Chapter 733: Disrupted Rhythm
"Hawaii! Hawaii! Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii! Ha-waii!"
Amidst the deafening noise and distractions at Lambeau Field, Lu Ke's voice was completely unaffected. It was firm and clear, piercing through the dark clouds above and reaching the ears of every San Francisco 49ers offensive player, accurately and clearly conveying the play's intention.
Play calls are undoubtedly a team's top secret. Not to mention the fans, every team in the league is constantly studying them, trying to decipher their patterns, but this is almost an impossible task due to the complexity and volume of the playbooks.
Take Lu Ke's aural cue just now.
"Hawaii" was the only content, but depending on the rhythm and number of times it was said, and the duration of the vowels, the play could be completely different.
Why choose the word "Hawaii"? Not because Hawaii has an absolute majority of Asian people but because the word has enough vowels without being too long. There are three syllables, all of which are vowels, which can lead to more variations in play design.
The seemingly complex play call didn't convey a complicated message. It simply meant: Watch the line! Quick snap! Stretch out the routes!
A simple play call couldn't possibly include too many variations. It was more for the quarterback to remind the offense of what they needed to pay attention to after reading the defense, highlighting certain parts of the play, and making small adjustments. If the entire play were to be changed, the play call wouldn't be this simple.
As Lu Ke's call suggested, there was no fancy snap count. He just used "hut" as the signal for a quick snap.
Standing in the shotgun formation, Lu Ke didn't take a drop back. Instead, he stood in place, uncharacteristically adjusting his feet with small steps. He turned to his right and almost immediately after the snap, he raised his right hand, aiming at Logan and Ginn on the right side.
The two ran a crossing route. Ginn moved from the outside to the inside, while Logan moved from the inside to the outside.
Lu Ke made a slight adjustment to his body, and his arm swung up. His entire body was facing the outside, seemingly aiming at Logan's position.
This was a continuation of Lu Ke's quick-and-short style of play throughout the game. With relatively stable pocket protection, he took full advantage of the two Green Bay Packers cornerbacks' poor performance, constantly using Crabtree, Vernon, and Logan to attack the weaknesses in the short outside-pass area. Occasionally, he would surprise them with a slant pass to the middle, disrupting the defense and succeeding often.
This was not a fake.
Lu Ke's right arm swung forward quickly. Just before releasing the ball, he paused his arm slightly and used his wrist to make an adjustment, quickly flicking the ball toward the inside. Relying entirely on the small flicking motion at the last moment, he lofted the football high.
The Packers' defensive linemen were quickly moving to their left, observing the scattered offensive players and Lu Ke's passing route.
In the next second, everyone's eyes showed surprise. Lu Ke's passing angle and direction were not off by much, but what was with the parabola?
It wasn't a bullet pass; it was a rainbow pass.
At the moment of the throw, the quarterback uses his wrist to adjust and control the pass's path, power, and angle. This is a very advanced and delicate passing technique. Defensive players have almost no way of anticipating it. They can only make a corresponding defense based on the receiver's running route.
So, all the defenders' eyes turned to Logan and Ginn.
But they were already a full beat behind. First, their initial prediction was off, and they made a premature move based on muscle memory, causing a significant shift in their center of gravity. Second, the change in the pass's arc and power caused a second deviation, and they had to make more adjustments in their second burst of speed.
By the time they made an accurate judgment, Logan had already moved near the sideline and was quickly running forward along the sideline. As for Ginn...
Where was Ginn?
Ginn's small, forward-moving steps didn't completely explode into speed, but they were more nimble and agile. He quickly weaved through the crowd without alerting any of the defenders, quietly running out of the short-pass area. Then, without any haste, he adjusted his feet, turned around, and faced Lu Ke.
Before Charles Woodson and Morgan Burnett, the two safeties, could surround him, Ginn had already secured his receiving position, planted his feet, and was locked onto the football's trajectory. He accurately completed the catch at his chest. Then he quickly took a step back, adjusted his balance, and prepared to turn and start a second burst.
But Woodson and Burnett got there in time, combining for a tackle that brought Ginn to the ground, ending the drive.
This was not a super long pass but a 14-yard medium pass. After continuously controlling the game with short passes and runs, Lu Ke suddenly surprised them with a medium pass that was neither too risky nor too complex. He released the ball quickly and achieved a satisfying result.
However, Lu Ke's quick release also left enough time for the safeties in the secondary to come up and cover. So, they made a timely decision to tackle Ginn, only allowing him to advance one yard after completing the catch.
Even so, the 49ers still advanced from their own 20-yard line to their own 35-yard line.
Everyone thought Lu Ke would continue his previous rhythm and speed up the game. But after this drive, Lu Ke called all his teammates over and used the full 40-second play clock to huddle up. The game's tempo slowed down a bit, which finally allowed the Packers' defense to catch their breath and have a quick discussion.
This was intentional on Lu Ke's part.
Lu Ke knew that with Rodgers's successful touchdown, the home-team Packers' morale was boosted, and they had entered a high-frequency mode. Driven by adrenaline in an extremely excited state, they could completely keep up with the 49ers' game tempo.
Furthermore, if the 49ers couldn't score a touchdown or even get a field goal on this drive and were quickly forced to a three-and-out, the pendulum of this battle of momentum would gradually swing toward the home team.
In other words, the pressure on this upcoming drive was immense, and Lu Ke had to step up!
The advantage the offense led by Lu Ke had built up in the first half was slowly melting away against Aaron Rodgers's powerful comeback. The scales of victory were wavering. This once again proved the immense energy a top-tier quarterback possesses.
It was for this reason that Lu Ke consciously slowed down the tempo.
On one hand, the offensive players needed to change their rhythm slightly. The continuous high-frequency offense was also a heavy burden for them.
On the other hand, in an attempt to disrupt the defense's tempo, Lu Ke needed his opponents to start thinking—not to play the game based on adrenaline and instinct but to worry about more defensive strategies and backfield coverage beyond short passes and runs. In short, he needed to mess with their minds.
After a sudden medium pass and a deliberate slowdown, when Lu Ke started the offense again, he chose a run play and then a short pass with two tight ends. The entire offensive momentum suddenly became tough and efficient. They gained yards with Frank Gore and Vernon Davis, getting another first down.
Following that, there was another medium pass, attempting to connect with Logan.
The play design was undoubtedly correct. Lu Ke used a screen-pass play, moving to the left, attracting the attention of the defensive line and linebackers. Joe Staley and Mike Iupati successfully blocked Clay Matthews's initial blitz, giving Lu Ke enough time to complete his "kite-flying" footwork. He then chose to throw to the right.
Logan had successfully created an open space and was only facing a block from cornerback Tramon Williams.
At the crucial moment, Williams pushed Logan, causing a deviation in the positioning of Lu Ke and Logan, and they couldn't connect, resulting in an incomplete pass.
Logan tried to ask the referee for a penalty, but unfortunately, the referee didn't agree.
Lu Ke, who was standing in place, sighed regretfully but didn't pay too much attention to it. He quietly began to observe the state of the Packers' defensive players.
Because of this incomplete pass, the game's rhythm was unintentionally further disrupted for both the offense and the defense on the field. Now, it was up to who could concentrate more and be more decisive in their play execution. That team would have a slight advantage.
Countless plays were churning in Lu Ke's mind, and he heard Harbaugh's quick play calls through his headset. Lu Ke thought for a moment and proposed a bolder plan.
It wasn't necessarily correct, but it was a conclusion Lu Ke came to based on his reading of the game. He didn't hesitate and decisively voiced his opinion. There was a slight pause in his headset, and then Harbaugh gave him a positive response, but he also made some modifications and improvements based on Lu Ke's play.
While the other players on the field were catching their breath, Lu Ke's brain was already working overtime. He quickly called his teammates over and gave them the play call. Then, they quickly lined up, ready to go on offense again.
Second and 10.
Lu Ke stood in the pocket, and he could clearly hear the thunderous roar and cheers of the home fans.
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