Adam Klein had his legs crossed, leaning heavily on the back of his chair. The plastic stadium seat groaned as it was pushed back, as if in great pain. To his left sat a white-haired man who looked about sixty-five years old, with a chubby face, a beer belly, and a kind expression.
The two were talking in low voices, occasionally nodding slightly, revealing meaningful expressions.
Blake Simmons hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, but he didn't go over to interrupt. After waiting for a while, he saw the white-haired man leave, then he walked over and sat down next to Adam. His eyes were on the departing figure. "Why is Wade Phillips here? Is he interested in a defensive player? JJ Watt? Or Von Miller?"
The white-haired man was Wade Phillips. From the 2007 to 2010 seasons, he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. This year, he officially became the defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. He was an old coach who had been coaching in the league for forty years, and coaching the defensive unit was his specialty.
Adam lifted his chin, teasingly keeping him in suspense. "What do you think?"
So it wasn't JJ Watt and Von Miller. Blake's eyes narrowed slightly. He looked at Adam carefully and, surprisingly, didn't answer. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the rookies in the center of the field, who were preparing for the next test. "I just got a call, and you'll never guess who it was." Blake used Adam's own trick on him, saying with a smile. But he didn't keep him in suspense and gave the answer directly. "Mike Shula of the Carolina Panthers."
"Are they crazy?" That was Adam's first reaction.
Mike Shula was a quarterbacks coach. He had been with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the past three years and had just moved to the Carolina Panthers this year.
It was worth noting that the Carolina Panthers had this year's first overall draft pick, and their quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, was a complete disaster. Almost everyone predicted that they would pick a quarterback, and Cam Newton was clearly the top choice.
At this moment, Mike started calling scouts, and it was Blake he called. The meaning was obvious—Lu Ke.
"It's just one Wunderlic Test. Has everyone lost their minds?" Adam shook his head helplessly, not hiding his surprise and shock. Giving up Cam for Lu Ke? Even if it was just a thought or a test, Adam still felt that the Carolina Panthers had lost their minds.
Blake, however, smiled. "So, Wade Phillips also came for that number eleven?"
Lu Ke, the rookie quarterback from the UCLA Bruins, had quickly become the hottest name after the basic tests ended yesterday. The fact that no one had heard of him before made the dramatic effect even more pronounced, so much so that everyone couldn't help but start talking about him, trying to find out more information.
Lu Ke. That was the name of number eleven. In just one day, almost everyone knew it. After a night of fermenting, the buzz grew even louder. But Blake and Adam still habitually called him "number eleven," as if the name still carried the miracle of that Rose Bowl night.
Adam didn't keep playing along this time and shrugged. "He came to ask about a few defensive players, but, yes, he did ask about number eleven."
Obviously, the Houston Texans didn't want people to know they were asking about a quarterback, so they sent Wade, the team's defensive coordinator, to use a plausible excuse, create a smokescreen, and hide their true purpose.
"First the Texans, then the Panthers. I also just heard that the Browns and Bills are also making inquiries." Blake shared the latest information he had just received, turning to look at Adam. No words were needed; his eyes said it all. Adam spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face. "The Dolphins also seem to be making inquiries."
The quarterback position is always the most sought-after and most important position on any team. Having a top quarterback means the team can build around him for the next decade. Even teams with elite quarterbacks consider their backup quarterback situation to avoid injuries, age, and a decline in performance, and other such problems.
Especially over the past half-century, as the league gradually changed the rules on the field for safety and entertainment purposes, and weakened the power of the running back, the NFL gradually entered the passing era. The status and role of the quarterback soared, and the offensive core gradually fell on the quarterback's shoulders.
So, in every year's draft, the quarterback position is the most watched. In the history of the draft, quarterbacks have been the first overall pick the most, thirty-one times. The next is running backs, who have been the first overall pick twenty-three times.
This year was no exception. At least half, if not more, of the teams needed a quarterback. The twenty-one quarterbacks in the training camp would be fully evaluated, and then a decision would be made on who to draft. Now, an unpredictable factor had appeared, and almost every team was starting to stir.
A perfect score on the Wunderlic Test was indeed an irresistible temptation. A variable appeared on the first day of the training camp, and every team began to stir.
Blake looked at Adam's expression carefully. "You don't seem to agree. What's wrong? I thought this was a good thing. Weren't you paying attention to number eleven all day today?"
"I just think they'll be disappointed," Adam said sincerely, with a hint of worry in his tone. As a senior scout, he knew how cruel this league was, and he genuinely hoped that talented and skilled players would have a bright future. "Those teams are just following a trend. Look at those old foxes: the Patriots, the Colts, the Packers. Did any of them make a move? If they are paying attention because of the perfect score on the Wunderlic Test, they are bound to be disappointed. Look at number eleven's 40-yard dash time..."
He didn't continue, but Blake immediately understood. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Number eleven had no foundation to speak of. If his performance in the upcoming training camp tests was not satisfactory after all the hype, he would quickly fall off the radar of every team. After that, it would be difficult for him to rise again.
Today was the second day of the training camp. The first thing on the agenda was the 40-yard dash. This was a bit like the 100-meter dash in the Olympics, a pure competition of speed and explosiveness, and it was considered the most exciting event.
The 40-yard dash in football was the same. Every rookie player participated in this test, which measured their speed, power, explosiveness, and some physical conditioning. The test also had timers at the 10-yard and 20-yard marks to measure the players' explosiveness. The 10-yard, 20-yard, and 40-yard test data had different meanings for players in different positions.
For example, the 10-yard time was especially important for offensive and defensive linemen because they rarely ran more than 10 yards in an actual game. The explosiveness of their initial speed was the key.
The current league record for the 40-yard dash was set by Chris Johnson in 2008, at 4.24 seconds.
4.89 seconds. That was Lu Ke's 40-yard dash time.
For a quarterback, the 40-yard dash time was not the most important thing, but it was a display of physical fitness. The overall average time for quarterbacks was 4.87 seconds, but Lu Ke's time didn't even reach the average line, not to mention comparing it to Cam Newton, the biggest favorite for the number one pick this year. The latter's time of 4.59 seconds was terrifying for his body type, almost at the level of a bulldozer.
Blake, however, sat up straight and said seriously, "But speed and power aren't number eleven's strengths. He'll definitely perform better in the 20-yard shuttle and the three-cone drill. More importantly, number eleven's strength isn't in his physical fitness, but in his understanding of the game, his ability to read the defense, and his passing accuracy. These are the most important qualities!"
Adam glanced at Blake. "But no one else can see that information."
Blake was speechless. Even they, as scouts, only had video footage from two games. To be precise, it was fifteen minutes plus two minutes of game time footage, and with all the timeouts, it was less than half an hour.
Now, Blake finally understood what Adam meant. Adam was still worried about number eleven. He still hoped to evaluate him more comprehensively and in-depth, rather than having him become a clown in a circus due to all the hype and attention.
Was a perfect score on the Wunderlic Test a good thing or a bad thing?
Blake let out a heavy sigh. "Tomorrow. We'll see tomorrow." Tomorrow was when the position-specific tests would take place, to showcase the players' talent, skills, and abilities in their respective positions.
As Adam expected, the attention on Lu Ke only lasted for a day before it died down. The halo of the perfect score on the Wunderlic Test disappeared after the tests on the second day. Overnight, the ugly duckling who hadn't had a chance to fully transform into a swan was back to square one.
The tests included seven items: the 40-yard dash, 225-pound (102 kg) bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20-yard shuttle, 60-yard shuttle, and three-cone drill.
Of the seven items, players were not required to participate in all of them. For example, quarterbacks and wide receivers didn't have to do the bench press, but offensive and defensive linemen had to. Also, the 60-yard shuttle was a mandatory event for wide receivers, but other positions didn't have a strict requirement. Quarterbacks could also choose to participate based on their ability.
In the end, Lu Ke's performance was not impressive at all. It was even below average, which was disappointing.
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