Chapter 596: A Running Start
"Hut!"
In the hushed stadium, Lu Ke's voice erupted with a powerful force. The entire offense instantly pounced forward like agile and fierce cheetahs. The crowd's cheers exploded, and the passion and enthusiasm of Candlestick Park were finally unleashed!
Lu Ke caught the football, took a step back, and a quick turn to the left. Without any hesitation, and before he could even exhale from his first breath, he completed a pass. It was a bullet-like, straight pass to the left, which tore through the air and arrived instantly.
Crabtree sprinted forward without any fancy moves, using his shoulder to push off against his defender, Greer. As he turned, he saw the rapidly spinning football, which created a gust of wind, landing accurately near his chest. After he got his hands in position, he made a clean catch. It was a six-yard slant pass to the left!
After catching the ball, Crabtree leaned on Greer's back, using him as a support point. He leveraged the collision with his shoulder, pushed off with his toes, and then used a second burst of power to cut to the inside, easily getting past Greer and continuing to advance. As a reference, Crabtree was 215 lbs (98 kg), and Greer was 180 lbs (82 kg).
Greer stumbled for a couple of steps, completely losing his position, but his defensive instincts made him grab Crabtree's jersey. A yellow flag was thrown on the field! Unfortunately, Greer had already lost the momentum. Crabtree accelerated his sprint, and his powerful run immediately shook off Greer's grab and moved forward.
However, Greer's pull had successfully bought a moment for his teammates. The two linebackers and one safety in the middle quickly formed a circle around him. After Crabtree dodged one tackle, he was held tightly by two players. He pushed forward for another yard or two before falling to the ground from exhaustion. It was a little disappointing that if Crabtree had cut to the outside, it would have been an open path. Besides safety Harper, other players would have had a hard time making a tackle in time. But Crabtree's powerful run still gained him an easy eight yards after the catch, for a total of 14 yards. Since the yardage gained was more than the penalty yardage, Harbaugh declined the penalty. The offense continued.
"Beautiful! That was a beautifully designed play!"
"The San Francisco 49ers stacked two tight ends and one wide receiver on their right side. And all three players are the ones with the best receiving performance on the team this season. This made the entire play's focus lean towards the right, but the pass was instantly thrown to the left, using the matchup advantage of the big wide receiver against the cornerback, to easily get a first down!"
"Moose" Johnston nodded repeatedly and gave his concise commentary. He was clearly very satisfied with the rookie quarterback's first play design and execution. Kirk also agreed and added more to it.
"The most interesting part is that Lu Ke was in a running formation. He didn't take a step back or adjust his footwork. Instead, he made full use of the very narrow space from the snap, throwing a quick short pass. It was a mere 1.14 seconds, as fast as lightning. He secured the catch before the matchup was even complete and then used the matchup advantage to continue advancing!"
After a quick analysis, Kirk couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, our rookie quarterback doesn't look like he's nervous at all in this divisional game! This is a positive sign."
While the conversation was going on in the studio, the game on the field didn't stop. Lu Ke quickly snapped the ball again, turned around, and handed the ball to Marcus. You could then see Jonathan Goodwin and Mike Lupati quickly pushing to both sides, as if they were pushing open the heavy gates of the Forbidden City, pushing the crowded people away, and a small gap appeared in the offensive line.
The defensive linebackers didn't even have time to get a good footing before a small figure appeared in their sight. He moved lightly and nimbly, slipping past the line of scrimmage formed by the offensive and defensive lines. He tucked his head in to protect the football, continuously breaking tackles, colliding, and moving forward through the dense crowd.
The center of the short-pass area was the most dangerous zone. Three linebackers and one safety were gathered there. The four players reacted immediately and collectively rushed forward, surrounding Marcus. It looked like Marcus was about to be tackled, but a miracle happened.
With a shoulder hit, a spin to escape, a high leg jump, and a diving charge, Marcus used all his skills to dodge one tackle after another in the dense crowd, charging forward with an unstoppable momentum, like a shark entering a school of sardines, which was a magnificent sight.
"He broke a tackle! He spun and broke another tackle! Wait, a third one! My God, the Saints' defense missed three tackles in a row! Marcus Lynch is unstoppable! Lynch is advancing! Lynch! Lynch! Wow, even though the tackling-in-place Harper finally hit Lynch's center of gravity and forced him to the ground, he still gained 12 yards on this run!"
"Amazing! This powerful run was just too exciting! The Saints' run defense made another mistake, giving up a 12-yard big gain in one go! What just happened? While we were watching the replay, the 49ers' offense seemed to have seized another opportunity, getting their second first down with a running play!"
With two easy and consecutive successful drives, Lu Ke didn't get carried away. Instead, he became even calmer.
Before the second snap, Lu Ke, who was reading the defense, keenly noticed a small detail. Although the Saints' defense had already lined up, the linebackers and defensive line were still communicating about the play. From their eye contact, they weren't fully prepared to defend, which meant there was an opportunity.
So, Lu Ke decided to quickly snap the ball and, without any hesitation, handed the ball to Marcus, allowing him to find his rhythm and feel for the running game. Even if the run wasn't effective, there would be no loss. It could change the pace, pin down the opponent, and change the play combinations.
He didn't expect it to be so effective!
Apparently, the linebackers hadn't gotten a good footing. Their feet and lower bodies were not stable. Marcus's explosive power in short distances was absolutely powerful, and he was able to knock all the linebackers away with his collisions. He dodged three tackles and successfully got a first down!
Almost as soon as they lined up again, Lu Ke noticed a change in the opponent's defensive formation: the gap between the defensive line and the linebackers was widening, and the cornerbacks were also standing a little further back. Although it was just a slight adjustment of two or three steps, the entire defensive formation was spreading out.
This could be understood as follows: when the defensive formation is compressed, the intensity of run defense and blitzing is greater, further compressing the space for confrontation at the front line. When the defensive formation is spread out, more effort is put into pass defense, and the space for run defense is also widened.
The tactical combinations in his mind were incredibly clear, and he made a decision instantly. He took a step forward, abandoning the strategy of consecutive quick snaps and boldly changing the play on the fly. You could then see Vernon Davis and Logan Newman on the right side quickly moving horizontally to the left.
The same old trick!
However, this time it was reversed. All the receiving power on the right side was now stacked on the left side. Only Ted Ginn was left on the right. This forced the Saints' defense to adjust. A linebacker and a safety both moved to the side where the heavy forces were stacked. But after learning from the first drive, the cornerback on the right side slightly adjusted his defensive position and was fully prepared.
At the same time, Harper was shouting loudly, "Go back! Go back!"
The 49ers' offensive pace was too fast, and the communication among the defensive players was not accurate. They had to complete further communication on the field.
But Lu Ke didn't give them much time or space. "Hut!"
Surprisingly, the entire offense scattered—including the offensive line. Everyone collectively moved forward and to the left, completely disrupting the offensive formation and completely baffling the Saints' defense. Where's the quarterback? Isn't anyone staying to protect the quarterback? What about the pass?
In the chaos, the defensive linemen could clearly see Lu Ke quickly turn, take a quick step, and throw the football to Marcus. A run? This was still a running play? After setting up such a complex wide receiver formation, they still chose to run the ball?
The offensive line and the group of linebackers, who thought they had a lucky break, were instantly flustered. They had to stop their frantic running toward the quarterback and start chasing Marcus's footsteps. But in that brief pause, they had already lost the initiative, and the entire field was in a state of disarray!
In the chaos, Marcus's focus was more concentrated than ever before. He made a horizontal cut to the left, adjusted his footsteps slightly, and in his peripheral vision, he saw a defender rushing at him. He paused his center of gravity and then shifted it, dodging the opponent's tackle line. Then, he used the power from his calves to sprint forward like an arrow from a bow, accelerating and accelerating again.
A wide-open path appeared in front of him. On the right, two white figures were quickly approaching, but the scattered offensive line immediately met them, and their strong collisions blocked all the waves like a dam.
On the left, three defenders rushed over from the front and diagonally. But Logan, Crabtree, and Vernon, three red figures, each met their match and went head-to-head. All it took was a simple collision to buy a moment of time, and that was enough.
After a short sprint, his speed reached its peak. Marcus was like he was riding a hot wheel, roaring past. In just a blink of an eye, he had crossed the defensive disaster zone and was quickly advancing toward the deep area!
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