Chapter 1048: Instant Acceleration
"Attack!"
With Lu Ke's call, the entire San Francisco 49ers' offense began to move horizontally to the left. Because the offensive play was so sudden and unexpected, the uniform and neat steps looked like species on a great migration during the ice age, moving across the field in a massive, continuous wave.
This was completely unexpected by the Seattle Seahawks' defense.
The defense was pushing forward vertically, while the offense was moving horizontally. The forces of offense and defense crossed to form a cross, which couldn't match up, leading to a disruption of rhythm and steps.
Not to mention the defensive line in close proximity, even the linebackers, who were three steps behind, were already mismatched, all losing their coverage positions. And the defensive linemen, who were in one-on-one standoffs, completely lost their balance and started to miss their men to their left.
The result?
The result was that Brandon Browner, who was originally on the right side of the Seahawks, was now in a one-on-one matchup with the 49ers' Joe Staley. The three defensive linemen were now matched up with the other four offensive linemen. Bruce Irvin, on the left side of the Seahawks, was left completely isolated. There was nothing in front of him, and he couldn't see the offensive lineman he was supposed to be covering.
It was a complete mess.
The chaos in the front line defense led to the secondary defense's hesitation. The order of the entire Seahawks' defense was disrupted. Now was the time to test their ability to improvise on the spot.
How did Lu Ke arrange the offensive play?
After the snap, Lu Ke quickly moved horizontally to the left, but his steps were not fast. He only moved two steps and then brushed past Frank Gore, who was coming toward him.
Gore made a motion as if he was running with the ball and took the football from Lu Ke's hands.
This small movement was completely hidden within the offensive line that was moving horizontally. Even the middle linebacker, Bobby Wagner, who was responsible for coverage, saw everything through a fog. It was not an easy task to accurately distinguish the quarterback, running back, and offensive linemen among a cluster of helmets.
This was a fake handoff.
But no one noticed. To be more precise, no one could notice.
Including Wagner, in the midst of the chaos, their vision was also interfered with. When Gore's silhouette appeared again, it became especially noticeable because he was hunched over in a running motion, looking for a gap in the wall of people, and at the same time, he was trying to go around the outside of the left wing.
The outside linebacker, Hill, the cornerback, Browner, and the middle linebacker, Wagner, who were holding their positions on this side, were all driven to the side as if by a wave. Hill was trying to retreat, get out of the chaotic area, and find a defensive target again, but it wasn't easy. Browner and Wagner both charged toward Gore immediately.
Then, the defensive end, Bruce Irvin, saw the figure with the number 14 break away from the main group and appear in a large open space on the left side of the Seahawks.
Number 14? Who was number 14?
Number 14!
Lu Ke!
This was not a running play, but a passing play. Irvin immediately realized that something was wrong. He quickly got rid of Boone and followed Lu Ke's horizontal movement, quickly covering him. But the distance was too far!
Lu Ke's steps were not a completely straight horizontal move. Instead, he moved at a slight angle of five or ten degrees to the back right. After getting out of the offensive line's pocket protection, he widened the distance between himself and the defensive line to about six or seven yards. With the head start he had, it was impossible for the defensive line to move up and make a sack.
His feet were definitely not faster than the pass.
In the Seahawks' first and second-down defense, Irvin was the only defensive lineman who had the ability to rush the quarterback. But he knew that if he rashly moved forward now, Lu Ke would only need to make a decisive throw, and his sack motion would be futile. So, he followed Lu Ke's horizontal movement step by step, getting ready for a pass defense.
Sure enough, at this moment, Lu Ke threw the ball!
It was a low, flat bullet pass!
Irvin's heart tightened slightly. An opportunity!
Irvin quickly made adjustments with small steps, standing in Lu Ke's passing lane. His pupils contracted, and he stared intently at Lu Ke's throwing motion. Then his muscles tensed up to the extreme, and he jumped high, trying to use his hands to block the football's flight path and knock the pass down.
But clearly, Irvin underestimated Lu Ke's passing speed and power.
Irvin had just extended his hands, and his fingers and arms hadn't had time to stretch out yet. His feet seemed to have just completed the motion of pushing off the ground. The football slid past his head with a "whoosh," like a glider, creating a gust of air. His actions were a full beat slow. He finally straightened his arms and watched in astonishment as the football flew past him.
In a trance, Irvin had an illusion. He was so close. Just a half-hand distance. His fingertips could have touched the football. But Lu Ke's control of the arc and adjustment of the power was so precise that it just barely passed over his arms and found a path.
Could this... be possible?
Subconsciously, Irvin turned his head, looking for the receiver's figure, hoping that his teammates could make a timely interception. Then he also returned to his defensive position, but behind him was a chaotic mess, a bustling chaos. His eyes couldn't find a place to land. What were they supposed to do?
"Attack!"
The three receivers on the right side started at the same time. Under Logan's cover, Crabtree and Ginn were hidden behind him. The three of them moved quickly to the left. But they were not only moving horizontally to the left. They were also moving diagonally to the left, charging at a 45-degree angle toward the left hash mark.
But their running routes were slightly different.
Logan ran in a straight line along the diagonal direction of the left hash mark, crossing over half of the field. He didn't increase his speed to the maximum, but he fully utilized his blocking and collision abilities, like a bowling ball, completely disrupting the defense's formation.
Crabtree followed behind Logan, continuing to move forward step by step. But after running out five yards, he took two more steps and then changed his running target toward the goal line. His speed began to slowly increase, and he gradually passed Logan.
Ginn's steps were always focused on control. When Logan left, Ginn moved two steps to the left and inside. When Crabtree left, Ginn moved two steps to the front right, forming a cross with Crabtree, and then continued to sprint straight for two steps. He turned around, and then he could see Vernon, who was moving horizontally.
Starting from the left wing, Vernon crossed the entire field and came to the right wing. His steps still didn't stop. He passed Ginn's position and sprinted directly toward the sideline on the right wing. His unstoppable running motion finally attracted the defense's attention. They started to defend many beats too late.
Because the 49ers' offensive play completely went against the usual pattern, the Seahawks' defense could only follow their instincts to defend.
Logan's sprint took away Chancellor's one-on-one coverage. Crabtree's movement became Thomas's defensive assignment. Sherman was supposed to be covering Ginn, but because too many people were gathered in the short-pass area, they were bustling and crowded together. Sherman and Ginn's one-on-one matchup was never able to get close.
It was in this situation that Vernon's horizontal move entered a no-man's-land, and Lu Ke's subsequent horizontal move also created a passing lane.
At this time, the defenders on this side were still the outside linebacker, Wright, the cornerback, Sherman, and the defensive end, Irvin.
Irvin chose to stay in place, while Wright and Sherman both charged toward Vernon. Since Crabtree had once again become a powerful weapon, why couldn't Vernon's form recover?
The two defenders' speed was very fast. They almost caught up to Vernon right away. Because Lu Ke's release was very fast, when Vernon's figure stood out from the crowd, he had already completed his footwork, and with a flick of his wrist, he had completed the pass.
This was a bullet pass with no arc control, just a straight line. Sherman and Wright could immediately judge the passing route. Sherman was a half-beat faster and controlled his body, making an emergency brake, and then quickly turned around to defend again because the target of the pass was not Vernon, but Ginn.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Ginn's peripheral vision caught Vernon's steps, but he still didn't let his guard down. Because Lu Ke hadn't confirmed the passing target before the snap, he would still make the choice based on the actual situation. He then noticed Sherman and Wright's reflexive actions. The situation immediately changed: Vernon was no longer uncovered. He was.
So, Ginn immediately made adjustments with small steps. Sure enough, Lu Ke's pass was then thrown.
This was a short pass of about 14 yards, but because Lu Ke was standing in a position very far behind the line of scrimmage, there were only about eight yards between the line of scrimmage and Ginn. It was still considered a short pass. The power and speed were pushed to the maximum, and in the blink of an eye, the ball was in front of Ginn.
The landing position was slightly higher than expected because Lu Ke had considered Irvin's position. Although it was a bullet pass, he still slightly arched the trajectory.
Ginn raised his hands and put them in a catching position at his shoulder. He watched the bullet pass coming and firmly grabbed the football in his hands with a strong contraction, completing the catch. But Ginn still didn't relax. He quickly scanned Sherman, who was now starting again, paused his steps, and turned around to run quickly toward the front left.
The drive was not over yet!
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!