After Jim Harbaugh announced that he was going to let Lu Ke use a shotgun formation, the atmosphere in the locker room became a bit strange.
"Jim, are you drunk?" This was Craig Roman's first reaction. Not drunk from alcohol, but drunk with power. In his opinion, unless Jim had gone insane, he would never have made such a decision.
Although everyone says the offensive power is in the hands of the quarterback, and Peyton Manning's ability to change a play at the line of scrimmage to confuse the defense, find an opening, and complete a pass is a skill that countless people talk about, the real offensive power in the league is actually in the hands of the head coach and the offensive coordinator.
The number of quarterbacks who truly have the authority to call their own plays is very small.
In fact, there are countless situations in the league where the head coach and quarterback have a tactical disagreement. The head coach's control is too strong and he refuses to give the quarterback any leeway, so the quarterback starts to rebel and changes plays on the field without permission, which ultimately leads to a rift between them and forces management to choose a side.
Choosing a shotgun formation doesn't mean the head coach is giving the power to call plays to the quarterback; it's simply choosing a play that can maximize the quarterback's abilities. It's one of countless choices in the playbook. The real tactical control is still in the hands of the head coach.
But this decision did mean that Jim trusted Lu Ke's passing ability and his judgment on the field. At the same time, Jim was also putting all the offense's firepower on Lu Ke's shoulders.
This was shocking enough!
Even Kip Chryst, who was standing on the sidelines, was stunned, not to mention the other players. Even Lu Ke himself was dumbfounded for a moment.
All eyes were fixed on Jim, but for Jim, this wasn't an easy decision, either.
He knew. He knew everything. The poor physical fitness, the rookie quarterback's on-field judgment needing to be polished, the passing ability that would surely decline under pressure, the need for a balanced run-pass offense, the wild fluctuations in a rookie's on-field performance. He knew all of those concerns.
He wasn't an idiot.
But Jim also knew that the first-half statistics didn't lie.
In the first quarter, the 49ers' offense was primarily passing. Lu Ke's defensive reads and passing judgment were excellent, especially in the first eight minutes, where the entire offense was powerful and impressive. Besides the two touchdowns, their progress was also satisfying.
In the second quarter, Jim adjusted the play calls to focus more on a balanced run-pass offense. On one hand, he was worried that Lu Ke couldn't handle the heavy burden, and on the other, he was hoping that the running game could get things going. But the 49ers' offense immediately got stuck in the mud. The efficiency of both the running and passing games plummeted, and they didn't even get past the midfield line once.
The statistics showed that his attempt to have the running back relieve the pressure of the passing game had instead hampered the efficiency of the passing game.
At the end of the entire report, the data analysts' suggestion was: "Suggest increasing the passing ratio."
Data analysts are not football professionals. They are often highly educated professionals in mathematics, statistics, and logistics. Some of them have never even watched football or participated in any sports. During the game, their job isn't to analyze the formations but to analyze the game's direction and trends based on data and then submit a report.
As for how to interpret the report and plan the game, that's the coaching staff's job.
All thirty-two teams in the league have a team of data analysts, but whether or not they use the data and how they use it during a game varies wildly.
Jim was a young coach, only forty-eight years old this year, and he kept up with the times. He wasn't tied down to one style of plays. As long as they could win, he was perfectly willing to use a college-style play. He also wasn't tied down to traditional ways of thinking. Modern technical analysis and training systems could help the team gain more of an advantage.
After calming down and separating Lu Ke from his identity as an Asian rookie, it wasn't hard for Jim to come to a conclusion: This was a quarterback with excellent passing efficiency, but also one with insufficient physical strength. His strengths were his defensive reads and ability to react quickly, and his weaknesses were his slow footwork and his inability to handle tackles and interference.
The first time was at the rookie training camp's scrimmage, where Lu Ke went all out in ten plays, which left a deep impression on many coaches.
The second time was at the tryout scrimmage, with twenty plays, where Lu Ke showed his excellent deep-passing ability and his ability to control the pace of the game, almost completely destroying the defensive players of the practice squad.
The third time was tonight. In the first two drives, in seven plays, he had five passes. His judgment before the pass and his choices after the snap were both excellent. He almost single-handedly scored two touchdowns. Of course, Lu Ke wasn't completely ignoring the running back. His use of the play-action pass and fake handoffs was very effective at confusing the defense. Even without a balanced run-pass offense, he still managed to throw the opposing defenders into a state of chaos.
So, Jim made a bold assumption.
Although he had made the decision to choose Lu Ke as the team's backup quarterback, his being an Asian player still made him wary, which clouded his judgment of Lu Ke's true ability. Maybe this rookie quarterback was better than he thought. Maybe this Asian rookie quarterback could be the key to victory.
More importantly, even with Lu Ke's perfect score on the Wonderlic Test, his time to study the playbook was limited, and his execution of the plays was still lacking. So, instead of that, it was better to use a relatively simple and direct passing play, similar to a college play, to maximize Lu Ke's strengths.
After much deliberation, Jim made a decision: all or nothing!
At his core, Jim was a gambler, decisive and straightforward. As of now, Alex Smith wouldn't be able to play until at least the third week, and Colin Kaepernick wouldn't be able to play until at least the fourth week. This meant that Lu Ke was their starting quarterback for the first and second games.
So, instead of being hesitant and dragging things out, it was better to act now. The San Francisco 49ers were still leading their opponent with a score of 14-10. They could use the third quarter to further observe the plays, and they could still adjust in the fourth quarter. It would also help them prepare for the next game.
The worst-case scenario? They lose tonight's game. An even worse scenario? They replace the quarterback for the next game. That was it.
It was a difficult problem, but also not a difficult one. Jim didn't have to carry any baggage, like the Asian quarterback, the rookie quarterback, the weaknesses, and the strengths. He needed a formula for winning, and now that he saw a glimmer of hope, he was going to take a chance. It wasn't as difficult as it seemed.
Looking at the stunned Lu Ke, and ignoring the questioning Craig, Jim asked loudly, "Do you have any questions?"
Lu Ke was slightly taken aback, then shook his head, saying simply but firmly, "No." He couldn't help but clench his fists. This was his opportunity. How could he be timid? On the contrary, he was now feeling a surge of excitement and was ready for a challenge!
Jim nodded in confirmation. "Besides the shotgun formation, you can use Lynch if necessary. His receiving ability is good." By using the running back's receiving ability, they could create a fifth receiving option besides the four receivers, which could often open up the game. "Also, when you need a power run, give it to Hunter. We'll communicate about the specific situation on the field, but I need you to keep a clear head! Do you know what you're doing?"
"Beating the Seahawks." Lu Ke's answer was not what Jim expected, but he liked it very much. He showed a slight smile and nodded in agreement.
Then, Jim turned to the offensive linemen and began to analyze their mistakes and experiences in the first half, and he also pointed out which Seahawks defensive linemen they needed to pay attention to.
After finishing with the offense, Jim rushed to the defense and started to explain their plays. They couldn't actually sit down and rest during the short halftime break.
Logan and Marcus both came over and patted Lu Ke on the shoulder with meaningful looks on their faces and joked, "Bambi's about to play all out now! A fully-powered shotgun! Tsk, tsk. The game is about to get interesting now." This made the offensive linemen all laugh.
But Bralon Edwards, who was standing on the side, was still disgruntled. He secretly glanced at Colin and then said sarcastically, "The first half was a disaster. Not good enough is not good enough. I don't know what they're doing. People are going to think we don't have a brain." The brain of the offense was the quarterback.
That discordant voice was heard, and Logan took a step forward. The tight end's strong body pushed Bralon's thin receiver body away. Behind him, Lu Ke's retort was heard. "There's only one person here without a brain, I'm pretty sure. You know, puppets never have brains."
This was a jab at Bralon, calling him Colin's puppet and saying he didn't have a brain.
Everyone in the locker room burst out laughing, and the tense atmosphere quickly dissipated.
On the other side of the locker room, the Seattle Seahawks' mood wasn't much better.
After Pete Carroll finished explaining the plays, he scanned the room with a sharp gaze and saw a look of lifelessness and low morale, which made him angry. "The game isn't over yet! Are you ready to surrender now? Are you scared of a rookie quarterback, an Asian quarterback? Then maybe it's better for you to just give up for the rest of the season? Huh?"
Pete was completely furious, and he was yelling with spit flying everywhere. No, it was impossible, it shouldn't be. They couldn't lose to Lu Ke. There was no reason. It was as simple as that. This was a game they couldn't lose. The events and results of the first half were weighing heavily on Pete's chest, and he felt like he was about to explode.
"Get up! All of you, get up!" Pete yelled hoarsely. "Victory! Victory! Victory! That is our only goal. There is no other outcome!"
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