"His ability to withstand a hit has improved, but it's still not enough. At a re 187 pounds, Jesus Christ, one collision and he'll go flying. He might not even finish the first play before he gets injured and has to leave the field. He has no chance in the professional league."
"Didn't you see his passing accuracy?"
"My point is, he won't even have ti to throw the ball before he's out. Those players on the field are like hungry wolves who won't give him a chance!"
"Are you saying the offensive line is useless? Then what's the offensive line coach for? We have two offensive line coaches, Tim and Mike. Should we just fire them?"
"That's not the point. Even when the offensive line is broken, he can still rely on his footwork to escape the pocket and find an opportunity. That's a valuable trait."
"And that's my point. In a real ga, he won't have a chance to run out. Just look at his terrible footwork and dodging ability. Even Peyton Manning's footwork is one... no, three, three levels better than his!"
"Then who won today's ga? You tell , who won? Who scored that last touchdown?"
"...Today, today's opponent was just the scout team."
"Ha! Then why was Colin Kaepernick so bad against the scout team? Explain that to . The sa scout team, the sa intensity, why did Kaepernick lose the ga while Lu Ke won?"
"Don't forget, he also had a teammate. Carson Palr also played very well today. My point is, he can't adapt to the pace of a real ga. He doesn't et our requirents."
"I think we should discuss his plays. He really showed a lot of variety in his playmaking."
"Kip, stop. Stop it. He was excellent in the training camp, but his performance in an actual ga is unpredictable. Don't forget, our sample size is too small. If he couldn't prove himself in college, how can he prove himself in the professional league?"
"To be objective, we can't ignore the physical talent of Asian people. They have advantages in endurance, flexibility, and technique. Also, willpower. But when it cos to physical contact, it's a definite weakness. We don't have enough data to determine what his strengths and weaknesses will be in a real ga."
...
Inside the eting room, the chatter and argunts were non-stop. The argunts got more and more intense, with people's faces turning red and so even slamming their hands on the table. The heated debate wouldn't stop, and the veins on their necks were bulging, as if they could burst at any mont.
The practice ga ended this afternoon. Matt and Scott were on one team, and Carson and Lu Ke were on the other.
In the end, the latter team won. Among the four quarterbacks, Lu Ke had the best performance with 196 passing yards, a 71% completion rate, and two touchdowns. His 43-yard pass in the second half of the ga, a perfect strike that led to a touchdown, was especially brilliant.
Of course, Carson's performance was also very good, with 111 passing yards, a 64% completion rate, and one touchdown. He and Lu Ke led their offense to a strong performance in the practice ga.
In comparison, Matt and Scott's performance was not very satisfying. They ultimately lost the ga with a score of 10-21. Scott scored one touchdown, while Matt was terrible and only managed to get his team into field goal range, scoring three points.
They had expected these results. Throughout the three days of tryouts, Matt's performance had been worrying, and Lu Ke had truly stood out. Besides the hitting and dodging drills, he was impressive in all the other drills. But when it actually happened, they were still surprised.
After the tryout ended, the main mbers of the coaching staff gathered in the eting room to discuss.
Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator; Vic Fangio, the defensive coordinator; Kip Christensen, the quarterbacks coach; Joel Patten, the director of scouting; Tim Drevno and Mike Sorlari, the offensive line coaches; and Jim Tomsula, the defensive line coach, were all there.
In addition to them, there was also the general manager, Trent Baalke, and, of course, the head coach, Jim Harbaugh.
Everyone was eager to voice their opinions, arguing and fighting for their points, except for Jim Harbaugh, the one in charge.
Jim remained silent, and it was hard to tell if he was listening carefully or lost in thought. Trent rolled his chair over to Jim and lightly bumped Jim's chair with his armrest. He said in a relaxed tone, "Aren't you going to say sothing? I think if you don't step in, they might kill each other."
Jim wasn't in the mood for jokes. He glanced at Trent. "What about you? What's your opinion?"
Trent ca from a scouting background, starting his career with the New York Jets before moving to the Washington Redskins and finally to the San Francisco 49ers.
After ten years as a scout, Trent's managent and negotiation skills were recognized. After leaving his scouting position, he beca the 49ers' director of player personnel. In just three years, he beca the general manager who had the final say on the team's direction and decisions.
So, Jim's question wasn't random.
Trent raised his eyebrow. "Would you even care about my opinion?"
"How would you know if you don't say?" Jim retorted.
Trent nodded slightly in agreent. "I would sign him. Because he would help with the market. You know how big the Chinese market is in San Francisco. As a backup, his skills might be lacking, and he might have his strengths, but overall, he's a qualified backup. So, I would be willing to sign him. In the entire league, I can't think of a better team to be the first to sign a Chinese player than us."
Jim rolled his eyes, looking at Trent speechlessly.
But Trent didn't care at all and spread his hands. "I told you, you wouldn't care about my opinion." As the general manager, Trent's starting point and perspective were different, so naturally, his opinion differed from the coaches. "So, what about you? Are you sure you're not going to stop them? I think this eting room is about to beco a bloodbath."
"Quiet! Everyone, quiet down!" Jim slamd his hand on the table and yelled. "Get out. All of you get out." Everyone looked at each other, confused and not moving. Jim had to shout again, "I know all of your opinions. They're the sa things we've been discussing for the past three days. Now, give
so space. I need to think this through."
The coaches exchanged glances, and in the end, Tim Drevno was the first to set an example, turning and leaving the eting room.
Tim and Jim were colleagues at Stanford University. After Jim signed with the 49ers, the first person he recruited was Tim, bringing his right-hand man with him into the league.
Tim knew Jim's way of doing things very well. Jim wasn't the kind of person who needed other people's opinions or help. After listening to their opinions, Jim would co to his own conclusion. Jim didn't want anyone to interfere with his decision. He was decisive and headstrong. He was like this before, and he was still like this now.
The coaches left the eting room one by one, but Kip was the last to leave. He hesitated for a mont but couldn't help himself. He turned back, walked over, and said, "Jim, do you rember before the draft, I took two days off to watch a player train? That was Lu Ke. I just want to tell you that I'm not surprised at all by the progress Lu Ke has made in the past few months. The amount of hard work and effort he has put in is far beyond what we can imagine."
After thinking about it, he wanted to add more, but it seed there was nothing else to say. So, he said again, "I just want to say, before you make a decision, put his race aside and carefully read the scout reports." This ti, Kip didn't hesitate anymore. He nodded and left.
The entire eting room was empty, with only Jim left.
Every coach on the staff knew that this was a gamble, not because of Lu Ke's race or his physical condition, but because there was a lack of sufficient ga data. There were too many uncertainties surrounding Lu Ke. What's more, they had to consider the 49ers' current situation.
The logical decision would be to choose Carson Palr, but no one could ignore Lu Ke, and no one wanted to ignore him. But if they actually decided to pick him, would it be a rash decision?
Jim opened the folder on the table. It was a scout report from Adam Klein.
"Strengths: Excellent passing accuracy, good at making passing choices, light on his feet, strong body control, great field vision, smart at observing before the snap, can quickly read the defense, suitable for a fast-paced offense, has enough arm strength to complete long passes, balanced short and dium passes, rational playcalling, and very decisive in crucial monts.
Weaknesses: Thin fra, lack of muscle explosiveness, long limbs, prone to injuries, lacks the ability to take a hit, a typical pocket quarterback who isn't afraid to run out of the pocket but is not good at escaping, dodging, and taking a hit, poor explosiveness, slow top speed, terrible footwork, arm talent still needs to be verified, and had almost no opportunity to play in college."
A lot of strengths and a lot of weaknesses. But what really stood out was the suggested template at the end: "NFL Template: Peyton Manning."
This was the highest complint one could receive. Manning's career wasn't over yet, but it was already set in stone that he would be a Hall of Fa quarterback. How could Adam compare Lu Ke to Manning? It was absurd, even laughable.
But if you think about it, was it really that funny?
Jim's fingers traced the scout report, which was undoubtedly the most comprehensive, in-depth, and authoritative report. Then, Jim put the scout report aside, opened the video replay, and started watching the ga replay—
The Rose Bowl ga footage from January 1st of this year.
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