In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 277 Quarterback Showdown; Preseason (8k7)

Speed ​​is important, but running the ball requires more than just speed.

Although Ethan considers himself to be better at running the ball, he also knows that there is still a big gap between him and the real top running backs.

Moreover, Emmitt Smith is often talked about for his short stride frequency, low center of gravity, flexible ankles, and excellent arm strength and good vision that are unique among running backs. Speed ​​is not what Emmitt Smith The most representative characteristics.

During the draft that year, he was criticized by many teams for being too short and too slow. Not long after Jerry Jones bought the team at that time, he had a unique eye and won the opponent with the 17th pick in the first round. In hindsight, Jerry Jones's choice at the time was perfect.

But even so, Ethan's debut in the training camp left a deep impression on many coaches and even the boss.

Emmitt Smith looked at it carefully at this time.

He had watched Eason run the ball at Alabama and there was no doubt that he was in a different style.

Paired with the speed and dexterity of Emmitt Smith, Eason's rushing attack looked wide open.

However, there are still some similarities.

"If you have any doubts about quarterback rushing, you can always ask me. Maybe Wayne Gase is not very good at this aspect." Emmitt Smith rubbed his beard and said with a smile.

The Wayne Gase he was talking about was the quarterbacks coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Eason quickly met each other, along with the other quarterbacks attending training camp.

"In the first few days of training camp, I'm not going to get into any tactical stuff, we start with the simplest thing...one shot."

The so-called single throw is a quick throw in a simulated game. The quarterback throws the ball immediately after receiving the pass from the center.

After all, it was the first day of the training camp, and the intensity was not very high. In addition to single shots, there was also handover training. During the break, Ethan saw the training actions of other groups of players.

The running back is doing a horizontal jump, the receiver is trying to escape one-on-one, and the offensive line and defensive line group are competing with the cart.

"How about we do an interesting project?"

At this moment, Ethan heard Troy Aikman’s proposal not far away.

The so-called fun events are just scoring passes. There are three round holes on the left, middle and right in a net painted in different colors. The size of the holes is only slightly wider than a rugby ball.

Throw the ball into three round holes in random order. Points will be deducted for missed shots. The one with the most points within the specified time wins.

Of course Ethan has no objection, but the pressure on the other three quarterbacks is greater.

Not to mention Troy Aikman, a quarterback with three Super Bowl titles, how much worse could he be?

This is just child's play for Troy Aikman.

The other Ethan is also a national champion with superb passing skills.

"I think it's better for us to work in groups of three and you to work in groups of two." Jason Garrett smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, you two can even increase the difficulty." Mike Quinn immediately agreed.

Troy immediately became interested when he heard this.

"What do you think Ethan?" Troy looked at Ethan.

Obviously he was going to test Ethan's basic skills.

“I felt like I could stand thirty yards out and throw the ball.”

"It's better to raise the difficulty to another level and throw the ball fifty yards away." Ethan thought for a while and said.

At the stage of the NFL, the football in the hands of the quarterback is equivalent to the bullets in the cowboy's gun.

Even if it doesn't mean where to hit, it won't be too different.

"No problem." Troy nodded immediately.

Before the official competition between Ethan and Troy, the other three quarterbacks on the team competed first.

The quarterback who joined as a free agent was the first to appear. In the two-minute clock, he scored 32 points, attempted 50 times, and failed 9 times.

This result is mediocre.

The opponent seemed dissatisfied with his performance this time and seemed a little annoyed at the end.

Then came Mike Quinn. He was standing in front of the net, throwing a steady ball with one hand, and the football quickly entered the net. His shooting speed is slower, but his success rate is higher.

At the end of time, he took 41 shots, only failed 2 times, and scored 37 points.

Then it's the turn of Jason Garrett, the team's No. 2 quarterback last season, who was Troy Aikman's backup.

Because of the internal strife between Troy and the previous head coach Barry Switzer last season, he got many more opportunities to play compared to other teams' backup quarterbacks. It can be said that he has the level of a true professional quarterback.

His pitching style is crisp and neat, and doesn't seem to be sloppy. Ethan was passing the ball to him from the side, and you could feel that instead of weakening, his speed was getting faster and faster.

At the end of the allotted time, he actually took 68 shots, averaging a ball in less than two seconds.

If you calculate the reaction time when the color card lights up and the flight time of the football, Jason Garrett has almost no reaction time and can only rely on instinct to throw the ball.

Only 68 of 55 shots were successful. The success rate was not high, but relying on the numerical advantage, he still scored 42 points.

A level apart from the top two quarterbacks.

"Considering the rules, quick shots are the most efficient way to score. As a quarterback, efficiency is the first priority." Jason Garrett said.

This sentence reflects the style of Jason Garrett. Although the statistics are not outstanding, he focuses on the team and efficiency, and there was no shortage of outstanding performances last season.

Then it was the highlight, the showdown between Ethan and Troy Aikman.

Just now, several quarterbacks wearing red shirts appeared one after another, which had attracted the attention of many training camp audiences. Only then did the audience realize that what was next was a battle between the team's rookie quarterback Ethan and the famous Troy. contest.

As Ethan and Aikman gradually moved away from the net, the players' attention was also attracted, so several coaches simply let the players rest, and almost everyone gathered around.

Standing fifty yards away, Ethan could feel how exaggerated his proposal was.

The net is not that big. The three round holes are arranged in parallel, with an interval of only fifteen centimeters. When standing close, there is an obvious difference in the position of the three round holes. But now, standing fifty yards away, the three round holes are clearly visible. When they get up, they are completely squeezed together. People with poor eyesight can't tell the difference at all.

This has exceeded the requirements of the game. After all, in the actual game, the receiver can judge the landing point and rely on his arms to catch the ball, which can tolerate a certain amount of error.

"I'm optimistic about Troy, I'll bet a hundred dollars on it. Is anyone optimistic about the new guy?" offensive left tackle Larry Allen said.

I looked around, but no one answered.

At this time, only the veteran players would place bets, and the senior players almost all supported Troy.

"I'm optimistic about Ethan! This young man is extraordinary!" Upon seeing this, Billy immediately chose to join the battle.

In fact, he also knew that Ethan could not win, but with everyone unanimously optimistic about Troy, he could give it a try with extremely high odds. If he lost, he would just treat his teammates to a few bottles of drinks.

When offensive coach Hudson Houck came over, Billy, who was still shouting before, immediately chose to stay silent.

No one wants to be fined.

"Who goes first?" Troy asked.

"For the sake of fairness, it's better to guess the winning coin and the winner will vote first." Ethan thought for a while and said.

Troy agreed to the proposal, and Ethan, not surprisingly, lost the coin guessing round.

With everyone watching, Troy stood outside the fifty-yard line, spinning the football in his hands.

Troy threw out the first football as Jason Garrett called the clock to start.

With a slight arc, the football accurately hit the blue hole on the far left.

Then came the second, and then the third.

Troy adopted the same strategy as Mike Quinn before him, pitching steadily to ensure the maximum success rate.

At the halfway mark, Troy made all 14 shots.

Ethan stood close and observed Troy's movements.

It can be said that Troy's movements before each shot are exactly the same as before, without any difference. After countless beatings, Troy is like a perfect pitching machine.

Troy's pitching slowed down a bit in the second half, but he still attempted twelve times and only failed once.

26 of 25, scored 24 points. Such a wonderful performance made many spectators cheer enthusiastically again.

Troy can be called "the sword is still young", and this time he deliberately suppressed Ethan and went all out to create an almost insurmountable result.

When Ethan was in high school, he could hit the goal frame with huge numbers, but the goal frame was a line. But now it is a point that is even more difficult.

This is more than ten times more difficult than the test done by the three quarterbacks just now.

Even Ethan couldn't achieve the results that Troy achieved.

He does not have Troy's passing accuracy.

But Ethan seemed confident.

He took the football that Troy handed to him. Following the order from his teammates, Ethan raised his upper body slightly, exerted force with one hand, and the football in his hand flew towards the net like a meteor.

In the eyes of the audience, the football in Ethan's hand turned into an afterimage.

That's a lot faster than the ball Troy throws.

But the accuracy was off by more than a tiny bit.

The football didn't even hit the net, it hit a team photographer behind the net.

"You're too anxious Ethan!" Billy shouted immediately.

In a pitching game like this, accuracy is the most important thing.

Although Ethan's second shot hit the net, it still failed to go into the hole.

Troy shook his head at this.

He felt that Ethan sacrificed accuracy in pursuit of speed, which was even worse than his performance on the playing field.

Ethan finally hit the ball on the third and fourth pitches, but he only scored zero points.

At the same time, in the stands on the second floor of the training camp, the team operations director couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this.

"This young man still wants to express himself too much. He is not Troy's opponent yet."

Team owner Jerry Jones, who was nearby, took a decidedly different view.

"This is Ethan's tactic. Facing a precise pitching machine, this is the only way to win!" Jerry whispered.

The pitching continued, and Ethan's accuracy improved. Out of seven attempts, only one in the middle failed.

At this point he had five points.

Just like Jason Garrett before him, Ethan's pitch speed is getting faster and faster. The next ball has already been released before the previous ball flies to the net.

Although Ethan's success rate is obviously not as good as Troy's, Ethan's shots are significantly faster.

If Troy's strengths are stability and pitching accuracy, then Ethan's strengths are strength and physical fitness.

This quick serve strategy plays to Ethan’s strengths perfectly.

At the last moment of the allotted time, Ethan threw out the football in his hand and watched the football enter the round hole in the middle.

Ethan blasted 41 long passes and made 33 field goals in two minutes.

He ended up with 25 points, just one more than Troy.

"You see, Ethan won!" Billy looked particularly excited, even more excited than Ethan.

If it hadn't been for the buzzer-beating shot at the last moment, he would still have lost.

Ethan shook his head. He had already reached his limit and could win against Troy in the end.

"Good, good! Well done Ethan." Troy couldn't help but applaud at this time.

"It's just physical strength plus luck." Ethan admitted generously.

If Troy were a little younger, he would definitely not be his opponent.

"This world will always belong to young people." Troy said.

As for those in the training camp audience, they couldn't help but open their mouths when they heard the news that the rookie quarterback had won.

In the hearts of fans, Troy the quarterback has a special meaning.

Unexpectedly, just three years after winning the third championship, he would be defeated by a rookie.

You know, Troy Ke was the best player in the NFL last year.

This made many fans begin to re-examine Ethan, a first-round pick.

·

The training returned to normal again after a short game session. In fact, as the opening day of the training camp, other groups besides the quarterback group also conducted many entertainment-based competition sessions.

At 6:30 in the evening, the first day of training camp ended, and all team members, including Ethan, were given a tactical manual.

This is an internal manual, with a big blue five-pointed star on the cover as usual. It records in detail the tactics and routes commonly used by the Cowboys in recent seasons according to different positions.

Other positions only need to remember their own tactical arrangements and routes.

However, the quarterback needs to master the routes of all legal receivers and recite the detailed positions of each tactic in detail so that they can be used during the game.

This required Ethan to memorize more than 70 pages before the first preseason game. After returning to the dormitory at night, I was forced to work overtime.

·

It was just getting light the next day, and Ethan followed Michael Myers to the gym underground in the dormitory building. There were quite a few team members inside.

As soon as Ethan came in, he saw Emmitt Smith's body lying flat, with a yoga ball pressed on his waist, and his arms holding dumbbells as big as other people's heads, and he was raising his arms in a noisy manner. During his stay in Alabama, Ethan didn't spend much time in the gym, and he knew that many people were practicing in private.

But there is still a gap in fitness enthusiasm compared to the big guys in Dallas. Ethan saw that almost all the starting players were here. Troy Aikman and Darryl Johnston were training their arms. As for the bigger ones, , such as offensive left tackle Larry Allen and center Mike Kiselak riding a bicycle.

"Joe Juracek doesn't like people being late in the gym, especially young people..." Emmitt Smith pointed not far away, a middle-aged white man who looked extremely strong.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ethan saw the other party turn his head.

"You must be Ethan O'Connor! You are truly worthy of your reputation!" The physical trainer's eyes suddenly shone when he saw Ethan's stretched-out shirt, broad shoulders, thick arms, and exaggerated trapezius muscles.

He opened his mouth slightly and approached quickly, completely ignoring Michael Myers next to Ethan, focusing all his attention on Ethan, and then clicked his tongue in surprise.

"This is incredible. You are like a bodybuilder! But compared with those bodybuilders, you are the real fighter. But there is a prerequisite. Don't get caught in the pre-competition drug test. It's in the contract. There are regulations that any unsportsmanlike behavior by an individual athlete may be considered a breach of contract," he couldn't help but remind him.

Being able to train muscles to this level is definitely not possible by willpower and preference alone. It also requires sufficient technological support.

Of course, some medicines can be used and some medicines cannot be used. Those that are not on the contraband list naturally belong to the former.

Of course, Ethan couldn't explain all this to him, so he didn't speak, and the other party naturally ignored the topic. In the subsequent contact, Ethan mainly used strength equipment such as bench presses, pull-down machines, and barbells to train more upper limbs and core strength.

After the strength training in the gym, Ethan and the team members went to the restaurant to eat.

The starting players had individual breakfasts with a bunch of pills, each one different, and had a nameplate before the meal.

As a rookie, Ethan does not yet have the treatment of a starting player, but the kitchen staff took the initiative to run out and sit across from Ethan after seeing him.

"Hey, Ethan, Megan Carlson is the team's chef and chief nutritionist. Considering that the team members have confused my name many times, you have called me Carlson." She took the initiative to talk to Ethan. Sen shook hands.

"The team will develop a detailed meal plan cycle for each roster member, including group meals, individual meals, and extra meals. I will regularly exchange opinions from the physical coach and other coaches to improve your recipes. For today's What do you think of the food?" she asked.

Ethan looked at the large pieces of chicken breast, barley, boiled vegetables on the plate...

"If the vegetables can be slightly salted, even a little bit, the situation will be much better." Ethan said helplessly.

Of course he knows that eating is important, even as important as fitness. But before, relying on his special traits, he didn't worry about this. He was even used to eating those unhealthy American pancakes with syrup for breakfast. Such a sudden change made him behave a little bit. Not very comfortable with it.

The other person nodded.

"In addition, you can write down your food requirements, what you hate and what you like on this piece of paper. I will consider it as appropriate." She handed Ethan a note.

Ethan thought for a while and wrote only one ingredient on the paper.

The other party took it and took a look.

"No problem, this request can be fulfilled."

After she left, many people around Ethan immediately looked at Ethan.

"Brother, did you hear what she just said? You have been confirmed to be on the roster." Michael Myers showed envy.

In fact, judging from Ethan's performance yesterday, no one will question whether he can be included in the big list. This is what Ethan deserves.

"See you in the new season." Ethan bumped fists with him and then pulled his arms apart. His fingers kept shaking like waves, and the syllable "Puff..." came out of his mouth.

Such a dazzling handshake, the official name is DAP handshake (dignity and pride), can be traced back to the secret handshake ceremony used by Freemasons to press their thumb on the knuckle of each other's index finger. It can be simply understood as a joint secret code. , the one who used this gesture was one of our own. DAP was popularized by big-head soldiers during the Vietnam War, and then became popular. Later, it absorbed street culture and derived simplified versions such as fist bumps.

If there is a set of DAP handshakes between two people, it proves that they are close friends. The more complex the whole set of action procedures, the stronger the relationship.

This is a testimony of friendship, and if you use it with someone who is not that close to you, and the other person does not realize what you want to do, it will inevitably cause embarrassment.

And if one person exerts an effect and the other person does nothing, it means "unrequited love" is also an embarrassing performance.

Ethan and Michael Myers still have a tacit understanding.

Ethan couldn't finish one portion and asked for another. Michael left first, and when Ethan completely finished the third portion, he realized that there were not many team members left in the restaurant.

"A few of them are on the injured list. If you don't want to be late, you'd better get to the training ground within five minutes." Megan pointed to her wrist, reminding Ethan to pay attention to the time.

shit! Ethan grabbed his backpack and jumped up from his seat, flying directly over the back of the seat.

There’s a weird tradition at Dallas Cowboys training camp, riding a bike to practice.

It’s just that Ethan lost his way this time. He could no longer find the location of the training gym in the huge campus.

"You look like you need help." Ethan heard a voice behind him.

When I turned around, I saw a little old man sitting on a golf cart, his back a little rickety.

It was none other than the club's owner, more accurately "franchise owner" Jerry Jones.

"Come on kid, I'll take you there." He waved to Ethan.

NFL regulations stipulate that franchise owners must operate the club as their main business, and Jerry is a typical representative of this rule, so he can usually be seen at the training ground.

Along the way, Jerry Jones asked Ethan many questions like an elder, such as whether he could get used to the food and accommodation.

Ethan responded one by one.

"Listen young man, as long as you show your performance, the Dallas Cowboys will definitely make you a billionaire player. This is my promise to you. I usually don't make promises to others because I keep my word." He Said with a smile.

When Ethan showed up at the training center in his boss's golf cart, no one would question whether he was late. After all, it was the boss who drove the car, and the mistake could not be attributed to him and said he drove too slowly.

Ethan said goodbye to Jerry Jones in front of all the team members and then returned to the team.

"DAMM, Ethan, you are the first rookie to ride in the owner's car!" Billy shouted to Ethan during the subsequent pass coordination session.

Seeing Ethan's confused look, Billy patiently explained.

"Being the owner of the team's car is a privilege and reward. It proves that you are a core member of the Cowboys. Most people would not have the chance to ride in it!"

As the days passed, Ethan became more and more devoted to training camp.

The intensity of training increases day by day, from warm-up to basic skills practice, to team offensive and defensive cooperation without protective gear, to strengthen training. In addition, there are three nutritious meals and two milkshakes a day tailored for yourself. , and some very interesting training programs...

"Hey gentlemen, my name is Monica, and I will be leading your lesson today. Everyone will lie down on their backs, in any casual way that makes them most comfortable...yes, that's it."

"Put your knees on your chest when you're ready."

"Imagine you don't do any training anymore, forget about the lights, the sounds, the fans, just be calm, fine..."

The yoga instructor walked among the players who were lying down. Ethan heard the slight sound of the lawn as she walked past him. At this time, the towel was covering Ethan's face, blocking out the sunlight.

This is "meditation" that is highly praised by Europeans and Americans.

And when the yoga class ended and the team members stood up one after another, Ethan was still lying on the ground.

He fell asleep.

·

"Tomorrow is a rare day off, what are you going to do?" Michael asked at the end of today's training.

"Stay with Catherine, all day."

"I shouldn't ask you this question. No matter what, after we come back, we have to prepare to leave for California. For you, it is back to California and the first preseason game will start soon, but most of the starting players will not Follow us, most of them are coming off the bench, this is a good opportunity to express yourself." Michael Myers looked confident.

The Cowboys' first preseason opponent of the season is Oakland.

This means that Eason will have to meet his old rival Charles Woodson again, who is this year's fourth overall pick.

Although the opponent has not changed, his teammates have changed. Ethan doesn’t know what is happening on the other side, but on his side...

Not ideal.

Ethan didn't see any bright spots in these new players. He said that a few of them were even worse than his teammates at the University of Alabama.

This is not a good sign!

·

"Dad!" The child in Ethan's arms said in a sweet voice.

Faced with Ethan's winking and making faces, he was still laughing at first, but soon he burst into tears.

This makes Ethan feel at a loss. For him, raising children is much more difficult than playing rugby.

"I must be hungry." Catherine, who was sitting on the sofa nearby, laughed when she saw Ethan's clumsy movements. She asked the nanny to pick up the child.

Seeing that there was no one else in the living room, Ethan opened his arms. Catherine smiled and leaned over to snuggle with Ethan.

"After the training camp is over, the team will most likely provide me with an apartment in Dallas and I can move here." Ethan put his arm around Catherine's waist. Catherine's waist is still as slender as when she was in high school. If it weren't for her special status now, Ethan would recommend her to be a model. She might become as popular as Giselle. Both of their bodies are in perfect golden proportions.

Katherine kissed Ethan and said, "If you're willing to let me commute by helicopter every day, I might consider it."

Objectively, there is indeed a certain distance between Dallas and San Antonio.

"It looks like I have to work for Jerry Jones for a few more years." Ethan smiled and shook his head.

"That's right, so you have to work hard. I'm going to test your training results now." Catherine sat astride and said seriously.

"My ball-handling skills have improved a lot."

"Better than your shooting skills?"

"That's not an easy question to answer."

"Yes, we have to fight in practice."

With that said, Ethan had already carried Catherine into the room.

"I'm Ethan." Ethan answered the call from his friend.

"Ethan, are you inconvenienced?" Pat on the other end of the phone hesitated.

"I'm with Catherine."

"It's daytime, man."

"That's right, dinner at night and lunch during the day." Ethan felt the prone Catherine pinch himself.

"If you don't have business, I have to do business." Ethan was a little impatient.

"Of course it's business, the Dallas Cowboys' first preseason game is against the Oakland Raiders, f**k, I just got traded to Oakland not long ago, and the quarterback coach just called me and asked me to be the starter, What about you Ethan?" Pat asked.

In other words, as the quarterback of the Raiders, he will face Ethan's Cowboys this time.

"Then I can't be merciful anymore."

"Easy, honey." Ethan heard the person on the phone and the person outside the phone say at the same time.

·

"I don't regard Troy Aikman as a threat or an enemy. I respect and even admire him. In fact, there is only one standard within the Cowboys. The right person does the right thing, and everyone performs his or her job. About the team I will follow the coach’s opinion regarding the arrangement of the starting players.” During the interview before the game, Ethan said to the ESPN camera.

The person sitting opposite Ethan is not Michelle Besner. Although she has a good relationship with Ethan, as the broadcaster of this preseason game, the relevant management of ESPN did not consider Michelle as an option. .

"Then do you know that as long as you establish yourself in Big D, Jerry Jones will release Troy Aikman for the remaining two years of his contract."

"As a player, my goal is to complete the player's work, and I don't need to worry about the rest." Ethan shook his head.

I just felt that there was a lot of aggression in this male reporter's question.

"In other words, you know about this? Or, even if you don't know, you don't feel that you have affected Troy?"

"Come on this isn't the first time you've crossed a line."

"I just want to hear your true thoughts. I appreciate you Ethan."

"Bullshit, either you terminate this interview, or someone else comes over, I've had enough of you." Ethan frowned and looked at the other person menacingly.

This was obviously an interview accident, and his interview was subsequently stopped by the staff present. Although the other party repeatedly stated that this was a misunderstanding and that the reporter would change the way the questions were asked, Ethan still insisted on his own ideas.

Either replace him or end this farce.

So the other party moved out of the contract signed with the NFL and threatened that if Ethan's reaction just proved his inner thoughts, if this part of the interview was broadcast, it would have a negative impact on Ethan's personal image.

This year's NFL game broadcasts are divided among the four major television stations. CBS is responsible for the American League games, the Hall of Fame Game, and Fox is responsible for the National League games and the Japan Bowl. ABC is responsible for some cross-conference games and European bowl games, and SEPN is responsible for the remaining games and international bowl games.

Facing the threat of the other party's backstabbing.

Ethan pointed his middle finger directly at the other party.

So before the first round of preseason games this season, "Ethan's middle finger" became a hot topic in the news.

Regarding this matter, a small group of people felt that Ethan was a little rude, while the rest of the people unanimously agreed with Ethan's approach.

Especially the rough Texas fans, they all think Ethan did a great job. Last year, the Dallas Cowboys were riddled with scandals, and the sports media made a lot of "contributions" in this regard.

Moreover, the opponent did not put people first. Those questions were not so much interviews as they were trying to drive a wedge between the two quarterbacks and between Ethan and the team. Troy also spoke out through interviews with print media, angrily criticizing some ESPN reporters for their lack of professional ethics.

Although there were some discordant voices before the game, the preseason was still held as scheduled.

When Ethan entered the field for the first time as a professional player, the first thing that caught his eye was the sky full of middle fingers.

The "Raiders" in the name of the Oakland team itself means "robbers" and "deliberate robbery." It is particularly prominent among the team names in the NFL and is full of rebellious spirit.

The Raiders' jerseys are all black, and their fans are mostly middle- and lower-class people. They are different from the two teams that were once next door and embraced by the middle class.

Even team owners are often at war with the NFL. They cheated him when the NFC secretly merged, and the two sides have long-standing grievances.

It is such a rebellious team from the inside out, from top to bottom, and the fans are naturally happy people. As soon as Ethan came on the court, uniform middle fingers appeared in the audience.

Of course, this middle finger was not given to Ethan.

This scene once made several commentators speechless. It seemed so indecent.

"In any case, both teams have gained a lot in this year's draft, let's get into this game right away." Commentator Mike Patrick heard the director's hysterical voice in the headset cut off the live picture...

(End of this chapter)