Chapter 772: Forgetting to Eat and Sleep
"Bambi, we're getting ready to go. What about you?"
Lu Ke didn't look up or turn around. He just waved instinctively, his eyes still glued to the big screen, studying the game film, with no intention of leaving at all.
Colin Kaepernick and Scott Tolzien were already used to this scene. They packed up their bags as if it were nothing and left the office.
In the team's office building, players from different positions have their own offices. For example, the linebackers share an office, and the offensive linemen share an office. This is mainly to facilitate meetings with their respective coaches to discuss tactics. At the same time, players in the same position can also study the playbook and hold meetings on their own.
The three quarterbacks also share a room. Each has a desk, and there is a large projector in front of them specifically for studying game film.
This is the quarterbacks' space, undoubtedly the most central and important room for the entire team. However, other players within the 49ers jokingly call it the "Inception Room," which is a way of saying that it is so mentally taxing that no one else can keep up with the pace of their playbook discussions.
Every day, Lu Ke, Kaepernick, and Tolzien study the playbook and game film here. Every day, Lu Ke is the last one to leave, and no one else ever knows when he actually leaves. It's like a mysterious riddle that no one can solve.
Maybe Jim Harbaugh can, because he is another workaholic.
Right now, Lu Ke is studying the New York Giants' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second week of the regular season.
It wasn't because the Giants lost, but because they won a very difficult game. The final score was "41-34." Facing the Buccaneers' offense, which lacked any highlights, the Giants' defense retreated steadily and didn't have much to show for the entire game. If it weren't for Eli Manning gritting his teeth in the final moments and not messing up, they would have lost this game.
The New York Giants' defense is not a top-tier one. In the past two matchups, the 49ers' offense was always able to score easily. The first game was "28-27," and the second was "24-30." Strictly speaking, the scores were already above average, but the offense's performance was always a bit of a struggle and never flowed completely.
Lu Ke needed to find the code that other teams used to break them down to open up his own thinking and find more possibilities.
Unconsciously, time lost its meaning. When Lu Ke came back to his senses, he said, "Scott, Colin, you..." He turned his head and realized he was the only one left in the room. "Huh, when did they leave?" Lu Ke had no memory of it at all.
He looked at the time, and it was already 8:15.
Lu Ke realized that he should go home and continue watching today's game film after dinner. He had some breakthroughs just now, and he could share his ideas with the other quarterbacks and offensive coaches tomorrow to brainstorm and interpret them from different angles. Maybe he could see some details that he hadn't noticed.
He quickly opened his notebook, not a computer, but a handwritten notebook, wrote down his thoughts, packed up, and then quickly left the team building.
Looking back, he could easily see that the light in the head coach's office was still on.
As far as he remembered, Harbaugh almost always left later than Lu Ke every day. This was not surprising because Harbaugh didn't work after he got home.
To be precise, he couldn't work. Harbaugh had been married twice. The first one lasted until 2006 and ended in divorce. During the ten years of marriage, he had three children, two sons and a daughter. After the divorce, all three children's custody was given to Harbaugh because his job and income were more stable.
The second marriage started in 2008 and is still going on now. He had three more children, two daughters and a son. The oldest child is only seven years old.
He has a total of six children. Going home not only means a large family but also a noisy family, so Harbaugh can't get any work done.
So, Harbaugh made a rule. All work stays at the training facility. He either works all night in the office, or he doesn't touch work after he gets home.
In comparison, as a bachelor, Lu Ke could go home and comfortably continue to study the playbook or watch game film without having to stay in the office building.
Last year, the team's understanding of Harbaugh was very limited, and they had no idea about his situation. They secretly speculated whether his family was broken, or if he was in conflict with his wife, or if he was just so absorbed in his work that he completely forgot about his family. All kinds of speculations emerged one after another.
But obviously, they were all wrong.
Facing the New York Giants next week, the 49ers are on high alert. Harbaugh is putting all his energy into preparation.
After leaving the office building, Lu Ke walked toward the parking lot, constantly thinking about the last drive he had watched. He was deep in thought. After he entered the parking lot, the moonlight-white overhead lights shone down, casting a long shadow and giving off a chilly feeling, making him realize that it was now early autumn.
A rustling sound came from his ears, and he could immediately tell that it was the sound of a game.
Following the sound, Lu Ke saw Randy Moss.
Moss was sitting high up in the back of a pickup truck with a tablet on his lap, watching game film with great concentration.
Lu Ke's steps paused slightly for a moment. Lu Ke knew that Moss was a loner. All his relationships stayed on the training field. In professional psychological terms, he refused to have any further intimate relationships with anyone. So, he shouldn't and didn't need to stop here. The best choice was to leave directly.
However, the image on the tablet caught his eye. It was a bit reflective and blurry, and he could only faintly make out a silhouette. At the same time, the tactical calls, the commentator's voice, and the crowd's cheers that came from his ears were all too familiar to Lu Ke. He had watched the game film so many times that it was deeply ingrained in his mind.
This was a drive from their game against the Buffalo Bills.
According to the plan, Lu Ke should have thrown the ball to Moss, but Moss's running route completely deviated from the planned trajectory, forcing Lu Ke's release to be a half-beat slower. Although he still got the ball out successfully in the end, the timing of the two of them didn't match up, and Moss didn't complete the catch.
It was an incomplete pass.
"Why did you run like that?" Lu Ke couldn't help but ask. "If you were trying to break up the zone defense, the running route could have been simpler. You didn't need to make those deliberate stops and turns. If you had been a half-beat earlier, the situation would have been different."
Normally, in tactical meetings, the team would have similar discussions, especially with rookie players.
For example, after the quarterback calls a series of plays, how should the wide receivers and tight ends run their routes? How should they adjust when the defense makes a corresponding adjustment? Or how should they change their defensive position?
This is how it is during the preparation phase, and it is also how it is during the review phase.
This is a crucial process.
However, in the past few games, the connection between Moss and Lu Ke was not frequent, and there was not much material to discuss. Furthermore, Harbaugh's communication with Moss had not been very effective, so the tactical analysis and discussion had not really taken place.
But now, Lu Ke finally couldn't help but say what was on his mind.
An argument or a disagreement is not a problem. Only when they communicate can the two of them establish a connection. Lu Ke needed to know what Moss was really thinking. Only in this way could he create the possibility for future connections.
Lu Ke's calm voice echoed in the cold parking lot. Moss, who was watching the game film, looked up.
When he realized that the person was Lu Ke, he frowned and was in a bad mood. He gave off an aura of "don't come near me" and cursed at him in a harsh tone, "Get lost!"
The first thing he said was a curse.
And his mood did not calm down. Instead, it gradually became more agitated. "Damn it! Who the hell do you think you are? Who the f*** are you to talk to me like that? You dare to come here and tell me how to run? Get out of here!"
Moss talked on and on, venting all the anger he had suppressed for a long time. "Who do you think you are? If your pass had a little higher arc, I could have caught it easily. There was nothing wrong with my running route. I could have shaken off that corner and forced a different safety out of position, and then..."
"There is no 'and then.' Because you didn't complete the catch," Lu Ke interrupted him without showing any weakness. "If it were Ted, he would have completed the catch and even continued to run. You were so focused on breaking up the zone defense that you lost the opportunity to catch the ball."
"You could have thrown the ball a half-beat later!"
"But it was a quick pass. I already delayed it by a half-beat, and my passing intention was already exposed!"
"Damn it! Get lost!"
After a fast back-and-forth, Moss was slightly stunned. He cursed fiercely and then used his left hand to support the edge of the truck bed, jumped down, and continued to swear. "What an arrogant clown. Stupid and ridiculous. So arrogant. I can't believe it. I can't believe that someone would come and tell me how to run my route. Damn it!"
Moss walked farther and farther away, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He stopped, turned around, and cursed with a dark expression, "Not even Tom Brady tells me how to run my route! Who are you? Tell me, who are you? What gives you the right to talk to me like this? Damn it!"
This was not the end. A series of foul curses followed, venting all the anger and suppression he had felt.
"Really?" Lu Ke, however, didn't show any fear or timidity. He asked back.
Moss, on the other hand, was stunned. What did he mean by that?
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