American Football: King of the Bay Area

”Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the 2011 NFL regular season. We’re live for this Week 1 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the visiting Seattle Seahawks at Candlestick Park.”

Back in the studio after the commercial break, Kirk smoothly transitioned back to the game. ”In the first half, the San Francisco 49ers got off to a stunning start with two offensive drives that resulted in two touchdowns, giving them a 14-10 lead at the half. So, Teddy, what’s your outlook for the second half?”

”For both teams, the problem right now is on offense.” Teddy glanced at the screen where the players were re-entering the field, so he kept his summary as brief as possible. ”On the defensive side, both the 49ers and the Seahawks have been playing above average. Although there’s only been one turnover so far, the pressure they’ve put on the opposing offenses has been very effective.”

”So, in the second half, we need to keep our eyes on the offense. Based on their first-half performance, neither side looks capable of carrying their team to victory.” Teddy spoke quickly, the commentary he’d prepared during the break pouring out like a waterfall. ”Whether the Seahawks’ passing game can open things up, and whether the 49ers’ running game can find a new spark—that will be the key matchup to watch. With the score differential within a single touchdown, I think this is going to be a very intense game.”

”The running game?” Kirk questioned. ”Personally, I think the secret to the 49ers’ offense should be their passing.”

”Ha, it seems you have a lot of faith in number fourteen.” Teddy was noncommittal. Aside from the first two drives, number fourteen’s performance couldn’t be called bad, but it wasn’t outstanding either—it was just average. Of course, for a Chinese-American quarterback, ’average’ was already quite an achievement. ”Well then, let’s wait and see!”

Kirk spread his hands, offering no rebuttal, and instead looked at the big screen with confidence. For some reason, he was willing to believe in Lu Ke, even though he knew it wasn’t a rational judgment.

The second half began. Since the San Francisco 49ers had started on offense in the first half, it was the Seattle Seahawks’ offense that took the field first.

Today’s game was a nightmare for Travis Jackson. The immense pressure was suffocating him. Even though the bulk of the offensive burden rested on Marshawn Lynch’s shoulders, this was a passing era. As the team’s quarterback, he had to complete his passes, or the offense would be completely bogged down in a mire.

In the first half, Travis’s completion rate was 6-for-14. Out of fourteen passing attempts, only six were successful. And he’d only managed those numbers because Marshawn was drawing most of the defensive attention, leaving the passing game as a surprise weapon.

It was abysmal.

After the second half started, Travis’s passing was still a mess. He completed two of five attempts, managing one first down thanks to the receiver’s ability to gain yards after the catch. Meanwhile, Marshawn, who was being heavily targeted by the defense, had four carries. One went for a first down, but the other three runs went nowhere.

The Seahawks ate up nearly four minutes of clock, advancing to near midfield, but were ultimately forced to punt.

It seemed like nothing had changed from the first half; the situation was exactly the same. Now it was just a matter of seeing which team’s offense would catch fire, or which would collapse.

A sense of dullness settled over Candlestick Park. The fans didn’t want to see a parade of punts, drive after drive stalling at midfield. A game like this was a disaster. The commentators didn’t want to watch disjointed offense either—offenses that were cut short by mistakes before any spectacular defense could even happen. The only word to describe it was ’boring’.

The crowd’s attention was wandering. There were no cheers, no screams, no roars. People seemed to be looking down at their phones, eating hot dogs, or just chatting idly. They didn’t even seem to care when the special teams came on for the punt and return, or even know where the next drive would begin.

Amid this listless and subdued atmosphere, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense took the field again.

Lu Ke stood at the fourteen-yard line, while the offense line was at the twenty. There was a six-yard gap between them, putting even more distance between him and the defense. This was one of the advantages of the Shotgun Formation: it made it harder for the defense to blitz, giving the quarterback more room to move and more space to see the field.

Marcus Lynch stood parallel to Lu Ke, about three yards to his right. There were two receivers to the left and two to the right, making Logan’s side—the right side—the strong side.

Just by taking a couple of steps back, his entire field of view opened up. Lu Ke could easily take in the Seahawks’ defensive half of the field. ’A 4-3-2-2.’ It was a typical base defense formation; they hadn’t adjusted for the 49ers’ Shotgun Formation. The defensive scheme was relatively balanced, but it also allowed for more potential variations, making it dangerously unpredictable.

”Hike!”

Lu Ke yelled out the call, then took two steps back to create more distance and space. There was no play-action fake; Marcus just ran straight out, looking for a gap torn in the middle of the offense line and getting into position to receive a pass. The problem was, the offense line’s protective pocket completely collapsed.

On the right, the Seahawks’ number 57, David Hawthorn, broke through Joe Stanley’s block and burst forward. The nearby Chilo Rachal quickly fell back to help, but both of them lost their blocking position. Hawthorn was completely unblocked, charging forward like a wild beast.

On the left, the Seahawks’ number 56, Leroy Hill, got around Anthony Davis and barreled toward the quarterback, arms flailing. Davis was still trying to block him but was steadily losing ground.

The Seahawks had four players against the 49ers’ five, but the Seahawks won a decisive victory. The entire offense line was torn to shreds. In less than a second, before Lu Ke could even set his feet after his dropback, let alone find a target, a dark shadow filled his vision—

Hawthorn slammed viciously into Lu Ke.

Lu Ke only had time to clutch the football tightly as every part of his body screamed in protest. But that wasn’t all. Immediately after, Hill piled on. Seeing Lu Ke on the ground, he seemed unable to brake in time and ended up diving onto Hawthorn’s back. Lu Ke felt another crushing weight on his chest, and his bones seemed to ache faintly.

The 49ers’ offensive linemen also went down, with Stanley, Rachal, and Davis all ending up in a tangled heap.

The players who had run routes immediately rushed back. Marcus was the first, absolutely furious. He forcefully shoved Hill away. ”That’s unnecessary roughness! Don’t you know what unnecessary roughness is?” A stream of curses followed, spittle flying from his mouth.

In football, players come in all shapes and sizes. Quarterbacks, kickers, and punters are relatively light and slender, with weaker physical resistance. To protect players in these three positions, defenders are not allowed to use excessive force. For example, after the ball has left their hands, a defender is not allowed to hit a player in one of these positions. Doing so is a penalty.

Just now, with Lu Ke already on the ground, Hill should have held back. Even if it was due to momentum and he couldn’t brake in time, the resulting hit still constitutes a foul—defensive players must learn to control their bodies and actions.

But Hill hadn’t. In response, Marcus grabbed him by the collar, expressing his anger directly!

Lu Ke got up, hopped in place a couple of times, and said to Logan, who was running over, ”I’m fine. Go calm Marcus down.” Otherwise, Marcus was going to get flagged for a personal foul and cost them yardage.

Logan pulled Marcus away. Hill, realizing he was in the wrong—at least in front of the referees—needed to put on an ”I didn’t do it on purpose” act. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and turned to walk away.

The Seahawks players were celebrating wildly, cheering, shouting, and jumping around. That sack had put Lu Ke down at the thirteen-yard line, a loss of a full seven yards. This meant that on their upcoming second down, they would need to gain seventeen yards.

The game seemed no different from the first half. The defenses were still running the show.

Lu Ke, however, wasted no time. He quickly called his offensive teammates over. ”Focus, you idiots!” Even in the Shotgun Formation, he had still been sacked with no chance to fight back. That was the consequence of the offense line losing focus, and Lu Ke had to make them realize it. ”Number fifty-seven, he’s broken through the line three times today. Stanley, Rachal, you guys need some help?”

Joe Stanley and Chilo Rachal, both panting, looked at Lu Ke without a word, but their pupils contracted slightly, a sharp glint flashing in their eyes.

Lu Ke knew they’d gotten the message. ”Come on, guys. Their studs are in the secondary. The defense line isn’t that great. Let’s not let them run wild on us, okay?”

The Seahawks’ secondary had at least two Pro Bowl-caliber players, not including this year’s rookie, Richard Sherman. Maybe he’d develop into one in the future, but this was only his first game, and he still wasn’t up to speed.

”Shotgun Formation, short pass,” Lu Ke quickly called the play, then directed his teammates to the line. ”Come on, let’s get some touchdowns!”

The offense lined up again. Lu Ke stood near the eight-yard line, with the offense line at the thirteen. Marcus was still parallel to him.

After the snap, Lu Ke didn’t drop back. Instead, he and the entire offense line began to move to the left. Before the defensive players could break through, Lu Ke cleanly released the football. A split second later, Leroy Hill once again broke through the offense line’s blocks and charged at Lu Ke.

But Hill was half a step too slow. Before his hands could even touch Lu Ke’s waist, the ball was already gone.

The question was, who was the target?