"Lu Ke, tell us, what did that rushing touchdown feel like? Is there a difference between that and a passing touchdown?"
The post-game press conference was as intense and exciting as the game itself. A lively and exuberant atmosphere filled the room, with a continuous stream of questions. Exclamations and gasps of amazement jumped excitedly across the room, as the cheerful questions fueled the post-game high.
The scene was even more passionate than the unrestrained cheering of the away fans.
"Maybe next time I should just give the ball to Marcus. It's a smarter choice." Lu Ke joked about his weakness in running the ball, clearly not being the best option for a rushing play, which made all the reporters laugh.
"After defeating the Detroit Lions and handing them their first loss of the season, do you have any special thoughts on that?"
This was clearly the focus of the week. The Lions' undefeated streak had finally come to an end, and they failed to set a new team record. Now, all the pressure of the winning streak fell on the shoulders of the Green Bay Packers.
However, Lu Ke was very calm about it and didn't get carried away. "We're more focused on the opponent themselves than on winning streaks. The Lions are undoubtedly one of the best teams this season. It was a very tough game, and we won in the end, which is important for building team confidence."
"You still need to build confidence? I thought you guys were already very confident on the field."
"Well, you reporters haven't been much help, have you?"
The first sentence was an unexpected question from a reporter, and the second was Lu Ke's spontaneous retort. The room was silent for a moment, and then everyone burst out laughing.
Lu Ke had just gone head-to-head with the reporters.
In the past few weeks, the reporters had been constantly questioning Lu Ke and the 49ers and had never been optimistic about the team's prospects. They weren't helping build confidence at all; they were tearing the team down. Now, Lu Ke had retorted in a witty way.
Other 49ers players who were being interviewed also started to cheer him on. The reporters looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh, and the scene became a bit exaggerated.
The entire interview was incredibly lively and lasted for almost twenty minutes, but no one wanted it to end. If the coaching staff hadn't come to his rescue, the interview would have continued, gradually turning into a casual conversation.
Even so, after returning to the locker room, Lu Ke could still feel a buzzing in his eardrums. The incessant noise lingered, as if an army of mosquitoes was having a concert right next to him.
He had been in the professional league for six weeks, but after each week's game, the fans' support and the reporters' interviews still felt new. Every week brought a slight change, seemingly getting more and more lively and overwhelming, little by little, gradually, welcoming the arrival of the rookie quarterback.
It wasn't until he was sitting in the ice bath that the sore muscles and tired nerves hit him like a wave. The sheer difficulty of the game only became clear at that moment.
It was hard to believe that they had actually won, defeating one of the strongest opponents since the start of the season, and it was in a fierce, toe-to-toe battle where they clenched their teeth and secured the victory. The value of this experience was even more precious.
What's more, this was only Week 6 of the regular season.
On the surface, Lu Ke didn't take many hits or tackles in this game, and last week was also okay. The physicality didn't seem as intense, at least compared to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. But in reality, as the season progressed, the accumulated fatigue and exhaustion from one game after another were slowly building up, and the physical and mental stress was increasing.
Now Lu Ke finally understood why people always say that the playoffs and the regular season are on completely different levels. Firstly, the opponents are stronger, and secondly, after a long season, even a superhero's condition and energy are worn down. It's not easy to maintain a top-tier state at all times, like at the beginning of the season.
So, as the season progresses, injuries will inevitably start to increase.
Now, Lu Ke felt fortunate that after his physical stats had increased to seventy-one, even though it wasn't top-tier, he had finally adapted to the intensity of the professional league. Compared to his college days, it was a complete transformation.
More importantly, in Week 7 of the regular season, while the games would continue, the San Francisco 49ers had a bye week, which meant there were no games to play. They got a valuable week to rest and recuperate, and then prepare for the second half of the season.
It wasn't until this moment that Lu Ke could truly relax.
The arrival of the bye week also meant that the first phase of the regular season had come to a temporary end, and so had his first phase in the league as an undrafted rookie.
Although it wasn't obvious on the surface, taking on the responsibility of a starting quarterback so quickly without having enough time to familiarize himself with the playbook or to gel with the team, even with the system, he still didn't feel completely confident deep down. Now, after six weeks, a 5-1 record wasn't too bad.
However, this was only the first phase. The next phases would only get more difficult and intense. Not only could he not let his guard down, but he also needed to work harder, be more focused, and be more dedicated. Becoming a professional quarterback wasn't easy, and becoming an excellent one was even more difficult.
He let out a soft breath, clearing his mind of distractions. He then brought up the system and started to tally his gains from this game. This was the correct way to experience victory.
He was now familiar with the "ding ding ding" sonata, but every time he heard it, the excitement and joy didn't diminish at all. It still made him feel refreshed and elated.
For scoring touchdowns, he earned two base points for the two passing touchdowns. For the rushing touchdown, he earned two base points for scoring at least one rushing touchdown. For completing passes in the designated zones, he earned one base point for completing at least one pass of thirty yards on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. For tactical zone control, he earned one base point for a short pass usage rate of at least thirty percent. And for winning the game, he earned three base points.
After tallying it all, he had earned a total of nine base points from this victory, an impressive achievement.
In fact, after the game and before confirming the completion of the tasks, Lu Ke had a moment where he suspected that the "completing passes in the designated zones" task had failed.
During the game, Lu Ke didn't spend too much time calculating his task completion. He was completely immersed in the game, fully focused, with no distractions. His control of the zones was just a rough estimate and wasn't precise.
Furthermore, in today's game, Lu Ke had chosen a game plan that focused on short passes and using long passes as a standby. His total passing yards for the game were only 267, which was the lowest he had in a single game since the start of the regular season.
Naturally, Lu Ke was worried that he hadn't completed the passes in the designated zones task, but in the end, the task was successfully completed, and he earned a base point. Lu Ke also checked the details of the task and found that his short pass usage rate for the day was surprisingly over sixty percent.
Audiences and commentators who were familiar with Lu Ke's playing style should have been confused during this game. This was an atypical Lu Ke. He controlled the game's rhythm with short and medium passes and used zone coverage to move the defense, then threw a long pass as a surprise at a crucial moment. His entire playing style had become more stable and steady. The boldness, madness, and risk-taking from the previous five games seemed to have started to be reined in.
But only Lu Ke knew that this was the result of his conscious control under the pressure of the game's tasks. If he returned to his own game rhythm, he would still play with his previous style. After all, as a professional player, Lu Ke had only completed six games. His experience was still accumulating, and his playing style still needed to be refined.
Additionally, it's worth noting that in today's game, at crucial moments, Vernon Davis and Ted Ginn both ran excellent routes and completed the plays with Lu Ke. On the offensive line, the execution of plays by Chilo Rachal and Anthony Davis had also improved significantly. If the entire team hadn't been united and determined, the last touchdown would likely not have been scored.
This also made Lu Ke realize once again the importance of teamwork and the playbook in a football game.
This was because, during the preparation for the previous week's game, Lu Ke had used the "Unite the Heart of Candlestick Park" task reward, a special quarterback training package. "After using the quarterback training package, the efficiency of watching game footage, analyzing game footage, and interpreting the playbook will be boosted by two hundred percent for ninety minutes."
During the team's collective strategy meeting, Lu Ke didn't hesitate to use this training package.
At the time, he couldn't intuitively determine the effectiveness of the training package. But now, it seemed that the effect was indeed quite good. The entire team's coordination and execution had become much smoother. After their condition was boosted in time, they were able to defeat the Detroit Lions.
The "Unite the Heart of Candlestick Park" also had another special skill reward, a stat-boosting aura.
This skill wasn't used in this game, but Lu Ke couldn't help but wonder if its effect was immediate and could turn the tide at a critical moment. Or should Lu Ke save this skill to be used on a special occasion, such as the playoffs?
However, it seemed a bit too early to be thinking about the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers still had many games to work hard for to get a playoff spot.
In any case, being able to defeat the Lions in this week's game and earn nine base points was truly a great outcome. It meant that Lu Ke's ability could be further supplemented. But before adding the points, Lu Ke's gaze fell on a new item for the week:
The Objective Task.
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