American Football: King of the Bay Area

Amateurs watch the spectacle; professionals see the method. It’s a truth that holds true anywhere.

For the news media, Lu Ke’s starting position was just an entertainment gimmick. The ”Skywalker” nickname was far more interesting and eye-catching than ”Chinese-American quarterback” or ”Little Deer Bambi.” At the end of the day, it was all just hype. No one really cared about Lu Ke’s on-field performance—it was a mere three-game winning streak. They could save the in-depth discussion for when he made it to the playoffs.

But for insiders in the Alliance, this was a truly new beginning.

In Week 4 of the regular season, Lu Ke would be making his fourth appearance as the starting quarterback. But this was the first time he’d be doing so without the looming crisis of being a transitional or backup quarterback, taking the field as the undisputed official starter.

For the previous three weeks, people had been waiting for Alex Smith, waiting for Colin Kaepernick. Lu Ke was just a last resort in a crisis, and many opposing teams had practically written off their games against the 49ers in the first two or three weeks. Now, both Alex and Colin had returned from their injuries, but after an internal team competition, they were both relegated to the bench. The transitional quarterback had become the rightful starting quarterback.

For the team, for the fans, for Lu Ke, and even for the other three quarterbacks, everything was brand new. The change in position would inevitably trigger a chain reaction of changes in mentality, pressure, and emotions. This was an uncertain variable for the game and also added more interesting storylines to this week’s matchup.

This week, the San Francisco 49ers were still on the road. They would travel to the East Coast city of Philadelphia to challenge the Eagles.

Since their founding in 1933, the Philadelphia Eagles had always been a team in the National League East, sharing a division with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins. Besides the National League North, this was the division with the deepest-seated rivalries and history. All four teams could be said to have long histories and glorious records, each having had their own era in the Alliance.

In the 1950s, the Philadelphia Eagles were an absolute powerhouse in the Alliance, dominating all their opponents. Unfortunately, that was in the era before the merger of the National League and the American League—the pre-Super Bowl era. As a result, they unfortunately became one of the thirteen teams in the Alliance that have never won a Super Bowl.

Despite this, the Philadelphia Eagles remained an absolutely dominant force in the National League East, rivaling their other three opponents. In the eleven years since the new millennium, the Philadelphia Eagles had won the division title a full six times, finished second three times, and successfully made it to the playoffs a total of nine times. They only missed out in 2005 and 2007.

With such a performance, they firmly suppressed their division rivals, becoming the absolute dominant power of the National League East in the 21st century.

In the 2010 season, the Philadelphia Eagles made it to the playoffs with a record of ten wins and six losses, but unfortunately lost in the first round to a red-hot Green Bay Packers team. This year, they came roaring back, posting a respectable three-and-one record in the preseason. However, after the regular season began, they have so far only managed a poor record of one win and two losses.

This was a team known for its offense, with a relatively weak defense. In Week 10 of last year’s regular season, they racked up fifty-nine points in a single game, brutally crushing their division rival, the Washington Redskins, a feat that people still talk about with relish.

The first three games of this year’s regular season were much the same: the Defense Team’s performance was mediocre, forcing them to rely on the offense to constantly bail them out. In Week 2, the Philadelphia Eagles lost an away game to the Atlanta Falcons, with a final score of 31-35. In Week 3, the Eagles lost by a large margin at home to their division rival, the New York Giants, with the final score settling at 16-29.

Compared to last year, the offense’s firepower had decreased somewhat, failing to get things going, which had led to them only securing one win in the first three weeks.

But, as the absolute dominant power of the National League East in the first decade of the 21st century, their foundation remained. As long as they made adjustments or found the root of their problems, they would remain one of the most dangerous opponents in the Alliance to watch out for in the games to come.

On this team, the offense was truly star-studded. Running back LeSean McCoy, Offensive Tackle Jason Peters, and Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson were all Pro Bowl-level, All-Pro First Team-caliber star players.

And the man at their helm, Michael Vick, was an even more renowned figure in the Alliance.

He entered the Alliance in 2001 as the number one draft pick, made it to the Pro Bowl three times, and even pioneered the unique school of mobile quarterbacks, becoming a dynamic presence in the Alliance. In moments of crisis, he could always use his legs to run a path forward, leading the team on. His style gave rise to the Pistol Formation and pushed the development of the read-option offense, and successors like Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick could only hope to follow in his footsteps.

In the 2006 season, Vick rushed for 1,039 yards in a single season, making him the first quarterback in Alliance history to rush for over a thousand yards in a single season. Keep in mind, even for a running back, a thousand-yard season is a milestone achievement, let alone for a quarterback. It was not only unprecedented, but it would likely never be repeated.

After the dogfighting scandal of 2007, Vick was thrown in jail, where he spent twenty-three months. After his release in 2009, the Atlanta Falcons cut him. His professional career seemed to be over. Just as he was about to look for a job in an indoor league in Europe, the Philadelphia Eagles extended an olive branch.

At the time, the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to sign Vick was one born of desperation, but it wasn’t too difficult to understand. The team’s two quarterbacks at the time were a veteran whose form had been declining for three straight years, and a rookie who had been rotated in as a backup for two straight years with consistently abysmal performances. Furthermore, the team’s head coach at the time ran a West Coast offense, which used incredibly complex tactics—

The so-called West Coast offense is complicated to explain, but a simple way to understand it is ”pass first, run second.” It relies on a large number of intricate running routes and tactical arrangements, using a dazzling array of passing plays to advance the team down the field. It places strict demands on a quarterback’s passing accuracy, game control, and Fonderick test scores.

The San Francisco 49ers run a West Coast offense.

Therefore, the Philadelphia Eagles needed a backup quarterback with West Coast offense experience, and before prison, Vick had always been a master of the West Coast offense. What’s more, because of his prison time, Vick’s annual salary in 2009 was only 1.6 million US dollars, which hardly took up any salary cap space.

And so, Vick came to Philadelphia. After being occasionally rotated into games in 2009, Vick once again displayed his abilities, earning the starting position with his outstanding performance during the 2010 offseason and the first two weeks of the regular season.

For the rest of the season, Vick went on a tear, setting new personal bests across all quarterback stats. He not only led the team to the playoffs but was also selected for the Pro Bowl and won that year’s Comeback Player of the Year award. He even came close to threatening Tom Brady’s title for regular season MVP.

One could imagine the expectations and attention the Philadelphia Eagles had for the 2011 season. Although their current record was poor, their foundation was undeniable. Under Vick’s leadership, the Eagles’ offensive explosiveness remained a terrifying force that commanded attention.

What’s more, the united and determined Philadelphia Eagles had also invested heavily in building up their Defense Team during this year’s offseason, clearly intending to make a big push. They poached a key member of the recent Super Bowl champions from the Green Bay Packers, starting Defensive Tackle Cullen Jenkins.

In addition, they acquired Defensive End Jason Babin from the Tennessee Titans and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha from the Oakland Raiders. All three players were members of the All-Pro First Team, their skills undeniable.

Three weeks of the regular season had passed, and the Defense Team was still in the process of gelling. Once they found the right defensive rhythm, the team’s strength was bound to reach a new level.

This week, the Philadelphia Eagles were about to face the challenge of the San Francisco 49ers. The condition of both teams was undoubtedly a focus of attention, and for both sides, it would be a severe test.

For the members of the Defense Team, they would be facing this season’s most talked-about Chinese-American quarterback. In Jim Hubble’s West Coast offense system, Lu Ke’s abilities had been on full display, and his quarterback rating of over 100 in each of the past three weeks was the best proof of that.

As for the members of the offense, especially Michael Vick, after delivering a career-best performance last year, his play had declined this year despite immense expectations. Now, Vick was about to face off against Lu Ke, and inevitably, the media reporters began to stir up trouble again, hoping that the fiery-tempered Vick would let slip some shocking statements.

During the official media day on Wednesday, a reporter had asked Vick a related question. ”If I remember correctly, the 49ers still haven’t confirmed their starting quarterback, right?” Vick’s understated remark was not just a counterattack against the reporter, but also a dismissal of Lu Ke.

Afterward, with the media’s embellishment, headlines like ”Vick ignores Lu Ke” and ”Vick Unafraid in the Face of a Challenge” could be seen on many websites. But in the end, Vick was just stating a fact. Before the San Francisco 49ers confirmed their starting quarterback, the reporters couldn’t do much to fan the flames.

「Until now.」

Facing the same question again, Vick shrugged and said nonchalantly, ”How would I know what’s going to happen? On the field, I’m not the player lining up across from him. My job is to lead my team to score points, and the ultimate goal is victory. If he can do that, then he can try to keep up with me.”

This was the sanitized version of his remarks. During the interview, his words were peppered with a fair bit of profanity. Clearly, Vick didn’t like being discussed in the same breath as Lu Ke—he was a ten-year veteran who had been through countless ups and downs in the Alliance, while Lu Ke had only played three games. The two couldn’t be compared.

Moreover, the Philadelphia Eagles currently had a poor record, and their offense couldn’t get going, so Vick had even less patience to deal with reporters.

And so, the major media outlets all ran headlines: ”Michael Vick Never Saw Lu Ke as a Threat: Cares About Nothing But Victory.”