Chapter 660 Sharpening the Knife
Hubble, as expected, is still powerful——
Praise, praise, praise.
With a lot of garish words, he first dropped a big bombshell to disorient the reporter, and then used sweet words to divert the attention, easily disrupting the reporter's attention, and defused the edge in an understatement.
Hubble understands the reporter's gimmicks all too well. He is aiming at the two first-year rookies in the Baltimore Ravens team, preparing to stimulate them to come forward and challenge Levi, the current leader of the second-year students.
Everyone knows these routines.
One is the team's undrafted rookie running back Gus Edwards this year.
This young running back has rough skills and mediocre abilities, so it is not surprising that he was not selected in the draft; if the Baltimore Ravens' two starting running backs had not suffered from injuries, Edwards would not have been the starter.
However, opportunity is just like this——
After Edwards started, the team won three games in a row. His partnership with Lamar Jackson also played into the different ground attack characteristics of the Baltimore Ravens. Edwards used his strengths and avoided weaknesses, and his performance was remarkable, which turned out to be a surprise discovery for the team.
Suddenly, praise poured in.
Edwards' confidence soared, and his eyes immediately turned to Levi.
Since we want to challenge, we should naturally challenge the strongest player in the current alliance.
Young people like Edwards are like firecrackers that explode immediately when reporters make any casual comment. No one knows what they will say.
One is Lamar Jackson.
A talented young man who grew up with praise and recognition, but lost to an unknown rookie over and over again during his college season when his confidence was at its peak. Levi is gradually becoming an obsession for Jackson.
There are good and bad aspects to this matter.
The positive thing is that after one year in the NCAA and one year in the NFL, Levi's performance in the past two years has set a benchmark, and he is still learning and making progress. Before the start of this season, everyone speculated that Levi might encounter the rookie wall, but the reality is Levi's performance is actually still growing, and his down-to-earth attitude of continuing to climb to the top has brought a powerful impact.
I'm afraid Jackson himself doesn't realize it, but he is becoming humble.
He is following Levi's example, temporarily putting aside his pride and self-esteem, willing to learn, communicate, and train with the team to grow together. He has absolutely no intention of looking down on the professional league or aiming too high.
For these spoiled geniuses, it is really rare——
Hubble has absolutely no intention of connoting Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.
The negative part is that Jackson has been sharpening his knife, trying to defeat Levi to prove himself. This obsession has exceeded the control of reason. If you are not careful, it may turn into an inner demon, and then the real trouble will be.
The desire to defeat Levi is a good thing; but if this desire is so strong that it breaks rationality, it may become a bad thing.
Victory may not be 100% able to resolve the inner demons; but failure will 100% make the inner demons become a shackles. This is a taboo in competitive sports and is what Hubble least wants to see.
The last thing Hubble needs now is reporters fanning the flames.
Therefore, when the reporter spoke, Hubble calmly blocked all attacks, changed the topic, shifted the focus, and shifted the pressure.
However, Hubble still underestimated the media’s ability to fuel the fire—
network.
Even if reporters didn't get the opportunity to provoke players to cause conflicts before the game, the overwhelming topic frenzy on social networks was still uncontrollable.
"One stop."
"Take a second look."
In the visiting team's locker room at Arrowhead Stadium, Edwards was squeezing his orchid finger and twisting his buttocks, imitating Levi's running posture in an extremely exaggerated manner——
Needless to say, there are some similarities; but like all caricatures, if you enlarge one of the details and distort it slightly, the effect will be completely different.
"Uh-huh, beast mode."
Edwards opened his mouth deliberately, like a werewolf transformed on a full moon night, shaking his head wildly, drool flowing out of the corners of his mouth and throwing it out again. Haha, hahaha.
The locker room burst into laughter.
However, this is not enough.
Edwards stood there again, with his hands open, staring ahead with a stern face, breathing heavily in silence, his chest rising and falling exaggeratedly, and his buttocks raised high on purpose.
On the side, some players exclaimed.
"Edgewalker!"
Edwards immediately stood up on his tiptoes, put his hands in front of his body like a mantis, took small steps like a bee, switched left and right along a straight line and rushed forward, vividly imitating Levi's appearance of running the ball on the sideline.
Laughing like thunder.
The entire locker room was in a state of scorched earth, with one or two people staggering around and screaming.
In the hustle and bustle, Edwards immediately noticed Marlon Humphrey, who was watching coldly with a smile on his lips. He raised his chin and looked over provocatively.
"Ma Long, what do you think? Please comment, how well did I imitate?"
Humphrey, cornerback, was the first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. He has been a rotation cornerback last season. However, this season, starting cornerback Jimmy Smith was suspended for four games due to personal conduct that violated league regulations. , and then became the starting cornerback——
After that, he never gave up his starting position.
However, as a rookie, Edwards singled out Humphrey at this time, not because he was aggrieved by Jimmy Smith, nor because he was too brave.
Marlon Humphrey, who studied at the University of Alabama, played alongside Levi for one season and was also a good friend of Levi. The two are now in constant contact, which is no secret in the Baltimore Ravens locker room.
Anyway, because of the relationship between Hubble and Reed, the relationship between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs is pretty good, and there is no grudge or grudge between the two parties.
But in the tenth week of the regular season this season, after Lamar Jackson became the starting quarterback, things changed slightly.
Of course, the NCAA is the NCAA, and the professional arena is another matter. Former enemies are now teammates, and former teammates are now enemies. There are countless such situations in the NFL. There is no need to be serious——
However, if you want to be more serious, it is not impossible.
Following Edwards' words, the entire locker room's attention gathered.
Humphrey's smile stayed at the corner of his mouth, looking a little helpless. He was really sitting there obediently, but Humphrey was not a soft persimmon.
"Okay, very good. I can score ninety-three points."
"In fact, I think you should try to imitate it in the game and let the rookie appreciate it. I believe he will appreciate your humor."
Is this a compliment or a satire?
Edwards couldn't judge for a moment and didn't know how to respond.
Humphrey looked at Edwards seriously, with a sincere attitude, "But be careful, don't treat the rookie as a clown casually."
"Because people who do this often end up becoming clowns themselves. I experienced it when I was in college. Who would have thought that I would end up becoming a clown, haha."
Recalling their first meeting in college, the smile on Humphrey's lips completely blossomed, and he was sincerely happy. It was indeed a wonderful day.
Then, Humphrey turned his head and his eyes fell on Jackson in the corner——
The black-faced quarterback had a dark face and sat silently, sharpening his knife quietly. There was a sharp edge in his calm eyes, and the murderous aura was still quietly surging.
Sensing Humphrey's gaze, Jackson looked over with dead fish eyes.
Humphrey laughed, "After all, none of us want to be a clown, right?"
(End of chapter)