American Football: King of the Bay Area

”Hike!”

Lu Ke’s call to start the play echoed in his ears. Ted Ginn Jr.’s focus was absolute, his body completely relaxed.

This was a short-pass play. Logan Newman and Michael Crabtree were running the short routes, with Marcus Lynch ready to act on any opportunity. The plan was to gain yards with quick, flat passes.

Meanwhile, the agile and light-footed Teddy Ginn and Kyle Williams were tasked with creating a diversion, drawing away the Defense Team’s linebackers and cornerbacks. They cut into the medium-pass area, using convincing fake catches to provide cover for the short pass.

Ginn’s muscles were completely loose. At the snap, he lowered his head and burst forward, running a short slant outward for three or four yards. In his peripheral vision, he could spot the outside linebacker and cornerback on either side of him. Then, he planted his foot, made his turn, and sprinted straight for the End Zone.

Accelerating, then accelerating again, Ginn pushed his speed to the absolute limit. Thirty yards, twenty-five, twenty—in what felt like the blink of an eye, he had entered the danger zone. He could feel a safety and a cornerback circling nearby, but he hadn’t truly managed to pull the defensive formation out of position. This wasn’t helping his teammates.

So, Ginn slammed on the brakes, stopped in his tracks, and turned around. He looked back over his shoulder as if ready to receive the ball.

Sure enough, just as he’d expected, a safety and a cornerback both came over to cover him. No one could ignore Ginn’s vertical threat. In the last game, the Cincinnati Bengals had given up two Touchdowns to him.

Ginn raised his right hand high, calling for the ball and signaling that he was open. It was only then that Ginn noticed the situation in the pocket. A defensive player was lunging at Lu Ke like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey. The two were about to collide, but Lu Ke dodged the first tackle with a hair-raisingly close move, adjusted his footing, and threw the ball.

BANG! In his peripheral vision, he just managed to see the defender wrap up Lu Ke with a second tackle attempt. But there was no time to look closer, because Ginn saw the football flying toward him.

This was supposed to be a short-pass play, and now Ginn was deep in the Long Pass Area. Yet, Lu Ke had thrown the ball without hesitation. At the most critical moment, the play had been completely improvised.

His relaxed muscles tensed. Ginn began to backpedal quickly, using choppy steps to adjust his position and predict the ball’s trajectory. It looked like it would land around the fifteen-yard line. ’I can definitely catch this,’ he thought. ’I’ve got it, no problem!’

But as he adjusted his feet, the football, growing larger in his vision, began to drop faster. Its spiral had lost its stability.

’Crap!’

’The moment he threw it, Lu Ke must have been hit on his throwing arm by the defender. It disrupted his motion, so the power and control were off. After the ball reached the apex of its arc, it lost all stability.’

This wasn’t a pass to the fifteen-yard line; it was going to fall around the seventeen.

In a split second, Ginn made his judgment. He had to slam on the brakes again and immediately run forward, but his center of gravity felt heavy and he couldn’t adjust in time. In the end, he had no choice but to dive, attempting to make the catch in mid-air.

Closer, even closer!

Ginn’s eyes were locked on the football. He formed his hands to receive it, and then... he felt it. He caught it!

But before the joy could even register, a cold sweat broke out over Ginn. The ball’s trajectory and force were irregular. It danced on his fingertips like a clown’s juggling act—bouncing, dropping, adjusting, bouncing again... Ginn did everything in his power to secure the football.

At the same time, gravity pulled him down fast. Just as the football was about to slip from his grasp—’Got it!’—Ginn’s right hand clamped down firmly on the ball. But before the thought could even fully form, a massive force slammed into him with a BANG. The world spun, everything went out of control, and his right hand was suddenly empty.

His mind went blank. Ginn’s eyes stared intently at the ball as it flew out of his control, with only one thought repeating: ’Secure the ball, secure the ball, secure the ball!’

The football had touched Ginn and was now loose. If an opponent caught it before it hit the ground, it would be an interception. If they recovered it on the ground, it would be a turnover via fumble.

The football traced a small arc, landed on the ground, and rolled twice. In that instant, it captured the attention of half the stadium and every fan. You could even hear a collective gasp.

Ginn hit the ground hard, but he paid no mind to the pain, let alone his appearance. He scrambled back to his feet, using his hands and knees, and dove for the ball with complete abandon. Landing hard on the ground again, he clumsily pulled the football into his chest. His hands couldn’t get a grip, so he just hugged it tightly with his arms, squeezing with all his might.

Almost simultaneously, he felt immense pressure on his body as players piled on one after another, like a massive, failed human pyramid.

Ginn couldn’t tell if the players were teammates or opponents, so he could only curl up like a baby, clutching the football to his chest and refusing to let go.

...

Before the football had even left his right hand, Lu Ke felt a powerful, heavy drag—not from a direct hit, but more like a car jack hanging off his right arm. His entire center of gravity was thrown sideways in an instant. He could clearly feel the loss of control at his fingertips. His mind screamed that this was bad, but there was no time for regrets.

After releasing the ball, Lu Ke fell awkwardly to the ground, rolling twice and slamming his right elbow hard on the turf.

Everything happened too fast. For one, he didn’t have time to summon a skill; otherwise, if he had used Absolute Step or Copper Skin Iron Bones, he wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state. For another, in that split second, his mind automatically assumed it was like last week’s game where Special Skills were forbidden, so he instinctively avoided using them. Only when the impact began to rattle his muscles and bones did he remember.

Now, Lu Ke had no time for regret or frustration. After rolling twice, he finally managed to steady himself and look up. He saw Ginn’s circus-like catch attempt. The ball bobbled, making his heart leap into his throat, but in the end, the catch wasn’t completed. Watching Ginn take that brutal hit, Lu Ke couldn’t help but frown.

”Dammit!”

Lu Ke viciously grabbed a handful of turf from the ground and swung his arm forcefully, but his fist only met empty air. A wave of disappointment and frustration washed over him.

”Bambi, you okay?” A right hand appeared in front of him. Looking up, he saw Joe Stanley’s apologetic face. Standing nearby, Anthony Davis was fuming at himself, muttering, ”It was a one-on-one, how did he suddenly get mismatched! Dammit, I didn’t even see it. What the hell happened? What the hell!”

Not far away, number fifty-seven for the Philadelphia Eagles, outside linebacker Keenan Clayton, was celebrating wildly.

Just now, although Clayton hadn’t managed to get the sack, he had forced a hurried throw at a critical moment, playing a key role in the incomplete pass.

Clayton had broken through from the right side of the San Francisco 49ers’ line. Joe Stanley and Anthony Davis bore full responsibility.

They had been facing a third-and-six situation on the opponent’s thirty-four-yard line. Just a few more yards and they would have been in field goal range. But now, it had all come to nothing. After all that effort, a last-minute oversight and lapse had prevented the team from scoring. From Davis’s expression and cursing, it was clear he was incredibly frustrated and angry.

Grabbing Stanley’s right hand, Lu Ke pulled himself to his feet and clapped Stanley on the shoulder. ”I’m fine.” Then he called out, ”Davis, calm down. The game just started. We’ve got plenty of time.”

But Davis avoided Lu Ke’s gaze, his emotions still unstable. Lu Ke stepped in front of him, giving him no chance to look away. ”I need you guys to get your heads in the game, find your rhythm. I need my pocket, fellas! Understand? I’m not built like you guys, I can’t take this many hits.”

He said the last sentence in a joking tone. Davis let out a reluctant laugh, and Stanley, standing beside him, rolled his eyes and quipped, ”Are you afraid people don’t know you’re Little Deer Bambi?”

After the brief joke, Lu Ke said no more. He looked ahead, where the referee was clearing the pile of players, trying to determine which team had possession of the ball.

...

”The pocket collapses! The Eagles’ number fifty-seven blitzes and lunges hard at Lu Ke. It’s close! Lu Ke sidesteps and dodges the first tackle, beautiful! But, number fifty-seven goes for a second tackle and grabs Lu Ke’s throwing arm! In a crisis, Lu Ke gets the pass off! He still got the pass off!”

”My God, that’s a pass of about nineteen yards! The target is... Ted Ginn! The 49ers’ number nineteen is quickly adjusting his feet, but the accuracy of the pass seems to have been affected by the tackle! Oh, a misjudgment, Ginn overran it! He slams on the brakes to come back! Unfortunate, he couldn’t make the catch cleanly and even caused a bobble. Ginn, Ginn, wait, who got to the football first?”

”The referee is making the call... the 49ers! Possession remains with the 49ers! Ginn gets to his feet and holds the football high! Although the catch wasn’t completed, the 49ers secured the ball after the play. So, the ruling is an incomplete pass. This now leaves the 49ers with a difficult decision. Should they punt? Or should they attempt a field goal? Or perhaps go for it on fourth down? Jim Hubble has always been an unpredictable head coach; we don’t know what he’ll choose.”