The Dallas Cowboys' offense was on the field. On the sidelines, I was discussing strategy with Kippy Brown and Craig Roman.
Essentially, the Cowboys' defensive strategy wasn't complicated; they just changed their focus to concentrate on defending the quarterback's passing game.
But for every quarterback, the challenge of breaking through the defense, setting up plays, and completing passes is a constant chess match against the opposing defense.
Now, the Cowboys had chosen a simple yet effective defensive approach that was stifling my passing game. How would I respond?
If I could run the ball myself, the Cowboys' defense would be in disarray, but the problem was that my physical strength and mobility were weak points. The moment I started running with the ball, the linebackers' powerful tackles, impacts, and inertia would be even stronger, and I would be in danger of getting injured.
After all, a quarterback's body is not as strong as a running back's, especially with my small build.
This time, the San Francisco 49ers' defense didn't let their guard down. They stopped Romo at the Cowboys' 46-yard line, forcing the Cowboys to punt. I then took the field again.
The Cowboys once again set up a dense defensive formation. I chose to bait them by abandoning the pistol and shotgun formations and instead opting for the "I" formation, another common formation in the league.
The "I" formation gets its name from its initial setup, which looks like the letter "I". The five offensive linemen line up side-by-side, the quarterback stands right behind the center, and behind the quarterback are the fullback and the halfback, all in a straight line with about three yards between them.
The positions of the three wide receivers and one tight end can vary depending on the needs of the play.
In the earliest version, all four receivers stood on the same horizontal line as the offensive linemen. Later, it evolved into a more varied version, with the four receivers positioned on the same vertical line as the quarterback and running back to confuse the opponent.
In modern football, the fullback has gradually disappeared, so there's only one running back behind the quarterback in the "I" formation.
My offensive formation was just like this:
The five offensive linemen lined up side-by-side, with a wide receiver on each side. Farther out, there was a wide receiver on the left and a tight end on the right, all roughly parallel to the offensive linemen but slightly behind them. I was right behind the center, ready to receive the snap, and the running back was six yards behind me.
The three basic formations have their own focuses. The "I" formation, with the quarterback right behind the center, is a formation that primarily focuses on the run game. The pistol formation, with the quarterback three yards behind the center, allows for a variety of plays. The shotgun formation, with the quarterback six to seven yards behind the center, is a passing-focused formation.
Of course, these are just the traditional focuses of the basic formations. The "I" formation is great for the running back to get a running start, take the ball, and break through the line, while the shotgun formation is great for the quarterback to observe, make decisions, and pass. But running from a shotgun formation or passing from an "I" formation can often be surprising and yield unexpected results.
I set up in an "I" formation with Marcus Lynch as the running back, giving the impression of a power run. But the Cowboys didn't fall for it and stuck to their dense defensive formation.
After the snap, I quickly dropped back and, as instructed by the coaching staff, handed the ball off to Marcus.
Today was different from the first game. The Cowboys had already set up a strong defensive line, so the 49ers had to use the run game to disrupt their defensive rhythm. Otherwise, my passing game would be under immense pressure, the offense would get nowhere, and we could easily end up with an interception or a fumble.
What's more, the Cowboys had put most of their players on pass defense, so their run defense was relatively loose. This was the best opportunity to get the game going.
With the ball, Marcus ran left and right, finding a small gap and pushing forward. But the Cowboys' defense was highly focused. The three defensive linemen and four linebackers swarmed in, completely blocking the path forward. The two cornerbacks behind them quickly moved in to assist with the defense.
The defense was like a mountain, with one layer on top of another. If Marcus could turn into the Hulk right now, he could probably break through, but he couldn't.
So, Marcus only ran for two yards before he was stopped in his tracks.
It was second down with eight yards to go.
We were still in the "I" formation. After the snap, I quickly dropped back, pretending to hand the ball off, but at the last second, I pulled my right hand back without giving the ball to Marcus. I then turned and looked for an open receiver.
The Cowboys had completely given up on rushing the passer, which meant the 49ers' pocket was solid. I felt no pressure at all and calmly looked for a target, but the entire field was covered in Cowboys players. There were no openings. In a flash, I threw the ball to Michael Crabtree.
But the Cowboys' cornerback was highly focused and didn't give Crabtree any chance to catch the ball. He was pulling, pushing, and blocking his vision. The defense was solid and clean, with no signs of a penalty. In the end, Crabtree could only watch as the pass fell to the ground. Incomplete pass.
It was third down with eight yards to go.
I chose the pistol formation for the snap, this time skipping the fake handoff. Without hesitation or observation, I threw the ball immediately to Logan, who was the tight end!
Since the short passing area was so dense, I wasn't greedy and chose to throw a five-yard pass, hoping to use Logan's ability to break tackles to get a first down. Sure enough, Logan successfully caught the ball, but in the next second, two players tackled him, bringing him down cleanly.
Another three-and-out!
The San Francisco 49ers' first two offensive drives were both three-and-outs, only gaining a total of twelve yards. I had three passes with one completion for five yards. The team's offense was completely stuck in the mud.
My bad feeling seemed to be coming true. What was worse was that the game had just started.
In the subsequent drives, the San Francisco 49ers' young and spirited offense struggled against the Cowboys' tight defense, revealing the immaturity and inexperience of the rookie players. The first ones to struggle were Marcus and Logan.
Marcus's running today seemed to lack a certain flair. His choice of routes and methods of breaking through were out of sync, and he struggled to gain yards. He was constantly putting the team in tough situations. It seemed like Marcus had become the Anthony Dixon of the last game.
Logan was in an even more difficult situation. In college, Logan's physical advantage was obvious; he could easily overpower his opponents. But after joining the league, his physical advantage was completely gone. The coaching staff had been urging Logan to gain weight, but he hadn't taken it seriously.
In today's game, the Cowboys' defensive players were constantly making small, subtle moves to disrupt Logan's rhythm. He couldn't create any separation in his routes, and his windows to catch passes were limited. There were many times when I threw the ball before Logan was even ready to catch it.
I tried throwing to him four times, but Logan only successfully caught the second one. The other three were all failures.
Besides the two rookies, Marcus and Logan, the other three veteran receivers didn't seem to be in their best form either.
I had set up a full-on offensive formation and wasn't deliberately choosing receivers. I was throwing to whoever was open, but the results were limited.
Michael Crabtree had two passes thrown to him. One was a successful completion for three yards, and the other was an incomplete pass after the defensive player batted it down.
Kyle Williams had one pass thrown to him, which he dropped.
Ted Ginn had two passes thrown to him. One was a mismatch, and the other was a buttery-handed drop. After he caught the ball, it was like a hot potato, and he dropped it again. He was almost intercepted:
If a receiver catches a pass but can't control the ball, and it pops out again, the defensive player can catch and control the ball before it hits the ground for an interception. But if the ball hits the ground before the defensive player can catch it or if the defensive player can't control it and it falls to the ground, it's an incomplete pass. The ball doesn't change possession.
Ginn's buttery hands made the San Francisco 49ers' fans hold their breath, but luckily, the Cowboys' cornerback couldn't catch the ball, and it fell to the ground. Incomplete pass.
The entire offense was struggling, with three consecutive three-and-outs. The San Francisco 49ers' offense, which was unstoppable in the first game, couldn't even get a single first down today! It completely shocked everyone!
Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff made some adjustments. They replaced the underperforming Logan Newman with Vernon Davis, alternated between Anthony Dixon and Marcus Lynch to change the tempo of the run game, and replaced the almost invisible Kyle Williams with Braylon Edwards to re-evaluate the plays.
"The San Francisco 49ers' offense has been underperforming so far today. It seems they've reverted to their old selves overnight, with all their offensive weapons struggling."
Sitting in the studio, Kirk Charleston tried his best to remain neutral and gave his opinion.
"To be fair, Lu Ke, number fourteen, hasn't had much support today. The poor performance of his receivers has limited his performance. But on the other hand, he has had at least two inaccurate passes, and that was without any pressure from a pass rush, which led to incomplete passes. This is very unusual for Lu Ke, who is known for his passing accuracy."
"Let's look at this play. Vernon Davis, oh my god, interception! Interception! The San Francisco 49ers' rookie quarterback has thrown the first interception of his career!"
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