Chapter 673: Simple Warm-Up
"Ladies and gentlemen, now entering the field is the San Francisco quarterback, Lu Ke."
Coleman's grand introduction echoed throughout Aloha Stadium. The audience started to shout and cheer, with a mixture of uneven cheers rising and falling. Many people even banged on the sponsors' signboards on the sidelines, shouting with all their might, "Go, Bambi! Go!"
Clearly, the audience wanted to see a more intense and exciting showdown. The Pro Bowl wasn't just an All-Star Weekend; it was also an important moment to showcase the different charms of American football. Just now, Cam had delivered a spectacular performance as a quarterback, and now everyone was looking forward to Lu Ke's response.
"This is the rookie quarterback's first Pro Bowl trip. In the season that just ended, his performance surprised the entire league. Now, let's see how he performs in the skills challenge! Five! Four!"
As Coleman's countdown began, many people in the audience joined in, counting down with him. The deafening shouts, mixed with laughter and cheers, made it clear how lively and noisy the scene was. From Cam to Lu Ke, the exciting showdown was heating up little by little.
Lu Ke pulled on his baseball cap and jumped lightly in place a couple of times to relax his muscles and adjust his rhythm.
In the skills challenge, there was no contact, so there was no need to wear pads. Every player was simply wearing a sports T-shirt and shorts, along with a baseball cap. The sun above Aloha Stadium was too bright and glaring, making it almost impossible to open your eyes when you looked up.
Without the suppression and constraints of the pads, his body felt even lighter than in practice. The details of his movements for power generation, control, and passing naturally needed to be adjusted slightly. From a mindset of just participating to one of being determined to win, Lu Ke was slowly tightening the spring.
"Three! Two! One! Beep!"
Lu Ke slightly adjusted his short steps, grabbed the football, aimed at the target six yards away, extended his arm lightly, and with a flick of his wrist, the football spun quickly toward the bullseye. With a seemingly effortless motion, the football flew exceptionally fast, leaving a light brown afterimage as it instantly reached its destination.
The relaxed and suave passing motion instantly triggered screams and cheers from a group of female fans on the sidelines, but the landing spot was a complete surprise.
It hit the blank area on the outer edge, scoring no points.
"Hmph." A gasp of shock erupted from the crowd. Even the commentators in the broadcast booth couldn't help but joke, "If we use a diving analogy, the aerial movement gets a perfect score, but the entry into the water gets a zero. This is a huge letdown... Although it's a skills challenge, Bambi can't just be a show-off. This time, he clearly messed up."
Lu Ke himself also tilted his head slightly, a helpless smile on his face, as if he didn't quite understand why the football's landing point was so far off.
Despite this, his footwork didn't stop. With light and steady crossover steps, he moved horizontally without rushing, grabbing the football from the platform. Two quick, short steps continuously adjusted his body's direction, and then with a step forward, the football was pushed out.
The power was slightly greater than the first time, and the arc was also a little bigger.
And then...
"Whoa!"
The entire stadium once again let out a surprised exclamation, and many people could be seen holding their heads in disbelief.
Because this time, Lu Ke missed the target completely. The football was slightly higher than the target, narrowly grazing the top edge before flying far away and landing weakly on the grass. Another zero points!
Although Sanchez had four consecutive misses earlier, everyone knew that it was a windy day today, and passing accuracy would definitely be affected. Quarterbacks who were known for their skills were more or less limited. It was the same for Ryan and Romo, and Lu Ke was no exception.
But after being tested for an entire season, passing accuracy had become one of Lu Ke's trademarks. Yet today, he was missing pass after pass. Even with the negative impact of the strong wind and the entertainment-first nature of the Pro Bowl, people still couldn't help but let out sighs of disappointment.
Standing next to him, Cam was trying to control his emotions, but seeing Lu Ke's awkwardness and embarrassment, the smile on his face couldn't help but grow. He tried to hold it in, but he couldn't suppress it in the end.
To avoid losing his composure, he could only put his hands on his chest, use his left hand as support for his right elbow, and then open his large right hand to cover his mouth, which finally hid his smile.
The next moment, even covering his mouth was no longer effective.
Because Lu Ke missed the target a second time in a row!
The boos and commotion from the crowd could no longer be contained. They poured down like a heavy rain. Everyone thought Lu Ke was being apathetic and wasn't taking the skills challenge seriously at all. His casual performance let them down, and anger and disappointment took over their minds. They all started to complain. The sound waves were getting more and more powerful.
Involuntarily, the corners of Cam's eyebrows began to rise, like a bee buzzing around. A gloating expression was visible deep in his eyes and on his brow.
It seemed that even God was on his side. Today's strong winds were more suitable for his style of play, but a serious disadvantage for Lu Ke. Everything was developing toward a perfect ending: he would win the skills challenge championship! He would defeat Lu Ke in Lu Ke's area of expertise! He would personally witness Lu Ke's proud head lowered! He would reclaim his applause and the spotlight!
He deserved it!
Just three steps away from Cam, Romo was not flustered at all. With his hands on his chest and a calm smile on his face, he shook his head helplessly and sighed in a low voice, "This guy seems to be getting serious."
Last night, Romo and Lu Ke were joking around. Romo kept encouraging Lu Ke to go all out in today's skills challenge and see if he could break a super high-score record to shock everyone. But clearly, Lu Ke was not interested in being the center of attention and kept deflecting.
Just now, Romo deliberately emphasized Cam's provocation, trying to summon the "fully activated" Lu Ke. Now, it seemed that he might have succeeded, which made Romo even more excited.
A true expert who calms down and observes carefully will not have a hard time noticing that Lu Ke's last three passes were not casual throws but calculated attempts.
The first pass was with the wind, the second pass was against the wind, and the third pass was a high arc.
The first one had too little power and deviated from the bullseye. The second one had too much power, and the arc was flat, so it flew past the target. The third one had more power, a higher arc, and was thrown against the wind, becoming a ridiculous "pop-up."
In three passes, he made local adjustments in direction, arc, and power. On one hand, he was testing the wind, and on the other, he was adjusting his passing parabola. These three simple passes, with the target as the center, constructed a three-dimensional space, which he then used to deduce the details of his control when throwing.
Passing practice and passing in a game are two completely different things.
Passing drills without a receiver are similar to shooting drills in basketball. The focus is on wrist control and arm strength. The timing and angle of the throw, the control and adjustment of the parabola, and the judgment and control of the landing point all have a detailed impact.
However, this kind of training is very boring and not very practical in an actual game.
Because in a real game, the quarterback must consider the space between the receiver and the defender. Then, they have to consider the receiver's personal abilities. The accuracy of the pass's landing point doesn't need to be too precise. It's more about coordinating the route. This also means that passing drills without a receiver have limited value, and very few people are willing to invest their time and energy in them.
Shooting in basketball and kicking in soccer are all about aiming at a fixed target while facing opposition. On the other hand, a pass in American football is about aiming at a moving target in the middle of a fierce confrontation. This determines that the training methods are completely different.
However, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees often do these kinds of passing drills without a receiver. Romo once heard that Lu Ke should also be added to that list.
This may sound absurd, but Romo sincerely believed that those three passes were just Lu Ke warming up.
Romo nudged Ryan with his elbow and said with a chuckle, "I bet you that Bambi will definitely win this passing skills challenge. Do you believe me?"
Ryan didn't turn around. His gaze was still on Lu Ke, and he nodded cleanly. "I believe you."
Romo's follow-up words were stuck in his throat. If both of them believed it, then the bet was off. What should they do now?
While he was dazed, the audience let out a burst of cheers. "Yeah! That's it! That's what I'm talking about, Bambi, go! Bambi! Yeah!"
Romo quickly turned his head and saw a dark blue color accurately hitting the bullseye on the fourth target. There was no deviation. It was perfect: five points!
At the same time, Lu Ke's feet were moving horizontally. His movement was not fast or rapid. It was even a bit slow, but the light rhythm and proper timing successfully kept his upper body steady and his passing motion stable. His fluid passing motion was textbook perfect.
Romo couldn't help but squint his eyes, quickly capturing Lu Ke's passing motion:
Adjusting with short steps, controlling the rhythm, raising his arm, a soft wrist, and pushing the ball out.
The entire motion was fluid and smooth. It was elegant and graceful. He seemed to have not used any strength, but the football's trajectory was solid and steady. The evenly spinning ball seemed to be completely unaffected by the strong wind. It made a beautiful parabola, followed the path of the strong wind, drew an arc, and finally hit the target firmly.
Another five points!
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