In the NFL regular season, the night gas on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday are always the most important.
Except for the last week of the regular season—a crucial ti for playoff spots where all gas start at the sa ti to avoid collusion—night gas are the main event. Thursday night gas, in particular, are the most watched and talked about, often considered the most intense and exciting matchups of the week.
In reality, however, this is a marketing ploy by the league.
By agreent, all thirty-two teams must appear on a live night ga broadcast at least once during the seventeen-week regular season (excluding the final week of gas that affect playoff spots and the bye week).
The reason is simple: a nationally televised night ga is essential for comrcial promotion, brand recognition, and sponsorships. Every team fights for these spots.
Of course, when the league schedules night gas, it considers team strength, current season performance, rivalries, historical matchups, fan support, and other factors. For example, the annual "Steelers-Ravens" showdown is always a highlight.
Consequently, it's not unusual for a few top-tier teams to be featured on the night ga stage at least twice a season.
Nevertheless, the night ga schedule must be balanced among all thirty-two teams. This ans so night gas might feature less competitive matchups.
While exposure is important, coaching staffs dislike night gas because they disrupt the rhythm of training and tactical planning.
First, the high level of attention, pressure, and dia interference can cause players to perform poorly. They can get overly nervous, too excited, or feel harassed. For rookie players, the night ga stage is a completely different level of challenge.
The league has statistics that compare players' performance in nationally televised gas versus non-televised gas. The results show that so players perform exceptionally well in non-broadcast gas but are awful in live-broadcast gas, similar to the difference between playing at ho and on the road.
Second, night gas disrupt the preparation rhythm, especially the Monday and Thursday gas.
A Monday night ga ans there are only four days to prepare for the next ga after it ends. A Thursday night ga ans there are only three days to prepare. The entire training cycle is completely different.
However, coaches and players have no right to object. For the sake of the team's interests and their own financial future, night gas are an important opportunity that cannot be missed.
Each year before the regular season begins, the league sends out a team of experts to assess the thirty-two teams' offseason preparations. They create a new season matchup schedule based on team strength, player status, star players, historical matchups, and more.
The San Francisco 49ers, who had missed the playoffs for eight consecutive years, were still not favored in this year's pre-season assessnt. Moreover, the NFC West has been weak for a long ti. Last year, the Seattle Seahawks made it to the playoffs with a losing record, becoming the laughingstock of the entire league.
So, the 49ers didn't have much of an advantage in this year's night ga schedule. But thanks to their strong and deep history, they were still scheduled for a Thursday and a Monday night ga. Fortunately, neither of these gas was in the second week of the regular season, which was a good thing for Lu Ke as a rookie.
Lu Ke still hadn't adapted to the NFL's ga rhythm. Not only was the intensity of each ga a factor, but so was the weekly preparation routine. Everything was new, and he needed ti to adjust, especially since his physical condition still couldn't handle long-term confrontation.
The San Francisco 49ers' matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in the second week of the regular season wasn't a major focus of the week and was scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the sa ti as the other gas.
Monday was a day off for the whole team.
But Lu Ke had no ti to rest. He had to start reviewing his playbook again. He also contacted scout Adam Klein to find ga footage of Jim Harbaugh's ti as a coach at Stanford and a career highlight reel of Peyton Manning. He wasn't watching to enjoy the gas but to study the on-field tactics.
Tuesday was a partial day off for the team.
According to official rules, this day is still considered a day off, but players can go to the training facility on their own to relax, get a massage, or watch ga footage.
Lu Ke didn't go to the team's training facility. Instead, he held a small rookie training camp at ho, spending the entire day watching ga footage of the Dallas Cowboys, including their first regular season ga, four preseason gas, and their entire season last year.
In addition to Logan, Marcus, and Aldon, other rookie players like Kendall Hunter, Daniel Kilgore, Ronald Johnson, Colin Jones, and Bruce Miller also ca over. It was essentially a "rookie" training camp.
Wednesday was an unofficial regular practice day for the team.
This day was not mandatory for the players. However, most players would arrive at the training facility to do recovery and relaxation training. They would also et with the offensive and defensive coaches to continue watching ga footage.
Generally, the coaching staff's ga preparation starts on Tuesday, and the players' preparation starts on Wednesday. But strictly speaking, the team's ga preparation begins on Thursday. The schedules for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are very strict, and the team must act together.
Early on Wednesday morning, Lu Ke drove to the training facility. His small training camp yesterday had been very fruitful.
Even though they were all rookies, their different college backgrounds and positions gave them different perspectives on the ga. As the team's quarterback, Lu Ke listened and absorbed different opinions, which broadened his horizons and gave him a lot of information. Today, Lu Ke planned to discuss with the quarterback and offensive coaches to clarify his thoughts and make all that knowledge his own.
On Monday, Lu Ke also successfully completed two quarterback training skill packs and received the rewards. He also started his daily training missions again, gradually entering strength training mode. Additionally, Lu Ke needed to adapt to his current throwing power.
Even though his throwing power score was still seventy-nine, his strength had beco sixty-one, his explosiveness was seventy, and, most importantly, his physical quality was also seventy. This kind of drastic change and growth required ti for Lu Ke to adapt to his body's condition. He also needed to make corresponding adjustnts to his throwing motion and finger control.
The past two days had been packed. It was clear that today would be the sa. Tomorrow was Thursday, and the team would officially start preparing for the second ga. He needed to get into the right mindset ahead of ti.
As he drove into the parking lot, Lu Ke was surprised to see that another car had already arrived. Lu Ke had adjusted his arrival ti to the training facility today. Even so, it was not yet seven in the morning. A player had arrived earlier than him, which was truly... strange.
Who could it be?
With this thought, Lu Ke entered the locker room and saw Alex Smith, who had just finished changing into his practice uniform.
In the blink of an eye, it had been eight weeks since Lu Ke joined the 49ers, but this was the first ti he had t Alex.
Due to his injury, Alex had been going back and forth between the hospital and ho for the past few weeks and had not been at the training facility. In the last few weeks, as his injury gradually healed, Alex had co to the training facility, but the training building for injured players was on the other side. Alex had been to the training facility twice, but by chance, the two had never t. Until today.
Lu Ke was a little surprised.
Alex's reputation was well-known. He was the first overall pick in the 2005 draft. Although the 49ers' record had not improved under his leadership and his performance was only average, among all the players Lu Ke had t so far, Alex was the most famous, top-tier, and seasoned player.
What's more, they were both quarterbacks and direct competitors. Incidentally, Alex's Wonderlic Test score was forty.
The atmosphere paused for a mont, and then Alex took the initiative to greet him. "Hey, Lu Ke, right? I'm Alex." He walked forward, extended his right hand in a friendly manner, and smiled kindly. "I've heard that you're an incredibly hard-working player, and now it seems the rumors are true."
Lu Ke shook Alex's right hand and smiled back. "Welco back. Is your injury okay?"
Alex looked down at his right leg. A torn ACL can be a major or minor injury. Many athletes have had their careers ended by a serious injury to this part of their body. But from Alex's stance now, the impact didn't seem too big. "This is my first week back to official training, so everything still needs to be observed slowly."
As he spoke, Alex raised both hands and crossed his index and middle fingers, making a good-luck gesture. "This is all I can do now." His easygoing words had a bit of self-deprecating humor, which made him approachable.
Lu Ke also made the sa good-luck gesture and smiled confidently and firmly. "An injury is never a good thing for any professional athlete. I hope you can fully recover. Welco back to the field and back into the competition at one hundred percent!"
NOTE:
New chapters drop five tis a day, every Monday through Saturday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release five bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support
on Patreon: spatreon/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!
Reviews
All reviews (0)