In the team's daily training, the sub-drills are carried out according to the division of labor and cooperation, such as passing drills, all quarterbacks and all wide receivers are gathered together to ensure that the tactical understanding between passing and receiving the ball is on the same level, and if a quarterback or wide receiver is injured, the substitutes can come on at any time and complete the game smoothly.

The confrontation training is completed in groups, with the offensive group and the second team of the defensive group, and the second team of the defensive group and the offensive group respectively combined to complete the tactical drill and arrangement, which is also to ensure that the entire training is completed in accordance with the alternating rhythm of the official game; Of course, there are occasional special occasions when there are some training matches between the first team and the first team, and between the second team and the second team, to test the tactical results.

Among them, the main quarterbacks of the first team and the second team are naturally different.

Last season, Alex Smith was the team's No. 2 quarterback, the No. 1 backup quarterback, and the offensive team completed training under his leadership; This season, Colin Kaepernick is the team's No. 2 quarterback, and he is responsible for the training of the offensive second team, and occasionally Scott Tolsin will take over the command of the offensive second team and start the workout.

Now, Lu Ke is taking the initiative to ask for joint training with the second team.

There's a reason for that.

In the past two games, the San Francisco 49ers' receiving team has seen varying degrees of ups and downs, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis are still in the doldrums, Ted Jean and Logan Newman have also declined, the only in-form Randy Moss has been constrained by physical factors and has never been able to play the full game, and the number one substitute wide receiver Kyle Williams is reimbursed for the season.

And Lu Ke knew that this was just the beginning.

After an incredible start to a seven-game winning streak, things are only going to get more difficult.

On the one hand, the "two-year syndrome" is still inevitable, because the excellent performance of the past season has become the research target of the entire league, and the tactical routine must be changed more, and the players' performance must also be adjusted more, otherwise the historical rookie wall is definitely not just talk.

On the other hand, the pressure to win will continue to increase, and they will inevitably become the target of the entire league, just like the New England Patriots in the 2007 season, when the night of the Super Bowl was divided between "Patriot fans and other fans", and all other fans chose to support the New York Giants.

This pressure builds up little by little, like a time bomb, no one knows when it will detonate, and finally crush the entire attacking group, and even the whole team, inside and out, in every way. A winning streak is like a double-edged sword, if you can withstand the pressure and complete the transformation, then you will be the champion in one go; But if you don't manage change and mindset well, the slightest mistake can lead to a catastrophe.

In other words, the receivers need to adjust their condition, but no one knows exactly how long it will take to make adjustments and regain the feel of the game – and it may not be found for a long time.

So, the time has come to verify the depth of the bench.

In addition to their primary receivers, the San Francisco 49ers must find more rotation players.

Beyond that, Crabtree and Vernon have been unreassuring in their performances in the past two games, with one Moss still not enough to make up for the gap between the two receiving points, not to mention the worrying form of the two running backs Marcus and Gower.

To put it simply, the team needs substitutes to be able to rotate at any time to reverse the current poor form of the main receivers and buy more time for the main players to recover and adjust.

In fact, it would have been the last thing the San Francisco 49ers had to worry about this season.

At the beginning of the regular season, the coaching staff led by Hubble finalized the final 53-person roster, of which 31 people were in the offensive group, 19 in the defensive group, and 3 in the special service group; In addition, there are seven people in the sparring team, and six people are reimbursed for the season and still stay in the team.

It is clear that the attacking group is still the core of the whole team.

Of course, it has to do with Hubble's coaching style.

As a player, Hubble was a quarterback; As a coach, Hubble was best at tuning/coaching the offensive team, and the flexibility of the West Coast offense has transformed countless possibilities in Hubble's hands, whether it is a traditional pocket quarterback like Alex Smith or a new type of running quarterback like Colin Kaepernick, Hubble may combine different tactical options.

Even the Secret Service team is made up of offensive players, which makes the Secret Service even more aggressive, and the two games this season against the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants are another reflection of the team's improvement in the offseason.

Among the 31 members of the offensive team, including five running backs, five wide receivers and three close ends, this configuration is also among the best among the 32 teams in the league, and even a little bloated. So, according to common sense, this should be the most confident and threatening part of the team, but now under the pressure of consecutive wins, there are problems first.

The main reason is that the quality of the substitute rotation players is still not enough, and they are not able to reach the level of appearance in official matches.

Therefore, Lu Ke put forward the above requirements.

The running back, wide receiver and close end of the offensive second team are all facing similar problems, and the understanding of the playbook cannot keep up with the team's progress, even as role players, they cannot play a corresponding role in the game, and in a way, this will also become a hidden danger for the San Francisco 49ers.

There are many reasons for this, and there are many aspects involved, and it is impossible to simply generalize.

Lu Ke now hopes that through his own training with the second team, he can help them adapt to the tactical manual faster, and also help them grow up faster and truly become a part of the team.

This is Lu Ke's self-confidence as the main quarterback, and he believes that his understanding and reading can bring more direct results; This is also Lu Ke's responsibility as the captain of the offensive team, he needs to shoulder the responsibility of a leader, more active and more fully involved in the construction of the team.

Becoming a leader is not an easy task, and Lu Ke is studying hard.

But Lu Ke still needs to ask the head coach for permission. After all, he is only a sophomore after all, and he is not yet at the level of mastering the voice and management of the team.

Hubble carefully grasped the marker in his hand and fell into deep thought, he could understand Lu Ke's thoughts and intentions, if he could, Lu Ke and the second team would directly run in, this was undoubtedly the best way; But Hubble was worried about whether this would be a loss for the other, because the training of the first team could not be delayed-

He didn't want to lose against the Arizona Cardinals, which would be more than worth the loss.

"We can use the extra time to train and when we start training on Friday, we can disrupt the permutations of the first team and the second team according to the training requirements, check the results of the training, and also prepare the second team players for the game." Lu Ke seemed to have known Hubble's concerns for a long time, and further explained, and after finishing speaking, he added with a chuckle, "Of course, the premise is that they are willing to come out to train on their days off." ”

"You're the only one on the team who is a training maniac." Hubble laughed cheerfully and teased, "So, you've already planned it?" Even the training time is already scheduled, right? ”

This week's game against the Seattle Seahawks, it's Thursday night; Next week's game against the Arizona Cardinals, it's Monday night. There was a full 10-day gap between the two games, which was the longest theoretical break in the regular season outside of the offseason.

In addition, after the game against the Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers will enter the offseason week in the ninth week of the regular season, and then return to play the St. Louis Rams, with a gap of 11 days between the two games, which is also a long offseason.

As a result, the rhythm of the San Francisco 49ers will be completely different for the next three weeks, and the rhythm of preparing for the game, resting and adjusting, and the rhythm of daily training will all be disrupted; Then, the team will return to the normal rhythm of the regular season and sprint all the way to the playoffs, so the adjustment of form during this period will become even more important.

In fact, the coaching staff led by Hubble is also discussing how to arrange the next training.

Now, Lu Ke has put forward a novel plan, which is not impossible to think about carefully: using the rest period to add more tactical training, and also allowing the first team to change the training rhythm and find the key to recovery, may be effective; What's more, Hubble was originally a head coach who dared to take bold risks.

"And what about the tactical meetings you organized yourself?" Hubble asked further.

"It's still going to be business as usual." Lu Ke has obviously already thought about it, "This time, I will specially invite the second team of the offensive group, and sincerely hope that they can also participate; And hopefully what was discussed in the tactical meeting will be applied to training. ”

In fact, the tactical meeting headed by Lu Ke has always been open, and any interested player can participate, but the players of the second team are still more or less restrained, and the number of participation is really limited; Of course, even Moss didn't participate for the first time until last week, so it's no surprise.

According to the schedule, the next few opponents of the San Francisco 49ers are teams that are stronger in defense than in offense, which also means that the offensive team led by Lu Ke needs to face more pressure and confrontation, and the team needs to cheer up and down. Tactical meetings are becoming more and more indispensable.

Hubble didn't question any further, and gently bowed his head in agreement, "Then you can just do it." The only requirement is that a member of the coaching staff must be present to avoid injury. I need my quarterback to be healthy on the court, and that's more important than the condition of the receiver. ”

Lu Ke showed a big smile, "Of course." I'll try to keep your quarterback healthy, and I wholeheartedly agree. ”