The players are in the phalanx, standing in order; The coaches lined up and made a huge noise. There was a tense atmosphere of slaughter on the entire training ground, and for a moment there was an illusion of military training, making it hard to believe that this was just the daily training of a professional rugby team.

Jim Hubble narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced around the players in front of him, his mixed expressions couldn't distinguish the specific looks and emotions, there was no politeness, no greetings, and even skipped the greeting link, and said directly, "Next, seven-on-seven training." Offense, three offensive forwards, two wide receivers, one near end, and quarterback; Defence, two defensive strikers, two linebacks, three players remaining, cornerbacks and security guards are freely combined. ”

Seven-on-seven training was done in the rookie training camp. In fact, this is the most basic and traditional passing tactics training, which every team will carry out over and over again on a daily basis. Hardly surprising.

But at this point, the first option for Thursday's training session was a seven-on-seven session, and the intent couldn't be more obvious, and the quarterback's starting battle was about to take place.

"Coach, it's not fair." Collin Kaepernick raised his hand and said, "The lack of running back cover and increased passing pressure clearly emphasize the quarterback's passing ability and weaken the quarterback's own running ability." But, for the quarterback, running is also one of his skills. ”

The simple explanation is this: this is a training for pocket quarterbacks, and running quarterbacks are in a bad situation. Lu Ke and Smith are both pocket quarterbacks, while Kaepernick is a running quarterback.

"It's not fair on the field. Some offensive strikers are better, others are terrible, is it because the offensive strikers are not good, you don't play? Jim had no intention of giving face at all, and directly complained back, leaving Kaepernick's words to hold back in his chest, and his face flushed.

Immediately afterward, Jim continued, "It's tactical training, the offensive coach gives the offensive command, the defensive coach gives the defensive command, you just do it. We practice tactics. ”

In the rookie training camp, 7-on-7 training tests the quarterback's ability to fight in danger, according to their own tactical understanding, as well as the ability to understand temporary teammates, and make proper arrangements; But today's seven-on-seven training is mainly a test of the quarterback's understanding and ability to use tactics.

Reading from a quarterback's perspective: This is a comprehension reading test of the playbook.

Jim then cast his gaze in Kaepernick's direction, intentionally or unintentionally, "If necessary, we will also arrange a reading option offense, different styles of quarterbacks, naturally have very different styles of play, and coaches know this better than the players." Although he did not name names, he used sharp words and did not save face for Kaepernick in the slightest.

The so-called reading option offense, which has been a popular tactic in recent years, is simple and crude, but direct and effective, and can even be said to be invincible, with Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick both swept the college arena with such tactics.

Yes, it's a tactic that makes the most of the running quarterback's individual talent.

In a normal offensive game, there are five players in the offensive line, and seven players in the defensive line on the opposite side of the defensive group - either four defensive forwards and three linebacks, or three defensive forwards and four linebacks, and the overall situation is "five against seven".

However, the defensive front line of the defensive group needs to shoulder multiple functions such as raiding quarterbacks, defending runs, and defending short passes at the same time, and has a certain advantage in terms of numbers, but the specific situation needs to be arranged according to actual tactics.

In the Reading Option offense, the quarterback will choose an outside defender, usually a defensive end or outside guard, deliberately forgetting that player's presence; Then reasonably arrange their offensive forwards, and even the receiving players, facing the remaining six defensive front-line, create a one-on-one or two-on-one situation, and intercept the impact of the first-line players in the defensive group.

As a result, wide receivers, close ends, and running backs who don't have blocking tasks can all form a situation where they play more and play less.

But what about the missing outside defender? Because the other defenders are blocked or intercepted, he becomes an isolated existence, and he must make an accurate judgment: whether it is a running offense or a passing offense -

In other words, does he have to defend quarterback, or run back? In such a choice, one is often at the expense of the other.

The quarterback's job becomes simpler, he just needs to keep an eye on the outside defender, and the opponent starts to intercept the runaway, and the quarterback runs with the ball on his own; The opponent starts to charge at the quarterback, then the quarterback hands the football to the running back to break through; Taking it a step further, if the opponent loses his defensive position and the quarterback spied on an open space, he can also complete the pass.

To sum up, the reading option offense is that the quarterback interprets the opponent's defensive position, picks out a loophole, deliberately releases this hole, and then plugs the other positions tightly, and then, according to the movement of this defensive hole, the quarterback can choose to run the ball by the running back, run the ball by himself, and can also choose to pass.

Reading OptionsThe combination of offense and pistol formation, for a running quarterback, is ever-changing, the options are varied, and even more varied than the pocket quarterback's shotgun formation, in the face of such an offense, the defense group is simply unable to defend against it.

For pocket quarterbacks, running with the ball on their own is too risky and inadequate; But for the running quarterbacks, it brings out their physical gifts to the fullest.

On the college court, the Reading Options offense swept through thousands of troops, and at the same time, it also made the running quarterback rise strongly; But in the league, the reading option offense has had a good success, but it has never been able to become popular, because the reading option offense is really too physical.

For quarterbacks, passing is their job; But now, they're being asked to run and then face a strong and ferocious impact, and the physicality and impact of the defenders is nothing short of – which is why the offensive forwards are so strong that they block the first round of the collision for the quarterbacks.

Especially in the professional league, the impact intensity and force are much higher than in the college league; Moreover, the NFL's tactics are ever-changing, and the defensive players' interpretation of the crisis and grasp of the situation are far from being comparable to the NCAA, that is, the defensive team can more quickly recognize the reading option offense and give the quarterback a fatal blow.

Hitting again and again, for a quarterback, it can be said that he uses his own shortcomings to fight against the opponent's strengths. Even a "superman" like Cam Newton, whose physicality still doesn't have the upper hand in front of defenders, will put Newton at high risk of injury if he attacks frequently with reading options in a game.

As a result, the few running quarterbacks in the league right now, and even the running quarterbacks who are now famous on the college level, are all super physical blacks. But even if they don't pay attention, they can become glass people.

Back to the conversation between Jim Hubble and Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick protested because passing accuracy wasn't his forte.

Objectively speaking, his passing accuracy is better than Cam Newton's, and his physical qualities are not as good as Cam Newton's, so in the draft, the Carolina Panthers selected Newton, while the San Francisco 49ers used the high second-round pick to select Kaepernick.

Despite this, Kaepernick's passing accuracy cannot be compared with Lu Ke and Smith at all.

In the four games of the preseason, the team still used more passing tactics than reading options to attack. Kaepernick had a tough problem understanding the tactical manual. In the current seven-on-seven training, without the running back's dismantling and covering, there is naturally no reading option offense, and his situation is even more unfavorable.

But the reason Jim is so tough is because it's tactical training. Reading defense is an offensive style that relies on the physical qualities of the quarterback, with little to no requirements for passing, for tactics, which is not in line with the original purpose of the first round of training.

So, this is what Jim just said, and the coaching staff will arrange the tactics according to the style of the players. But at the end of the day, today's starting race is about the team, not about showcasing the talent and talent of a particular quarterback.

"Now, are there any questions?" Jim raised his voice, his eyes burning at Kaepernick.

Kaepernick didn't answer, lowered his head, and looked away.

"We're attacking in one gear and one in another." Jim added, "The four quarterbacks take turns, always on the 20-yard line, different combinations of offensive and defensive plays, and we'll see how well the team has a playbook." ”

"Coach, including me?" Scott Tolsin hesitantly raised his right hand, he thought there was no place for him in today's starting line-up.

Jim looked at Scott, "Are you the quarterback on our team?" Scott nodded stunned, "Well, yes, including you." If there is no problem, start now, Alex, you are the first, Colin, you are the second, then Lu Ke, and finally Scott. ”

Picking a starting quarterback is one thing, tactical training is another, and they can't afford to ignore this week's regular season just to pick a starting quarterback. So, all four quarterbacks have to play.

There was a brief hiccup that didn't make too many waves, and then all the attacking and defensive groups were on the pitch quickly, with Craig Roman and Vic Fangio picking two different groups of players for rotation before tactical training began.

All the players, all the players of the whole team, whether they were preparing for training on the field, watching off the field, and even the sparring team players off the field, everyone was quiet, engrossed and staring with bated breath.

Under the watchful eye, Alex trotted onto the court, and then, according to the coach's tactical arrangement, launched the attack with unmistakable accuracy, and successfully completed a six-yard pass - short pass layout and shot control, which has always been Alex's strong point, and it is also his unique skill in the league.