American Football: King of the Bay Area

The entire locker room fell silent, with only Lu Ke’s voice echoing—forceful, sharp, and decisive. Lu Ke’s powerful presence crushed the dissent, and without anyone realizing it, the chaos was brought under control.

Lu Ke scanned the room. In his eyes, there was no distinction between veterans and rookies. Everyone was a part of the team. If any single part was missing, they could not win this game. And for Lu Ke, that was something he absolutely would not allow to happen!

”If you want to win! Then shut your mouths and focus on the damn game! After you catch the football, hold on to the damn ball and don’t drop it again! If you can’t run your routes, then memorize the damn playbook and stop making stupid mistakes! Shut up, all of you, just shut up and go over your playbooks!”

Lu Ke didn’t even look directly at Vernon, but his sharp words were like a vicious slap across Vernon’s face. Even the other receivers, including Logan, couldn’t help but avoid Lu Ke’s gaze.

When ParesParris realized he was actually feeling intimidated by Lu Ke, he was so furious he could have spit fire. Seeing Vernon beside him also seeming to shrink back, ParesParris shot forward and barked, ”Worry about yourself first! Your passing in the first half was a complete, out-of-tune mess!”

”That’s my responsibility. After the game, you won’t need to chew me out. I’ll just disappear. I’m sure the team can find a replacement quarterback.” A mocking smile flashed in Lu Ke’s eyes as he spoke with deep meaning, effectively shutting ParesParris up. ”As for now, you do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

Pausing for a moment, Lu Ke raised an eyebrow. ”Deal?”

No evasion, no dodging. Lu Ke openly and honorably took responsibility. His firm presence actually grew stronger, and with it, the morale in the locker room slowly began to recover.

ParesParris ground his teeth uncomfortably, jutted his chin high, and looked up at the taller Lu Ke. He didn’t say anything more, just muttered a curse, ”Cocky rookie doesn’t know his place.” Then he spit on the floor to show his disdain and turned away to a corner.

But in the end, the argument didn’t continue.

Lu Ke took a breath to compose himself, then looked up at the captain of the Defense Team, Patrick Willis. As if on cue, Willis looked over at the same moment. The two exchanged a look that seemed to convey the same message:

”I’ll handle the defense/offense. The offense/defense is on you.”

Generally, the captain of the offense is the quarterback, while the captain of the Defense Team is a linebacker.

On the San Francisco 49ers, the situation was a bit unique. The captain of the Defense Team was outside linebacker Willis, while the captain of the Offensive Team was center Jonathan Goodwin.

Lu Ke’s role was still that of a temporary stand-in, not the core leader of the Offensive Team. But today, facing such a difficult situation, Lu Ke had boldly stepped up and taken responsibility for the offense. Willis felt it, and Jonathan felt it too.

The next moment, Lu Ke called out, ”Offensive Team, huddle up.”

All the players on the Offensive Team gradually gathered, forming a tight circle around Lu Ke. Once they were in place, the veterans realized they had been so ”obedient.” They all looked toward Jonathan, but Jonathan just nodded in affirmation. The potential stir died down before it could even begin.

Lu Ke ignored the questioning looks and said directly, ”In the first half, our entire Offensive Team’s rhythm was off. The pass-to-run ratio was wrong, the tempo of our drives was wrong, and of course, my passing rhythm was also a problem. In the second half, we need to change things up.”

He raised his gaze and scanned the circle, making sure everyone’s eyes were on him. But Lu Ke wasn’t nervous at all. In that moment, he forgot he was a rookie, forgot about the team’s conflict between new and old players. He was just a quarterback, a quarterback trying to lead his team to victory.

Completely focused, Lu Ke radiated the powerful aura of someone in total command.

”We need to concentrate our firepower and look for breakthroughs with short and long passes.” This was the conclusion Lu Ke had reached. The Cowboys were showing a strong defensive posture in the short pass and Long Pass Area, yet they kept setting traps in the intermediate passing game. Trying to avoid their strengths and attack their weaknesses might not be effective. Instead, they could gain an advantage in a direct, head-on confrontation.

”We’ll use as many horizontal short passes, screen passes, and slant routes in the short pass area as possible to tear open their defensive line. Then, we’ll wait for a chance to strike deep with a long pass. Whether it succeeds or not, we need to create a threat to disrupt the Cowboys’ defensive rhythm.” Lu Ke continued, speaking fluently, ”Among their defensive players, Demarcus Ware and Sean Lee are the ones we need to focus on...”

Lu Ke hadn’t been completely oblivious to the defense in the first half. In truth, the Dallas Cowboys’ secondary was average, not particularly outstanding. Their real strength was in their linebacker corps on the front line. The abilities of those two players, Ville and Lee, to break through, tackle, and sack were exceptional. At the same time, their run defense and short pass defense were also formidable.

However, the Dallas Cowboys had completely given up on blitzing the quarterback in the first half. To some extent, this meant Ville’s and Lee’s abilities weren’t fully unleashed, but it also completely choked off the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive schemes.

Now, Lu Ke was preparing to use himself as bait to lure those two star players into a blitz, shattering the Cowboys’ defensive rhythm. Lu Ke knew this was a risky and crazy plan, but without a change, they were at a dead end. Only by breaking the stalemate would any other possibilities be back on the table.

As the quarterback, Lu Ke’s grasp and analysis of the on-field situation were unmatched by any other player on the offense. Now, he was summarizing his assessment for his teammates and then began to lay out the offensive tactics for the second half.

Logan couldn’t help but look astonished. As Lu Ke continued to explain the tactical arrangements, his astonishment only grew, his jaw practically hitting the floor. ”...Bambi, are you sure? Isn’t this... a little too bold?”

If even Logan was reacting like this, the other players were utterly dumbfounded. This Chinese-descent kid in front of them, with his personality, style, and wild ideas, was always managing to be unpredictable, delivering one surprise—or even shock—after another.

”What, are you scared?” Lu Ke’s retort made Logan immediately shut his mouth and grin sheepishly. ”No way! If you’ve got the guts to throw it, I’ve got the guts to run for it!”

As for the other offensive players, they defiantly lifted their chins, hiding the surprise in their eyes, but refused to comment. After all, they had just been at each other’s throats, and things were still a bit awkward.

Just then, the locker room door was pushed open, and Jim Hubble walked in. The awkward, raw, stiff, and distant atmosphere in the room hadn’t dissipated; it was obvious something was wrong.

Jim looked around, confused, but ultimately didn’t ask. He just said, ”Are you ready? We need to have a serious discussion about the second-half strategy. I’m not prepared to lose.” At Jim’s call, all the players gathered to listen to the second-half game plan.

After all the tactical arrangements were finished, there wasn’t much time left before the second half kicked off.

Lu Ke called out to Jim, who was turning to leave. ”Coach.” Then he fell into step beside Jim, and they walked out of the locker room together toward the field.

Keeping his voice low, Lu Ke quickly and simply explained his analysis, ideas, and tactical arrangements. Facing Jim’s quizzical look, he asked, ”What do you think?”

Jim frowned slightly. ”Are you sure?” His reaction was identical to Logan’s just moments ago. But then he saw Lu Ke’s gaze—no fear, no hesitation, no doubt. Jim quickly ran through the entire tactical plan in his head, then nodded. ”Alright, let’s give it a try. We’ve still got two fifteen-minute quarters in the second half. I hope you don’t make me regret this decision.”

Bold, arrogant, aggressive. This was the impression many people had of Jim.

But to Lu Ke, if it weren’t for Jim Hubble, he probably still wouldn’t have had a chance to play. Back during the tryouts, another coach might have given preference to Scott Torsin or Matt Hasselbeck.

It was the same now. The young and assertive Jim had agreed to Lu Ke’s crazy plan. And with that, the curtain rose on the second half.

In the first half, the Dallas Cowboys had kicked off first. In the second half, it was the San Francisco 49ers’ turn. The special teams players took the field for the kickoff, and the commentary booth came alive again.

”How Jim Hubble will adjust is going to be the main focus of this second half.”

”The San Francisco 49ers have decided to stick with Lu Ke instead of sending in Scott Torsin. It remains to be seen what the consequences of that decision will be.”

”Lu Ke’s performance in the first half was truly unsatisfying. We’ll have to see when he wakes up from this nightmare.”

”If they can’t find their rhythm on this first drive, the second half will likely be a repeat of the first half’s decline.”

...

The chattering voices of discussion and analysis spread through the airwaves. In the stands, the fans were getting restless. Many began to shout at the top of their lungs, ”A win! We need a win!”

And the more passionate, emotional fans had already started cursing loudly. ”What a disgrace! For God’s sake, it’s a humiliation, a total humiliation!”

”To be humiliated by the Dallas Cowboys like this... this has to be the most disgusting game in 49ers history!”

”Respect? With a performance like this, you’d better go back to your mommy’s teat!”

”Are you sleepwalking out there? This is beyond terrible! It’s unbearable!”

”Fuck! You piece of...” The voice trailed off into a long string of profanity, too foul to repeat, but the surrounding fans didn’t try to stop it. Instead, they joined the chorus of curses.

Winning the fans’ respect with a performance like the first half? A pipe dream!

Amidst a sky full of curses, the second half officially began.