Chapter 721: Interlocking
"Hut!"
Following Lu Ke's snap count, the offensive line began to actively shrink the pocket like a spreading fan. The middle of the fan held its ground while the ribs on both sides pulled back, and then the entire line spread out.
The biggest difference was Vernon Davis's backpedal. As a tight end, he didn't rush forward to find a receiving route. Instead, he joined Staley, becoming the sixth player on the offensive line, expanding the protected area of the fan and securely enclosing Lu Ke in the middle to form a solid pocket.
While reading the defense, Lu Ke had already made a judgment that a quarterback blitz from the Green Bay Packers was a high-probability event.
This wasn't some unsolvable mystery like the Hodge conjecture. The San Francisco 49ers had to face a first-and-20 situation, which gave the defense more room to play. They only needed to focus on holding their positions in the short and mid-pass areas and applying pressure on the front line. Lu Ke's options would quickly decrease, and he could even fall into a trap.
So, after consulting with Harbaugh, Lu Ke made a preemptive decision—to abandon Vernon as an offensive option and increase pocket protection. At the same time, he would use an unexpected running route to create confusion and seize victory from danger.
In the last season, their bold and risky offensive play calls and their rich and varied West Coast offense had led them to the NFC Championship Game. This season, there was no reason to abandon the plays that had already proven successful.
As expected, after the snap, the entire Green Bay Packers' defensive formation was pushing hard. The first line, second line, and third line all pressed forward!
They abandoned run defense and pulled out six players to blitz the quarterback. In addition, one outside linebacker, two cornerbacks, and one safety all pressed up, continuously squeezing from the mid-pass area toward the short-pass area. The entire defense's attacking power burst forth with a sharp edge, crushing the opponent with an overwhelming momentum.
Only one safety, Burnett, was left to cover the backfield.
But the Packers' front-line defensive players clearly hadn't anticipated that the intentionally created numerical advantage would not be an advantage. Instead, it formed a "six vs six" situation.
Interestingly, it wasn't a one-on-one matchup. Vernon and Staley teamed up to hold Matthews's position, while the remaining four players worked together to block the rush of the other five defensive players.
Matthews's power and ferocity were fully displayed at this moment. Even with Vernon and Staley working together to double-team him, they were still losing ground against Matthews's fierce and brutal charge. The other parts of the offensive line were also at a slight disadvantage due to the numerical inferiority.
However, the offensive line was prepared. Although the blocking line was retreating little by little, the pocket hadn't completely collapsed. It was just compressing, and the advantage was shrinking little by little.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... four seconds...
This was enough for Lu Ke. In the chess match between offense and defense, the first half of the plan won him enough time. Now it was time to see how the second half of the plan would be executed.
His pocket footwork was unhurried and adjusted. Although he could clearly see the pocket's advantage being lost out of the corner of his eye, Lu Ke still wasn't flustered. He first moved two small half-steps to the left and made a passing motion. Then, he paused and then took a big step forward and to the right. Using the power and momentum of his toe-step, he raised his right hand, and the entire passing motion was smooth and fluid. Before the pocket completely collapsed, the football was released.
It was a rainbow pass!
If you looked down from a high altitude, you could appreciate the rich and varied offensive plays of the San Francisco 49ers.
Michael Crabtree, Logan Newman, and Ted Ginn, the receiving trio that had repeatedly created miracles last season, were all on the field together.
On the left wing, Crabtree charged forward along the sideline he was most familiar with. Five yards, ten yards, fifteen yards... there was no sign of his momentum stopping. He charged forward stubbornly like a tornado, roaring past.
On the right wing, Logan stood in the slot, but his running route echoed Crabtree's. He charged forward in a straight line. The two straight lines pushed forward quickly side by side. Relatively speaking, Crabtree was more fierce, while Logan was more agile. After running ten yards, Logan's speed was gradually exceeding Crabtree's.
Could it be that Logan was not aiming for a first-and-20, but for a deeper strike?
On the right wing, Ginn stood on the outside. After a short five-yard sprint, he made a sharp stop and a sharp turn, a 90-degree turn, and then made a big horizontal pull from right to left. This was also a signature running route. He went through the gap between the linebackers and the cornerbacks, constantly adjusting his position and footwork, ready to receive the ball.
Three receivers and four defensive players all gathered in the short and mid-pass areas.
In the original matchups, the cornerbacks on the left and right sides were covering Crabtree and Ginn, respectively. After the snap, they naturally followed their assigned players closely. But Ginn ran a horizontal pulling route, and the cornerback covering him could only follow. And the other outside linebacker who was in the middle area, who was trying to cover Logan, quickly made a judgment and followed Ginn.
In other words, one cornerback was covering Crabtree, while one outside linebacker and one cornerback were working together to cover Ginn.
So, what about Logan?
In the middle area, there was another safety, Charles Woodson.
Woodson's footwork was constantly roaming. His first reaction was to follow Ginn, but noticing that his teammate had come to help in time, he quickly backpedaled. He adjusted and followed, never losing Logan's running rhythm.
If this continued, the San Francisco 49ers would only have three receiving options. Crabtree, who had a matchup advantage, was still the best passing option. Burnett, who was in the backfield, had already started to move stealthily toward Crabtree.
But everyone had forgotten that the San Francisco 49ers had a fourth receiving option.
"Crap!"
Woodson immediately noticed Marcus Lynch's footwork. When everyone's eyes were focused on the matchup between Lu Ke and the offensive line, Marcus nimbly moved to the right side. With Logan and Ginn distracting the defense, he quickly and lightly ran around them. With just a simple cut-in, Marcus had already arrived in an empty area.
There were no defensive players within at least five yards to cover him.
More importantly, there was only one defender, Woodson, in front of Marcus. And don't forget that Marcus's primary job was a running back, and his specialty was breaking tackles and continuing to advance. Woodson had to get into position first and stop the drive before Marcus started running.
Woodson's heart suddenly tightened. He made a judgment almost by reflex, forcefully changed his center of gravity, abandoned Logan, and rushed toward Marcus. He had just lifted his foot when he could already see Lu Ke's passing motion, and the direction was clearly aimed at Marcus.
This further confirmed Woodson's guess and judgment.
This was another signature offensive move by the San Francisco 49ers, luring the tiger out of the mountain. In last season's games, Lu Ke was always one step ahead in his play calling, using agile running routes to significantly move the defenders, and then completing the drive with the simplest and most direct passing route.
Woodson had memorized this from the game footage. This time, he wouldn't miss it.
After his center of gravity completely shifted, Woodson's pupils suddenly constricted. Lu Ke had pulled back his hand!
In a flash, Lu Ke took a step to the right and a step forward, and with a swift motion, the football was released cleanly, drawing a rainbow arc that powerfully flew over Marcus's position.
"I fell for it!"
This was the only thought in Woodson's mind. The target wasn't Marcus, it was Logan! Damn it!
Woodson forcefully adjusted his center of gravity for the second time, but his footwork was already staggering. He clutched the ground with his hands in a desperate attempt to regain his balance, and then scrambled back to his feet and rushed toward Logan. But by now, the distance between the two had already widened to more than five yards.
Logan was sprinting hard. Fifteen yards, twenty yards, twenty-five yards, thirty yards... his entire run was powerful and strong. When his footwork had reached the expected position, he made an emergency stop, turned 180 degrees, and looked up, his eyes fixed on the flying football.
According to the arc and rhythm of the football's flight, he took two steps forward, slightly lowered his center of gravity, and then, with a "thump," the football fell into his arms, like he was catching a watermelon.
Lu Ke's passing feel still hadn't reached 100%. This 28-yard pass was still a little short, and the arc was also a little low. But this still didn't prevent Logan from completing the catch. With no defenders nearby, the catch was incredibly easy. Then, he turned around again, shook off the approaching Woodson, and accelerated for a second time.
As he turned, Burnett's figure pounced on him.
He was caught between a rock and a hard place, but Logan didn't panic at all. He made a quick stop and dodged, clearly seeing Burnett's desperate lunge miss. Burnett only managed to grab the collar of his jersey. Logan then put on an extra burst of speed, gave a gentle flick, and threw Burnett off of him. Then, his speed began to increase.
Run! Run! Run!
This was the only thought in Logan's mind. The road ahead was clear. As long as he ran with all his might, it would be a touchdown.
But Logan's speed hadn't had time to fully increase. After the quick stop and shake-off, the acceleration still needed to warm up a bit. Not long after he sprinted out, a huge force came from his feet, like a soccer tackle. Logan was directly flipped over and fell out of bounds.
The drive was forced to stop.
"Protect the ball!" Logan held the football tightly with both hands.
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