In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 288 Return

"Hey, Ethan!"

As soon as the other team members saw Ethan coming in, they raised their hands to say hello to Ethan.

Ethan found a familiar figure standing in the crowd, it was Troy Aikman who had left due to a concussion injury.

Dave has said before that Troy Aikman's concussion injury this time is relatively serious and he may miss the entire season.

Why come back just after the second week of games?

Ethan walked over suspiciously.

"This is what Dave meant. The doctor thinks he is not yet qualified to play...Troy seems a little strange." When passing by Billy, he only heard him whisper.

"Welcome back, Troy, how do you feel?" Ethan wanted to high-five him.

Seeing Ethan, Troy frowned slightly and moved his lips. He had no intention of high-fiving Ethan. He was silent for a moment, and then spoke unconfidently, with a question popping out of his mouth:

"who are you?"

Eh?

Ethan turned to his teammates and found that their expressions looked a little embarrassed.

In the end, Emmitt Smith stepped forward and explained to Troy.

"Troy, this is one of the guys you forgot about, Ethan O'Connor, the first-round draft quarterback this season."

"First round show?" Troy looked Ethan up and down, as if seeing Ethan for the first time.

"You're quite strong." He couldn't help but nodded, and then took the initiative to reach out to Ethan.

"I'm Troy Aikman. I believe you already know me. You will be my substitute from now on." Troy then took the initiative to shake hands with Ethan.

Emmett looked at Ethan at this time and said with some helplessness: "This is one of the sequelae of a severe concussion. The doctor said that he has lost his short-term memory ability."

amnesia?

It's a pity that there are countless women out there who want to marry this golden bachelor. Although Troy already looks old in the game, he is actually only in his early thirties.

Ethan and Troy had an awkward handshake.

After a while, interim head coach Dave came. He walked up to everyone and first told everyone about Troy.

"You all also understand Troy's situation now. The doctor does not recommend that he return to the game, but I think the team needs Troy. Although his memory has weakened, the passing skills have been deeply imprinted in his mind. After testing him and consulting his family, I allowed him to return to the team."

"Wait, Dave, why hasn't Barry Switzer arrived yet? Is this guy late again?" Troy looked around and asked Dave, who was standing in front of everyone.

In his memory, the team's head coach was still Barry Switzer, who had deep conflicts with him, and Dave Campo was just the defensive coordinator.

"He will be here soon, and he also asked me to take over the head coach's job temporarily." Dave said quite helplessly at this time.

In previous tests, he had learned how to get along with Troy. It was quite difficult to prove to him that it was 1998, so it was better to just go with what he wanted.

Then Dave started talking about the training content of each group today. Including the wide receiver group, defender group, offensive line group, and quarterback group, he left them at the end.

After all the other players left, Dave walked up to Ethan and others.

"In the third round, we will face the New York Giants. This opponent is not very strong and can help us run the lineup, so the goal this week is..." Dave looked at Ethan.

"Let Troy adapt to the current tactical system of the Cowboys. This task will be left to you Ethan."

Wait, you want me to order a short-term amnesia patient to be integrated into the lineup?

Is this request too difficult?

"I think it might be more appropriate for medical workers to do this job." Ethan said helplessly.

"Medical workers, including the team doctor, will be with you throughout the entire process to prevent Troy from having problems. These are medical preparations, and as for the team, you have to come, Ethan."

"how about you?"

"The defensive team was beaten to a pulp last week. I have to deal with the defensive team's problems. This is my strength Ethan. Don't forget, you will be the one to replace Troy later. I don't think this difficulty will trouble you. Right?" Dave had a sly smile on his face.

Didn't I say I wanted to be the successor of Troy? Ethan naturally ignored the head coach's tactics.

But looking left and right, compared to Jason Garrett, the other quarterback in the team, only he is the most suitable to do this job. Moreover, Troy's return can indeed strengthen Dallas' tactics. After thinking about it, Ethan can only choose to agree.

So Dave Campo left with the defensive team, leaving Ethan, Troy Aikman, and Vincent Garrett with big eyes and small eyes.

Before Ethan could speak, Troy took the initiative to look at Ethan: "Newcomer, first of all, I have to congratulate you on joining the Cowboys family. There is the largest fan group in the country. As long as you can gain a foothold in the Cowboys, you Your income will increase like a rocket, but at the same time, you have to know that it is very challenging to make a name for yourself in Dallas. The football atmosphere in Texas is very strong, and everyone pays a lot of attention to it, which means that the fans are very interested in it. Your requirements are also very strict."

"They will remember your mistakes on the field. They will even send you death threats and throw bricks into your car. Similarly, the team owner Jones is still a merciless guy. If your performance If you are not worthy of the salary, then he will terminate the contract early and sell you."

Troy took the initiative to talk to Ethan as if teaching a newbie.

Ethan nodded helplessly, then turned the topic to training.

In the quarterback training, Troy performed very well. Although many of the players don't know him now, it does not prevent him from passing the ball to these players accurately.

In terms of tactics, Troy can still execute the passing and coordination tactics used by the Cowboys before, but that's it. It's a bit difficult for him to use new tactics. He can't remember those brand-new tactical passwords at all.

At the end of today's training, Ethan felt that letting Troy return to the game might be a good choice. Dave was right, he could add to Dallas' tactical routines.

As they left at the end of practice, Ethan watched as Troy was led away by his family.

Ethan took the initiative to go up and talk to him.

"The doctor does not recommend that he return to the game, but...my parents and I still respect my brother's wishes. Maybe he can remember something about football." Troy Aikman's sister was sitting in the driver's seat and looked towards the car. Ethan outside said.

"I'll take good care of him." Ethan looked at Troy's sister. Troy's sister, who has long eyelashes, nodded to express her gratitude to Ethan.

"You can call me Veronica. I used to be a nurse in a hospital in New York. Now I'm back to take care of my brother." Before leaving, Troy's sister took the initiative to leave her phone number for Ethan.

Logically speaking, she is not so enthusiastic about Ethan.

Ethan watched the vehicle leave, then sat back in his car.

·

"Viewers, welcome to Speak for Yourself, which meets you on time every Friday night... Today we are fortunate to invite a young quarterback who had an amazing performance last Sunday. Jillian guesses this mysterious Who is the guest?" John Salley, the host of the FOX TV show, looked at his partner.

Standing next to him was Jillian Barbery, the gorgeous female host who previously appeared on the Sunday night NFL on FOX show.

Today, she is wearing a silver dress with sequins, and her golden curly hair is particularly curly.

"Then I have to make a good guess. I guessed it, it's Ethan O'Connor." Jillian read out Ethan's name without thinking at all.

"At least you're pretending," John Sully complained.

"Ethan's performance was obvious to all last week, and I can't find anyone more suitable than him." Jillian said.

"Okay, without further ado, let's welcome the former Heisman Trophy winner, the eighth overall pick in this year's draft, Ethan O'Connor from the Dallas Cowboys!!!" the male host drawled. .

With the sound of live music, Ethan walked out from behind the scenes. He was wearing a casual outfit. When he walked up to the two hosts, in contrast, the two hosts looked like hobbits next to him.

Starting from this game, the two hosts first asked Ethan about the previous legendary offense, and then talked about Ethan's personal experience, including his growing up in Alabama...

It was a very ordinary TV talk show, but when the female host looked at Ethan, there was always something inexplicable in her eyes... But these were ignored by Ethan habitually.

Like this TV show, many media have more or less mentioned Ethan's wonderful performance in the past week.

"Sports Illustrated" directly used the photo of John Elway and Ethan standing opposite each other on the field as the cover, with a special title of "New Century Football". The content focused on introducing the new generation represented by Ethan. The impact on the entire NFL league.

In addition, local media, especially those in Los Angeles, Texas and Alabama, wrote especially about Ethan. They compared Ethan with the top quarterbacks in the league.

As for Peyton Manning, the top pick in this year's draft, he was directly ignored.

·

"The team's current performance is not bad, isn't it? We defeated the last Super Bowl champion. Dave, you have done a good job during this period." In the office, Jerry Jones is placing burgers on the table with blue stars. on a white plate while pouring some salt on it for his breakfast.

"I will continue to work hard. In addition, I came here this time to ask about my head coaching contract..." Dave sat opposite Jerry, placing his hands on Jerry's thighs and stroking them.

"This burger tastes quite good. I think you should have one too." Jerry Rice interrupted Dave directly.

"I already ate before I came here."

"That was such a shame, you know, I loved the burgers, so I bought the restaurant and let them open it close to the office. Dave, I've never been a stingy person , the premise is that you have to satisfy me, I have terminated my contract with a head coach early, which cost me a lot of money, and I don’t want to make the same mistake again."

"I know...but..."

"As long as you can win a few more rounds, I will let the team sign you and make up for your previous salary as the head coach." Jerry continued.

The expression on Dave's face softened at this.

"Thanks, Jerry." Dave nodded.

Previously, Jerry only said that he would serve as the interim head coach and did not give a time when he would become a regular coach. Dave did not want to be just a transitional candidate.

"Also, how is Ethan O'Connor's performance during this period? Can he now take over the team's ability from Troy Aikman?" Jerry then asked.

"In terms of ability, I think he has no problem. He has his own ideas many times during the game. His choice of tactics is very unique and can often achieve unexpected results, such as last week's 'O'Connor Touchdown'... ..." Dave said his evaluation.

The media has already nicknamed Eason's touchdown.

"But in terms of experience, after all, he has just graduated from college. At least for this season, I hope to continue to retain Troy's position." Dave changed the subject and added.

"I also have this idea. He is too young. If anything goes wrong, the investment in him will be completely ruined." Jerry began to evaluate the pros and cons of this matter with a businessman's thinking.

If there is a choice, Jerry will release Troy as soon as possible, which will free up a lot of salary space and further strengthen the Cowboys' lineup.

and……

Jerry looked at a business report from the team. In addition to the Cowboys' home state of Texas, including California and Alabama, the sales of Dallas Cowboys-related derivative products also skyrocketed overnight. The largest increase was in India. The sales data of jerseys with Ethan's name increased dozens of times overnight, causing many channels to have Ethan's jerseys out of stock.

Yesterday, Jerry made a special call to the supplier and asked them to work overtime for production.

Such business results made Jerry very satisfied. Just as he was thinking about it, his daughter Charlotte came in to report to her father about the DCC.

She serves as the chief brand officer of the Cowboys and is additionally responsible for the business development of DCC and Cowboys mascot Roddy, reporting separately to her father every week.

"Dad, I think Ethan O'Connor has great potential in business, and we can strengthen cooperation with him in many aspects." Daughter Charlotte came to the same conclusion as her father.

"Now is not the time..." Jerry Jones shook his head.

Ethan has been a member of the Cowboys for a short time.

"Then when can..." the daughter continued to ask.

"At least until the contract is renewed."

(End of this chapter)