Chapter 705: Rookie Guidance
Tony Jerod-Eddie annoyingly hit his head. After breaking through the offensive line's block, he rushed into the pocket, and his feet couldn't stop in time, making him crash straight into Lu Ke. This was definitely a classic rookie mistake.
"Tony! Tony! Are you going to get cut right after the voluntary training camp starts?"
"It's over, Tony. There's no room for you on the 53-man roster now. That's a shame."
"Tony is stupid, Tony is stupid."
The other players all started joking, but Eddie had no way to argue. He just became more annoyed and hit his helmet again, reminding himself: This is the NFL. This is a professional league. Even if he gives his all, there's no guarantee he will stay. How could he be careless? This was a fatal mistake.
Looking up, Eddie walked toward Lu Ke. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it just now. I'm sorry."
Lu Ke patted Eddie's helmet and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm not made of glass. But if it happens again, I'm going to kick you out." The second half of the sentence was clearly a joke. He was pretending to be strict, but there was no seriousness in his voice at all. You could even see the smiling eyes behind his helmet.
Eddie honestly nodded repeatedly. "I understand. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Then he turned around and walked toward the other players on the defense, constantly looking around. "Where's my position? Wait, where's my position?"
The other defensive players all started messing with him, deliberately changing positions to confuse Eddie, leaving him completely clueless. For undrafted rookies, completing the playbook in a short time was definitely the first challenge. Studying all night long might not even yield the desired results.
Looking at the playful scene, Lu Ke shook his head slightly and said loudly, "The defense on the other side seems to be messing around. How about we try a surprise attack?"
This one sentence immediately made the defensive players start complaining, but they didn't slack off and immediately got into formation.
In fact, the so-called hit just now was a mere brush-by. There was no head-on collision, let alone a forceful hit.
Harbaugh was only reiterating the core purpose of the training to prevent anyone from being careless and causing an irreversible situation. Lu Ke also agreed with this. However, after the emphasis, it was enough. The focus needed to be back on training. The tactical drills were the most important thing right now.
Standing in the pocket, Lu Ke's body was relatively relaxed. Most of his attention was on the tactical drills and the formation layout. Then, he announced the snap.
"Hut!"
The entire formation quickly dispersed. The offensive and defensive lines instantly collided, letting out a series of muffled thuds. At the same time, Lu Ke methodically took a step back. His vision opened up, and the field layout was clearly reflected in his eyes.
But before his feet could create enough space, he saw two defensive players who had already broken through the offensive line and rushed into the pocket. In a flash, Lu Ke decisively threw the ball, trying to find Vernon Davis on the right to make a play.
Facing one-on-one coverage from the cornerback, Vernon jumped up high. His fingertips touched the football, but his body's extension and force were not completely in place. After the football changed its trajectory, it flew in another direction and landed on the grass. It was an incomplete pass.
"Number 66, what are you doing? Do you know your position? What was your running route in that play just now? Blue 60, Blue 60, what should your running route be? Do you know? Why do you look like an idiot, blindly hitting people? God!"
"Also, number 33, what's your job when the opponent breaks through the pocket? What the hell! Tell me, what's your job? You're a running back. You need to block for the quarterback right now, even sacrifice yourself to block the defensive player! But what were you doing just now? Were you taking a walk?"
Without any pause, Harbaugh's angry shouts came out again, sweeping across the entire training field.
This time, it wasn't just Harbaugh. The running back coach and the offensive line coach also joined forces, pulling out one player after another to guide and lecture them individually.
Although the tactical training in the offseason was supposed to be a painful ordeal, the training results from the past two weeks were still not satisfactory. Especially after a successful season, the invisible pressure forced the coaching staff to demand more.
Standing in place, Lu Ke couldn't help but shake his head. That last play was a disaster. Three new players were added to the fragmented offensive line. They still hadn't been able to accurately grasp the playbook. Every time they pushed and blocked after a play, problems would arise. The pocket was broken through again and again, and Lu Ke's pass arc under pressure was also very wild.
"Joe, Joe?" Lu Ke called out loudly.
Number 66, this year's fifth-round pick, Joe Looney. Lu Ke had seen him on the training field at dawn, and they had also communicated during previous training sessions.
"What exactly is the Blue 60 play?" Lu Ke patiently guided Looney as he walked over.
Looney was still a bit flustered, like a rookie. He kept pacing back and forth, avoiding Lu Ke's gaze. He muttered, "I... just now... I... Blue 60, I know, Blue 60, to the right, right? It means my first step should be to the right? But why is everyone else going to the left? I just checked, and it was to the right."
"Joe, look at me. Calm down. The purpose of training is to correct mistakes and become familiar with plays. It's okay to make mistakes. The key is to clear your mind and get back to the starting point. Blue 60." Learning the playbook, even for Lu Ke, was a long and arduous process that required slow and steady grinding, let alone for a player who had only been on the team for two weeks?
And he was a rookie.
Looney still didn't dare to look at Lu Ke. He just looked up, glanced at him, and then quickly lowered his head, mumbling, "Left? Right?" He didn't seem to be sure himself.
Jewel Hampton, who was standing next to them, hesitated and then stepped forward. "It should be to the left, right? Blue 60 is the defensive play-calling word. For their right side, it's our left side. Blue stands for a breakthrough in the middle, and 60 is the running route for the defensive line. Is that... right?"
Hampton was number 33. In the last play, after the defense broke through, his block was not in place, creating a gap. In an official game, this would have resulted in a sack on the quarterback.
Lu Ke turned his head and gave Hampton an encouraging look. "Yes, you're right. The defensive play is Blue 60, so the offensive play is Red 07. You need to calm down. We're learning the matchup between offense and defense. We're adjusting the offensive plays based on different defensive plays."
Hampton was listening intently. Looney also finally stopped pacing and put his hands on his hips, seeming to be listening carefully.
"In a real game, I might change the play at any time. When I change the play, first, it means you have to change your position and route. Second, what else does it mean?" Lu Ke guided them patiently.
In a real game, the quarterback is undoubtedly the brain of the team and is responsible for the entire team's offense. But if the offensive players' football IQ can keep up and they use their brains to play, the burden on the quarterback will be much lighter, especially for the offensive line.
At the moment, Jonathan Goodwin was undoubtedly the most reliable part of the entire team. Although it was undeniable that this was related to his position as a center, where the tactical changes were relatively small, in practice, Goodwin's ability to make quick adjustments did bring a lot of convenience to Lu Ke.
In addition, Mike Iupati's growth rate was also very pleasing.
As for the other players, they still had a lot of work to do.
Under Lu Ke's gaze, both Looney and Hampton looked confused and couldn't answer.
Lu Ke could only give them the answer. "It also means that I've read the defensive formation and made a simple prediction. After the play officially starts, you can consciously get a head start, get a jump on the defense, and gain the upper hand. But the prerequisite is that you can understand what defense this offensive play is for. For example, Blue 60 for Red 07. Do you understand?"
Looney and Hampton still looked confused. Lu Ke had to explain the entire running route and field layout in detail. After seeing them both nod in realization, Lu Ke added, "First, you must memorize the playbook, and then you need to understand the playbook by looking at the tactical diagrams. This is the first step."
For every player on the 53-man roster, the ultimate goal was that when the quarterback shouted "Red 07," everyone would know the specific formation and route, know their next move, and the corresponding offensive play would automatically appear in their minds.
This was the standard for learning the playbook. Not excellent, but just meeting the standard. If they were excellent, they would be able to further predict the defensive formation and move in advance based on the quarterback's play.
"Great. Now let's run it again. I need you to focus." Lu Ke clapped his hands and didn't say anything more, getting back into training.
Hampton and Looney exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with surprise and shock, followed by respect and admiration.
All the players received the playbook on the same day and started learning it on the same day. But it was clear that Lu Ke was far ahead. Even the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach who were standing next to them nodded in praise.
It seemed that the gap between them and Lu Ke was not small at all.
Looney muttered, "Does he really have time to sleep?"
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