technical standpoint, pocket footwork and speed, explosiveness, acceleration, strength, and agility all have a mutual influence on each other. But besides these factors, daily repetitive training can embed more muscle memory, which can have unexpected effects in a critical moment.
However, it was impossible to know the specific results in a short period of time. It was just like yoga. After a year of consistent practice, the results gradually became apparent.
On a side note, the duration of the yoga in his daily training tasks was still thirty minutes, but the difficulty of the poses had been updated twice. It seemed that his progress was quite good. However, the difficulty of the poses seemed to be increasing a little too quickly. Lu Ke wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He just felt like he was torturing himself.
"God. You're still taking your sweet time here. Are you Rocky? Come on, hurry up." The training facility was just around the corner. Logan Newman jogged over to him with a speechless expression on his face. He looked at Lu Ke, who was still practicing his boxing footwork, and couldn't help but complain.
"Rocky" was the name of the main character in the classic inspirational boxing movie.
Lu Ke's footwork didn't falter. He meticulously completed his final training exercise, then sprinted into the training facility, passing Logan, and heading toward the locker room. He slowly, slowly slowed down his steps, pulled the towel from his waist, wiped off the sweat that was dripping down, and saw Logan catching up to him in the corner of his eye. "Why are you so early today?"
He looked down at his watch. It was still five minutes before eight o'clock.
In a professional team, the schedule for each week is strictly regulated.
Wednesday is a basic recovery day and a media open interview day. Players who are injured or have personal matters to attend to are allowed to be absent. The reporting time is 9:30 a.m. Thursday is a regular training day, and they start preparing for this week's game. The reporting time is 8:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday are game preparation days, and the pace is fully accelerated. The reporting time is 8:00 a.m.
If it's an away game, the schedule will be different. If it's a night game, the schedule will also change.
Today was Thursday, and there were still thirty-five minutes until the reporting time. Logan was indeed a little earlier than expected.
Looking at the calm and composed Lu Ke, Logan's eyes widened. "Brother, you haven't forgotten, have you? Today is the day!"
"So what? The reporters just cared about it yesterday, and now it's your turn to worry about it?" Lu Ke was in the mood to joke. His tone was relaxed, and his attitude was calm. He looked like an outsider facing the urgent and nervous Logan. "Relax. Today is just a normal day. There's no need to make a fuss."
Today was the day. The three quarterbacks of the San Francisco 49ers were going to have a head-to-head competition for the starting position.
Colin Kaepernick had successfully passed the league's concussion test, and Alex Smith's injury had officially healed. He had done some simple passing drills last week, and there were no abnormalities. This week, on Monday and Tuesday, Alex had also done further recovery training with Kippy, and he performed well.
Now, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback position was suddenly crowded. Besides the three quarterbacks, there was also Scott Tolzien. So, they had a total of four quarterbacks on the fifty-three-man roster, which was way too many.
The coaching staff had to make a decision as soon as possible, determine the starting quarterback, and then remove one of the quarterbacks from the fifty-three-man roster to make room for a player who was more urgently needed.
As for the quarterback who was removed, they also had to consider whether to put him on the practice squad, cut him, or use him for another purpose. After all, Alex and Colin had just returned from injuries, and their condition was still uncertain. If necessary, keeping four quarterbacks on the roster, even if it wasn't ideal, was the only choice.
Therefore, the competition among the three quarterbacks was not only for the starting position but also to assess the players' condition and, from a long-term perspective, to determine the team's roster strategy. Even Scott would be included in the assessment.
During the media open interview day yesterday, both Alex and Colin were present, which undoubtedly sent a signal that they were ready to compete, and the San Francisco 49ers were ready to officially consider them.
As an undrafted rookie, Lu Ke had a brilliant three weeks of games and led the team to three victories. This was an undeniable fact. But it was also a fact that the entire season was very long, and rookie players' performances were often inconsistent and hard to stabilize. This was a consensus among everyone. It was even more uncertain for an undrafted rookie.
From a positive perspective, people could choose Lu Ke, and the three wins were the best evidence.
But from a negative perspective, it was also a reasonable choice to give up on Lu Ke. Alex was an experienced veteran, and having him lead the rookies and help them grow was undoubtedly a very wise decision. As a second-round pick, Colin had the drive and energy of a young man, and his personal ability was also recognized by scouts and coaches.
In the end, Lu Ke's historical record was still too weak and not very convincing.
He lacked experience playing in the NCAA and reference data as an official player. This shortcoming was still too obvious, even with the addition of three regular season wins. Alex had almost ten years of professional experience, and Colin had been a starter since his freshman year and had an excellent four-year resume.
It seemed that there were enough reasons to choose any of the quarterbacks, and also enough concerns. The San Francisco 49ers' coaching staff's decision had also become the focus of many media outlets. As one of the people involved, Lu Ke had also been bombarded with questions from the media yesterday.
In the NFL, the quarterback is always the position that receives the most attention and the greatest pressure. Throughout history, countless quarterbacks have come in as backups, saved the day, and created miracles. But most of them have fallen into obscurity after losing their starting positions.
It's never easy to get a solid footing in the league, and a flash of brilliance is not enough.
Whether it was because he was an undrafted rookie or a Chinese-American player, after the miraculous three-game winning streak, Lu Ke was truly at the center of attention. Now, all the media were starting to pay attention to Lu Ke's future prospects, and the discussion remained high.
If Lu Ke said that he wasn't nervous or that he didn't care at all, he would definitely be lying. At the beginning of the season, everything was full of chaos and accidents. First, Alex Smith's injury, then Colin Kaepernick's concussion. Lu Ke was called upon in a crisis and took on the heavy burden of being a quarterback. No matter how much he argued, luck did play an important role.
Now, Lu Ke was back at the starting line, competing with Alex, Colin, and Scott. He would face them head-on with his own strength and fight for his starting position. Deep down, he was still a little nervous.
However, nervousness could be turned into motivation, and pressure could be turned into drive. In competitive sports, competition and confrontation are everywhere. Lu Ke once again remembered Tony Romo's words: an undrafted rookie will have to carry the burden of proving themselves for their entire career.
If a first-round pick's performance is slightly below expectations, people might start shouting "bust." Similarly, if an undrafted rookie has any setbacks or failures, people will naturally think, "He was never that good to begin with." They must constantly prove themselves and constantly break through their limits.
After experiencing three weeks of regular season games—not just three wins, but three real games—Lu Ke now had a burning desire to compete against Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. He also wanted to know how good he really was now.
The battle for the starting position was a life-or-death battle for Lu Ke, and also a touchstone! Since a battle was destined to happen, he would fight it head-on. The one who laughs last is always the strong and the brave.
Lu Ke was a firm believer in this.
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