Chapter 641: A Precarious Situation
Read the defense, read the defense, read the defense.
Back on the field, this was the only thought in Lu Ke's mind. He was completely focused, carefully observing the changes in the New York Giants' defensive formation. The tactical combinations in his mind were constantly swirling. Based on Harbaugh's play call, Lu Ke finalized the offensive plan. Without any hesitation, he decisively called for the snap.
First and ten.
In the shotgun formation, Lu Ke didn't backpedal. Instead, he moved forward. Using a cross-switch block from Vernon and Crabtree on the left, he quickly tossed the football to the left. Vernon made the catch near the sideline. After securing the six-yard short pass, he advanced two more yards before being pushed out of bounds by a defensive player.
Second and two.
In the pistol formation, Lu Ke quickly moved horizontally to the left, which got the entire offensive line to move. Faced with multiple passing lanes, Lu Ke didn't pass. Instead, he made a horizontal toss, throwing the football to Marcus, who was standing parallel to him. This was a variation of the screen pass.
The entire defense and offense were piled up on one side, which gave Marcus enough room to advance. He easily gained two yards and continued to rush forward, running a full thirteen yards. It took a combined tackle from the safety and the cornerback to force Marcus to the ground and stop his progress.
First and ten.
The New York Giants' defense suddenly powered up, launching a strong blitz without warning. In addition to the four defensive linemen, they also sent in two linebackers and one cornerback, for a total of seven players who rushed forward to put pressure on the offense. They created a numerical advantage, completely overwhelming the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line. Before Lu Ke could pass the ball, the pocket was torn apart from both sides.
Even worse, under the surging pressure, Anthony Davis on the inside of the offensive line's right side was overwhelmed and made a mistake. The New York Giants' middle linebacker, Chase Blackburn, successfully broke through the pocket and rushed toward Lu Ke like a tiger coming down from a mountain. This immediately put Lu Ke in a desperate situation.
In the nick of time, Lu Ke still didn't give up. He gritted his teeth and used a special skill, "Absolute Footwork!"
The first second.
The face of number 91 defensive end, Justin Tuck, was right in front of him. In his eyes, he could even see Tuck's face contorting from his intense focus.
Lu Ke's feet made a slight misstep to the right, and his upper body lowered his center of gravity slightly. He could even feel Tuck's arm whizzing past his head, and their helmets collided slightly. The powerful inertia in the blink of an eye pulled his body's center of gravity to the right, and his feet stumbled.
But his feet didn't panic at all. He lowered his center of gravity and took two steps forward. Then he could feel Tuck falling to the ground like an iron tower. At the same time, his knees straightened suddenly, forcing his body's center of gravity back to maintain his ability to move.
Next, he could see Blackburn getting bigger in his sight.
The second second.
Facing Blackburn's fierce and brutal tackling momentum, Lu Ke's feet didn't stop at all. He instinctively moved sideways to the left. His muscles could feel the tearing force of the sharp turn and stop. His entire center of gravity began to sway, like a canoe in a storm.
Sure enough, running with the ball wasn't his strong suit.
However, with the help of the special skill, his feet easily took another big step to the left. With two seemingly simple steps, Lu Ke and Blackburn's collision path was misaligned. His peripheral vision could catch Blackburn's forced turn, but that was no longer Lu Ke's biggest concern.
Because he could see Adam Snyder and Mike Lupati retreating quickly in front of him.
These were his offensive line teammates, but they were retreating under the tough rush of the defensive line, constantly shrinking the pocket.
The third second.
He took a step forward, finding a narrow gap between his teammate Lupati and his opponent Blackburn in a way that was hard to believe. Lu Ke didn't even know how he found this gap. A running quarterback or a top running back might be able to sense it, but definitely not Lu Ke. His ability to observe in this area was a disaster.
But his feet stepped out so lightly.
According to his body's rhythm, Lu Ke instinctively turned sideways, narrowly sliding through the "one-line sky." His agile and light footwork was like Michael Jackson's moonwalk—fluid and smooth, a beautiful art form that was mesmerizing.
The players on the offensive and defensive lines watched in disbelief as Lu Ke survived in the gap. Then, before they could react, Lu Ke raised his hand and completed the pass.
"Danger! Lu Ke dodged it! Danger! Lu Ke dodged it again! Danger! My God, Lu Ke raised his hand and completed the pass! In the dense crowd, Lu Ke relentlessly dodged two potential sacks and completed a pass. It's a... short pass, a short pass of about six yards! The target is..."
"Vernon Davis! Davis leaped high, trying to make the catch! Under the strong pressure, Lu Ke's pass arc was not controlled well. It was a little too high, and the landing spot was not controlled well either. Davis had to jump! He made the catch! He made the catch smoothly!"
"Number 36 cornerback, Will Blackmon, made the tackle in time! He made the tackle one step before Davis could adjust his center of gravity! He successfully stopped the opponent from continuing to advance!"
"But, brilliant! This pass was truly brilliant! Faced with the predicament of a powerful blitz, Lu Ke somehow found a passing lane and found his teammate. My God, the San Francisco 49ers' offense is still going! They advanced another six yards and are now facing a second and four situation!"
"Wait, there's an unexpected situation on the field."
"The 49ers' Anthony Davis is down, and the Giants' Linval Joseph is also down. One player from each team is down. In the previous defensive confrontation, the two players seemed to have collided. We don't know what happened. We need to watch the replay to confirm the situation."
Pulling chestnuts out of the fire.
The previous drive was definitely like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth, but before Lu Ke could even catch his breath, he noticed his offensive lineman was down.
Although it wasn't as serious as Ginn's injury, Anthony Davis was still injured. The team doctor confirmed that Anthony had some injuries to his left calf and left knee. The specific situation still needed to be confirmed off the field. So, with the help of the team doctor, Anthony hopped off the field on one leg.
The right guard was out, and Alex Boone was on the field.
As an undrafted rookie in 2009, Boone could play both guard and tackle. He often came on as a rotational player during practice, but he hadn't had any game experience this season. Now, he had no choice but to be thrown into the fire. At least it was protection on the right side, not the left. Lu Ke had to be careful to avoid being sacked.
Second and four.
Lu Ke was particularly detailed in his play call, making sure that his offensive line could work together as soon as possible. At the beginning of this season, the offensive line's chemistry was not good, and they always had holes. However, in the middle of the season, Lu Ke used the training package, gathering the offensive line to train together, and it worked well.
Now, he could only hope that they would be able to block and help each other. The most important thing was for Boone to get into a rhythm as soon as possible.
They quickly lined up and snapped the ball. Almost at the same time as the snap, Lu Ke backpedaled, and then with a flick of his wrist, he found Logan on the right side with a pass. With Williams' block, Logan successfully advanced five yards and got a first down.
But Boone's protection was clearly a problem.
It was clear that Boone still hadn't been able to get into the rhythm immediately, but there was no other choice now.
Lu Ke talked to Boone for a few moments, making sure he understood his snap count and play call. The defensive tackle on the other side had also just come on and was not stable. So, the matchup between the two of them was equal. Now it was a matter of who could get into the game rhythm first.
First and ten.
The targeted training package provided by the system was still very effective. Boone caught up in time and provided a nice pocket, which gave Lu Ke enough time to pass the ball. He found Michael Crabtree on the left side with a six-yard short pass.
With Vernon Davis's block, Crabtree picked up speed. After breaking one tackle, he ran for a full eighteen yards before being tackled by a safety who came in to help. This ended the drive.
Another first and ten.
The pocket protection was still solid, but Lu Ke still chose to make a quick short pass. After the snap, he moved sideways and found Crabtree with a pass over his shoulder. This was the second consecutive time he chose the same receiver, and the cornerback who was covering him hadn't even reacted yet. Crabtree had already successfully caught the football.
With the football in his hands, Crabtree turned and adjusted his steps. He quickly scanned the nearby defensive players to find an open space to run into. Then, with a dodge, he avoided the slow cornerback and quickly started running, advancing toward the inside. On the right, he could see a defensive player rushing toward him, but Vernon was also following closely.
So, Crabtree didn't pay too much attention. He just adjusted his steps, started to accelerate, and continued to advance diagonally to the right. The next second, Crabtree felt like he had been hit in the waist by a high-speed train. The world was spinning. Before he could react, he was slammed to the ground like a rag doll.
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