American Football: King of the Bay Area

Commentators scrambled to voice their opinions, creating a bustling cacophony as countless radio waves crisscrossed and echoed across the skies of North America.

Meanwhile, Lu Ke led his teammates back onto the field. The doubts, the debates, the taunts—none of it meant anything to Lu Ke. On the field, there was no room for even the slightest lapse in concentration.

With the play called, the Offense Line lined up at the twenty-yard line of scrimmage. Running back Anthony Dixon was still trying to get confirmation from Lu Ke, but he couldn’t speak. He just widened his eyes and spread his hands in a gesture of confusion. The chemistry between Lu Ke and Dixon was still lacking. Left with no choice, Lu Ke had to call out, ”20, 20, 20, steady, 20.”

Twenty yards—their starting position for the play. Typically, this would signal to the running back that it was a running play. But as Lu Ke called ”steady,” he also pressed his hands down in a calming motion. This signaled that Dixon should prepare for a handoff, but Lu Ke would read the defense first before making his move, so Dixon shouldn’t rush to take the ball. It could be a play-action pass.

Dixon finally understood and nodded repeatedly.

Dixon positioned himself seven yards behind the Offense Line, ready to burst forward. A running back needs bulldozer-like power when advancing the ball, which naturally requires more room for a running start and for finding gaps in the line.

Then, Lu Ke stood behind Jonathan Goodwin. Without even needing to look up, his peripheral vision caught a taunting figure. Richard Sherman. It was Richard Sherman again.

After the first down, Lu Ke hadn’t even noticed Richard’s presence. With Logan running into an open spot in all that space, Lu Ke had thrown the pass decisively, without any hesitation. As for Richard, he hadn’t given him a single thought—no fear, no desire to challenge him.

But clearly, Richard didn’t see it that way. His eyes bulged like two glass marbles as he made all sorts of faces, laughing and shouting, ”Bambi, Bambi, Little Deer Bambi! Bambi’s scared, go home to mommy. Mommy’s not home, only the big bad wolf. What are you gonna do?” After speaking, he turned, wiggled his butt at Lu Ke, and then quickly backpedaled to his defensive position, getting back into his stance.

Taunts were one thing, but Richard hadn’t let his guard down in the slightest.

With just a quick sweep of his peripheral vision, Lu Ke noticed the change in the defensive formation: five men up front and six behind them.

Strictly speaking, the overall defensive formation hadn’t undergone a dramatic, fundamental change. There were still seven defensive players in the front half of the field, but they had shifted into a four-three alignment. In other words, four players were set to rush the Offense Line, increasing the pressure on the quarterback, while three players covered the run and the short-pass zones. The defense’s entire center of gravity had shifted forward.

The backfield still had four defensive players—two cornerbacks and two safeties—to defend against passes downfield. However, their positioning had clearly moved up. The two cornerbacks and one safety were positioned on the twenty-five-yard line, leaving the other safety to roam at the thirty-five-yard line.

Thus, the entire defensive formation became a ”4-3-3-1.” But then, one player from the second line moved up, joining the four players on the front line, and the formation evolved into a ”5-2-3-1.”

The Sea Eagle Team was still leaving the deep field open, seemingly unconcerned about Lu Ke attempting another surprise long pass. But they had clearly stacked the front line with players, and their intention to rush the Offense Line and pressure the quarterback was obvious—

Under enough pressure, a quarterback would have no time to leisurely pick out a long-pass route, cutting off the possibility of a long ball at the source. They might even get a sack on the quarterback, killing the down entirely.

In an instant, Lu Ke decided on his offensive play.

He barked out a series of audibles, and Tight End Logan Newman and Wide Receiver Ted Ginn Jr., who had been lined up on the outside, came in tight to flank the Offense Line. The offensive line immediately swelled to seven men, with two Wide Receivers, Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams, positioned on the far left and right.

Both Crabtree and Williams were players drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. The former was a first-round pick in 2009, the latter a sixth-round pick in 2010.

However, neither player had seen many opportunities to shine before this year.

Crabtree was a troublemaker. His first year was spent in a cycle of holding out, sitting on the bench, and playing as a substitute. He only signed his rookie contract a third of the way through the season, after which he finally took the field and managed a respectable seven Touchdowns. The latter’s lack of ability meant he had never earned the team’s trust, let alone a chance to perform.

From the Offense Line to the receivers, the San Francisco 49ers were truly an incredibly young team, with no big names or stars. Tight End Vernon Davis was practically the most famous player in the entire offense, but he had been benched by Jim Hubble due to a lack of chemistry.

In a way, this was a good thing for Lu Ke. He didn’t have the burden of choosing between star targets and could simply make his reads according to his own judgment.

After the offensive adjustment, before the Sea Eagle Team’s Defense Team could react, Lu Ke called for the snap.

Jonathan cleanly snapped the ball into Lu Ke’s hands. Lu Ke took his drop back, creating distance. Dixon charged forward, reaching for the handoff, but at the last second, Lu Ke quickly pulled his right hand back, keeping the ball. Dixon understood immediately, pretending to cradle the football as he charged ahead.

It was a play-action pass.

The Sea Eagle Team came rushing in like a torrent from a broken dam. Five players charged the front line, two covered the short-pass zone, two covered the intermediate zone, and one player quickly dropped back to join another teammate, defending the Long Pass Area.

They had seen through Lu Ke’s plan. They abandoned their run defense to focus entirely on pass defense, and they intensified their blitz.

Facing this onslaught, the 49ers’ Offense Line held firm against the flood. The seven-man offensive line, up from five, wasn’t just for show. Logan and Ted were both helping block, and with Dixon chipping in as well, they secured a clean pocket, giving Lu Ke plenty of time to scan the field.

But Lu Ke showed no signs of panic, as if this scene was entirely within his expectations. With a turn of his body and a single step, he raised his arm and fired the football out like a bullet—not a long pass, but a precise short pass, for exactly ten yards!

Richard Sherman was roaming his zone when, in the next second, he realized the pass was coming his way. The player he was covering was none other than Michael Crabtree.

Crabtree was running hard, following the fixed route of the offensive scheme. It was a short-pass play, an undeniable short pass, but whether it would end up a pass or a run was something that could change in an instant on the field, only revealed at the moment the ball was thrown. So, he couldn’t overthink it; he just had to focus on running his route.

On the field, the 49ers only had two Wide Receivers running routes. But luckily, the short and intermediate zones were each defended by only two players. So it became one-on-one coverage, with the zone defense effectively turning into man-to-man. The Sea Eagle Team thought they had figured out the 49ers’ play, but hadn’t the 49ers also found a hole in the Sea Eagle Team’s defense? Now, it all came down to the quarterback’s pass.

Crabtree braked hard and spun around, lifting his chin. Then he saw Lu Ke’s sharp gaze cutting through his helmet, locking onto him.

Catching sight of the off-balance Sherman in his peripheral vision, Crabtree took a large step forward, extended his hands, and securely caught the speeding football. He hugged the ball tightly, then turned, preparing to accelerate and push for more yardage, but Sherman was already on him in a flash.

Sherman was too late to break up the catch, so he could only stop Crabtree from advancing further. With a powerful two-handed shove, he pushed Crabtree out of bounds, ending the down. But it was too late. It was a ten-yard pass, and Crabtree was at the eleven-yard mark—a successful first down!

Sherman’s face was a mask of disbelief, a curse escaping his lips, but it was no use. He had been beaten in coverage. Lu Ke had actually completed the pass—Lu Ke had actually completed a pass right over his head!

”Wow, in the span of a single breath, the offensive and defensive tactics of both teams shifted, but in the end, the 49ers came out on top! An easy eleven-yard completion, and Number 14 leads the 49ers forward again!” In the broadcast booth, Teddy couldn’t help but exclaim again. He then turned to Kirk, ”So, has he always been this smart and perceptive?”

”Yes. On the field, his judgment, his choices, his decisiveness—they are without a doubt the offense’s greatest asset,” Kirk said with a nod. He didn’t continue recounting the highlights from the Rose Bowl, instead analyzing the play as he watched the replay.

”The Sea Eagle Team showed a blitz; the 49ers showed a run. But in the end, the Sea Eagle Team focused on defending the short and intermediate pass, while the 49ers chose to throw it short. A crisscross of tactical choices in the blink of an eye, and Number 14 leads his team down the field again.”

After finishing his commentary, Kirk turned to Teddy. ”One of the most famous things to come out of this year’s Rookie Training Camp was that the Fonderick test had its second-ever perfect score, and it was from a quarterback.”

”Yeah, I heard about that...” Teddy trailed off mid-sentence, then it dawned on him. ”Oh, you’re saying the 49ers’ Number 14 is that perfect score winner? Holy hell!”

The exclamation, bordering on a curse, clearly conveyed Teddy’s shock.

On the field, Richard Sherman was fuming, spewing curses to vent his frustration and anger. After all his taunts, Michael Crabtree had made such an easy catch. Even though he didn’t get much more yardage, it was still a disgrace.

But as for Lu Ke, he didn’t have time to bother with Sherman’s sharp, piercing glare. He calmly led his team, ready to advance again.