Chapter 717: Reason Returns
The situation in front of Lu Ke filled him with confusion. He didn't understand what had happened.
Facing a third-down-and-one play, the San Francisco 49ers had a strong running formation with two wide receivers and two tight ends. Logan Newman and Vernon Davis were paired up, and Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss were paired up.
The reason Moss was chosen instead of Ginn was because all four players had outstanding receiving abilities in the short and mid-range areas. Different running routes could create different offensive threats. Compared to a long-pass breakthrough, they needed to break the deadlock in a ground battle.
Moss was known as the most gifted player in the league at breaking zone defense. His ghost-like running routes often caught zone defenders off guard, and the difference in physical talent suppressed them when they were covering Moss. Some people even joked that if a cornerback or safety woke up from a nightmare, it must be because Moss was haunting them.
After the snap, Lu Ke set up a power-run stance but chose a play-action pass. Without any pause or hesitation, he turned around and threw the football to his front-left. It was a 15-yard pass, between the hash marks and the sideline. It was a completely open area, with no one within five yards. The target was Moss.
But the question was, where was Moss?
The empty area now was truly empty. He couldn't see any players, not a defensive player, nor an offensive player.
Lu Ke was a little panicked. He quickly looked to his left and right, and then he saw Moss.
Moss was quickly cutting inward from the outside. His running route seemed to have deviated from the pre-determined range—not just the pre-determined path, but completely out of Lu Ke's passing range. That unpredictable running route was impossible to figure out. Not to mention the defensive players, even the quarterback was completely confused.
So, what should he do?
Just when Lu Ke thought that this pass would go nowhere and fall incomplete, he could see Moss like a black tornado, rushing past. The distance of four or five steps was instantly covered, and he had already reached the reception spot.
Moss made the motion to catch the ball.
At the same time, safety Charles Woodson, who was on the back-right side of the field, was quickly backpedaling. He wasn't running blindly but was adjusting his position and his footwork at the same time, matching Moss's running rhythm and holding his position. His seemingly irregular running was like a graceful step, closing in on Moss.
Moss's hands caught the football, but he misjudged the arc and the force of the football. The football hit his fingertips hard and he couldn't control it. It changed the flight path of the ball and bounced far away. The landing spot was...
"Oh, my God! This is... unexpected! Truly unexpected! An interception! This is an interception! Packers' number 21, Charles Woodson, completed the first interception of the game! This, this was truly completely unexpected!"
"Woodson is trying to return the ball! Logan Newman is going back! Newman did it! Newman immediately bumped into Woodson. He couldn't complete the tackle, but he knocked Woodson down. Crabtree made a timely down, and the danger! This was truly too dangerous. This was at the edge of the 20-yard line. With a little bit of carelessness, Woodson would have completed a pick-six!"
"Now, the San Francisco 49ers have avoided the blow of a pick-six to start the game, but they still have to face the Green Bay Packers' offense, starting from the 24-yard line. Aaron Rodgers won't easily miss such an opportunity."
In the studio, it was the familiar commentators Teddy Williams and Kirk Charleston. After six months, the duo was back in the Fox television studio, accompanying the audience to enjoy the San Francisco 49ers' games every week.
Just like Edward Bowen on "Inside the League," Teddy and Kirk were also full of excitement and joy. The season was back, the excitement was back, and the passion was back. They couldn't wait to get back to work and were looking forward to the San Francisco 49ers' performance this season.
But... such a start was truly something no one expected. Or, even if they did, after all, anything is possible in the NFL. But when it actually happened, it was still surprising.
"This was a serious mistake in coordination."
After watching the replay, Kirk made a footnote. "The moment the ball was released, Lu Ke misjudged Moss's position, and the passing route was not accurate enough. And Moss misjudged the timing of Lu Ke's release. His running route was obviously too wide. At the moment of the final catch, the football had already dropped to his waist, which was truly awkward."
"This also caused Moss to lose control of the catch. Instead, he unexpectedly changed the flight path of the football, and it went straight to Woodson's line of backup defense. He was quick and completed the interception in time. The league's interception leader from last season started this season's regular season with an interception, and the target was Lu Ke, who had the fewest interceptions last season. Wow!"
After exclaiming, Kirk couldn't help but yell again and turned to his partner.
Teddy also raised his hands, with an innocent look on his face. "I don't understand what happened. Clearly, the San Francisco 49ers' offense is still in the adjustment period. But the problem now is that at the same time last year, we witnessed Lu Ke's first pass in his career, a 66-yard touchdown pass. And now, we've witnessed an interception."
After a pause, Teddy shook his head repeatedly and said with a smile, "...Welcome to the NFL."
The entire Lambeau Field was going crazy. The shouts, screams, and roars came down like a storm, creating a tsunami of noise, one after another, continuously hitting the eardrums of every San Francisco 49ers player, trying to completely break down their mental defenses.
In this stadium, even a ticket for a Packers fan was hard to come by, not to mention a visiting team. All 80,000 people in the stadium were enemies of the San Francisco 49ers, without a doubt.
On the field, Lu Ke's anger was boiling in his chest because Moss's running route didn't follow the playbook at all. And even more so because after Moss lost the ball, he just stood there blankly and didn't try to go back on defense. If it weren't for Crabtree and Logan, Woodson would have probably gone all the way for a touchdown.
Impulsive emotions were running rampant.
Lu Ke rushed forward, his eyes bloodshot with rage. All his emotions seemed to be venting on Charlie. "Damn it! Run on your route! You can use your style to break through the zone defense, but please follow the playbook and run within the tactical area! What were you doing just now? Yellow 31, Yellow 31, that was your running route! Yellow 31!"
Faced with Lu Ke's angry roar, Moss didn't back down at all. He went straight up and bumped Lu Ke's chest hard. "Shut up! Before you lecture me, first check your passing lane! Yellow 31! Was your pass just now Yellow 31? Jesus-freaking-Christ! Your pass was in the direction of Yellow 32! I know exactly what the result of my running route is! Shut your dirty mouth and don't stand there and tell me what to do!"
After speaking, Moss didn't seem to have vented all his anger and bumped Lu Ke twice more.
The tension immediately became thick. The other players on the offense all gathered around. Just when everyone thought a fight was about to break out, Lu Ke raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender. He took two steps back with Moss's force and took two deep breaths. "I'm sorry, my fault. Just now... I... sorry."
Huh, what was going on?
Lu Ke heavily exhaled, as if he was pouring out all the foul air in his chest, and explained again, "This time it was my mistake. My read and my pass were both off. I'm sorry." After that, Lu Ke didn't wait for further communication. He turned and walked quickly towards the San Francisco 49ers' sideline.
Moss's anger was left hanging in mid-air. He was confused and didn't know why. He frowned and looked at Logan, Marcus, and the others. "He... what's wrong with him?"
"Bambi!"
Kipp and Harbaugh's calls couldn't stop Lu Ke's steps. He raised his right hand, stopped their persuasion and questions, and went straight to the bench on the sideline. He threw his helmet to the side and covered his head with a large towel. He needed to cool down.
Just as Moss said.
It was his fault.
Only after Moss's reminder did he realize that his pass had a deviation in its landing spot. Nervousness, that darn nervousness, still hadn't been adjusted. His eyes and mind had already targeted the area, but the error at the moment of release still caused a huge deviation in the landing spot, which in turn caused a mistake in Moss's catching rhythm.
But the nervous emotions took over his brain. In an instant, a rush of heat surged up, and he vented his anger on Moss. Was Moss wrong? Yes, his running route didn't follow the normal rules. But the bigger mistake was his own. Before he blamed others, he needed to reflect on himself. That was the responsibility of a leader.
Tense. Anxious. Angry. Confrontational. Vented.
Now, reason had finally returned to his brain.
Indeed, this was the first game of his second year. Indeed, this was his first game at Lambeau Field. But, this was also just another regular game in his career. He had already experienced the playoff stage and the Rose Bowl stage. Did he still need to be so anxious because of an opening game?
Stupid nervousness.
Damn it!
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