Chapter 866: Moving Freely
The San Francisco 49ers' game had another touchdown, but this time it wasn't them who scored; it was their divisional rival, the St. Louis Rams.
Was this a surprise?
Strictly speaking, it wasn't. After all, this was a divisional game.
But for the San Francisco 49ers, it was a bad start. Aldon and Culliver came off the field, muttering complaints and venting their frustration. Behind their frustration and depression was a sense of disappointment.
It was clear that on this special occasion, everyone felt a high level of expectation, and the more they wanted to perform well, the more they fell short. It wasn't just the two of them; the entire defense seemed a bit impatient and failed to apply enough pressure on their opponents.
Subconsciously, everyone was avoiding Lu Ke's gaze, as if they felt a little guilty. This small action made Lu Ke laugh.
However, Lu Ke didn't say much. He gathered the offensive players and quickly said, while the special teams were still on the field, "Don't forget what this golden ocean means today! Never give up, persevere, and keep fighting! Now, it's our turn to go on the field! I guarantee you, Ryan is watching the game on TV and fighting with us!"
Just two simple sentences were enough. The cheers from the entire Candlestick Park were the best catalyst. At this moment, everyone shouted in unison again:
"Keep fighting!"
Then, a wave of excited cheers erupted on the field. The players on the sidelines turned to look and saw Mario Manningham returning the kick!
He passed the ten-yard line, the twenty-yard line, the thirty-yard line, and then, with a burst of energy, he passed the forty-yard line. The powerful momentum broke through the line of scrimmage.
In unison, all the players and fans started cheering for Mario.
Finally, Mario was tackled at their own forty-three-yard line, completing the first brilliant return of the game. Under pressure, the special teams erupted with endless energy. In response to the St. Louis Rams' quick touchdown, the San Francisco 49ers' special teams gave a powerful counterattack.
The special teams went off, and the offense came on.
Logan was the first to raise his right hand high, showing the gold wristband on his left wrist. He shouted, "Keep fighting," and rushed onto the field. Then came Lu Ke and the other teammates. Everyone was in high spirits as they charged forward.
Words seemed redundant now. Aldon and Culliver also regained their composure and raised their fists high, shouting and jumping, igniting the fighting spirit of the entire stadium again.
Bathed in the golden ocean of the entire stadium, Lu Ke slowly bent down. More than ever before, his heart was beating so steadily and powerfully, yet so passionately. He could deeply feel that he was not fighting alone. Ryan was standing right there, his teammates were standing right there, the seventy thousand fans in Candlestick Park were standing right there, and everyone in San Francisco and the Bay Area was standing right there.
For others, this was pressure. But for Lu Ke, this was motivation.
Lu Ke took a deep breath, straightened up, and didn't need a signal or instruction. The cheers and shouts from the crowd all subsided, and then Lu Ke's firm and deep voice erupted:
"Set!"
With the ball in his hands, he quickly dropped back from a pistol formation to a shotgun formation. There was no fake handoff, and he didn't even communicate with Marcus. The entire formation changed as soon as the ball was snapped. But the question was, if it was a definite passing play, why didn't he just start in a shotgun formation?
Jure Hampton and LaMichael James on the sidelines quickly exchanged glances. All the plays in their minds became clear. The analysis from practice immediately entered a real-game situation.
Sure enough, after Marcus ran forward three steps, he looked back at Lu Ke while maintaining his momentum. The next second, Lu Ke and Marcus exchanged glances. Then, Marcus made a catching gesture by stepping back, and Lu Ke raised his right hand to make a passing gesture.
A short pass to the running back running along the slot!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. In just one second, Lu Ke and Marcus were already in position. This move instantly broke the St. Louis Rams' defensive formation. All the players subconsciously shifted their weight toward Marcus, and even the defensive linemen who were rushing the offensive line were distracted.
Just when everyone thought Lu Ke and Marcus would complete the San Francisco 49ers' first connection of the game, Lu Ke pulled his right hand back and moved laterally to his left.
A fake!
One fake pass caused most of the Rams' defense to lose their balance, giving Lu Ke more space to observe.
But at the same time, the offensive line's rightward movement and Lu Ke's opposite leftward movement created a mismatch. The defensive end Robert Quinn and the outside linebacker Rocky McIntosh, who were on this side, were already exposed to Lu Ke with just a slight adjustment in their footing.
A sack was imminent.
The San Francisco 49ers' offensive tackle, Joe Staley, tried his best to hold his position, but he was outnumbered. McIntosh took advantage of the gap while Quinn and Staley were engaged, and with a light step, he got around and appeared in front of Lu Ke: a one-on-one sack!
There was no one between McIntosh and Lu Ke.
In this critical moment, Lu Ke didn't panic at all. He didn't use any special skills. His highly concentrated mind made a judgment and reacted immediately.
He moved laterally to the left, making a continuous outward movement, forcing McIntosh to reflexively shift his weight. Then, Lu Ke's left foot made a quick stop, and his body reversed direction using the recoil. With two quick steps back, he narrowly created space and avoided the sack.
McIntosh missed his chance. In that short moment, he couldn't adjust his balance twice. His body twisted into a strange pretzel under pressure, and he clumsily stumbled past Lu Ke. He was so close, but because of his body's momentum, he couldn't reach Lu Ke no matter how hard he tried. He could only lose his balance and fall clumsily to the ground.
He missed the sack.
Lu Ke didn't have time to pay attention to the opponent's embarrassment, because Staley was also losing his balance, and Quinn used the mismatch in their balance to easily make contact.
Quinn, who entered the league in the same year as Lu Ke, was a well-known defensive rookie. He was the fourteenth overall pick in the first round, but his rookie season was not as good as expected. In his second season, he actively improved and secured a starting position. Now, facing the biggest opponent of all the 2011 rookies, Quinn burst out with incredible energy.
Quinn pushed Staley's block away with a series of blows and then charged at Lu Ke like a tiger descending a mountain. But before he could get close, he saw that Lu Ke seemed to have a premonition and took a half-step back, quickly increasing the distance between them. Quinn refused to give up and leaped over Staley with a small hop, accelerating a second time as he lunged at Lu Ke.
Lu Ke still didn't use any special skills. In a state of high concentration, his relaxed nerves and tense muscles relied on his reflexes to react immediately.
His footwork training in the offseason was slowly being integrated into Lu Ke's body and gradually becoming a part of his play style. The excellent performance of the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line this season allowed Lu Ke to practice more frequently during games, and he didn't need to use special skills unless it was a critical moment.
This was one of those times.
After making a pre-judgment, Lu Ke's lateral movement immediately went in a vertical direction, creating distance. After that, he didn't relax his guard. He kept a close eye on Quinn's feet. Before the opponent could close the distance, Lu Ke lightly shuffled his feet again, continuing to move laterally to his right. It wasn't a straight line but a curved arc, completely faking out Quinn's balance.
Quinn was like a roly-poly toy, swaying as he tried to control his body. But his hands kept flailing, and he still couldn't control himself, only making himself look more embarrassed. He widened his eyes and watched as Lu Ke gradually got farther away: How was this possible? What just happened?
From the right to the left, from the left to the back, from the back to the right.
Lu Ke's footwork in the pocket was so agile and fluid. He controlled the entire defense without any panic. People didn't have time to think carefully. When Lu Ke made a passing gesture again, they suddenly realized:
One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds.
Lu Ke had bought four seconds all by himself. At this moment, the short-pass area on the right was completely cleared. Before Marcus, Logan, and Ginn could draw the defenders away, all the defensive players had retreated. But was this a short pass, a medium pass, or a long pass?
While the defensive players were still hesitating, Lu Ke's right hand was like a sword leaving its scabbard, drawing a rainbow-like arc of light. In the dazzling and brilliant golden ocean of the entire stadium, it galloped away grandly.
Lu Ke's first pass of the game was a deep throw toward the end zone!
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