Chapter 1080: Under His Command

At the opponent’s 25-yard line, it was second and five.

After the second half started, in just four plays, the San Francisco 49ers had already broken through the midfield with incredible efficiency and intensity. Their powerful and aggressive forward momentum was simply unstoppable. Furthermore, the continuously increasing rhythm and intensity fully showcased the offense’s fluidity. The tactical allocation of two passes and two runs made it so the defense couldn’t be careless.

In a trance, the adrenaline rush, like an oil gusher, began to remind every viewer sitting in front of the television. The shock was surging and stirring: So, this was the true power of the San Francisco 49ers’ offense?

An undefeated season seemed like a fantasy. A second-year Lu Ke and a second-year Jim Harbaugh actually led this young team to create such a miracle? But now, the myth was slowly becoming a reality. Involuntarily, every viewer held their breath, staring intently at the television screen, afraid of missing the next moment of brilliance, because Lu Ke had quickly called the snap!

"Set hut!"

Quickly line up, quickly snap the ball.

For four consecutive plays, Lu Ke didn’t leave much time or space for them to breathe. He had sped up the entire offensive rhythm, as if this wasn’t just the first drive of the second half but the last drive of the entire game. The high-frequency, high-rhythm, and high-intensity drive simplified all tactical layouts as much as possible, putting the key to controlling the overall situation in Lu Ke’s hands.

Also, a quick release.

After the snap, holding the ball with both hands, Lu Ke immediately dropped back. His steady pocket footwork separated Lu Ke from the fierce confrontation on the line of scrimmage, allowing him to escape the approaching storm. Before the defensive front could put more pressure on him, he immediately raised his right hand and quickly released the football.

From the snap to the release, it was only 1.88 seconds. Was such a short amount of time enough for a receiver to run to the designated position?

Facing this situation, the Atlanta Falcons’ defense seemed to have been prepared for it long ago. At the 25-yard line, it was completely within Lu Ke’s precise coverage area. Any small mistake could cause the visiting team to lose another touchdown. This was an area that required high alert.

So, in the midst of the offense’s swift and violent drive, the defense made a slight adjustment.

The defensive front only left four defensive linemen to rush the passer. Now, Lu Ke’s release time was continuously being compressed, so even if the front line put pressure with a numerical advantage, it would have little effect. It was better to commit more players to the ground and passing defense.

So, the three linebackers stood three yards behind the defensive line, watching from the middle. The two cornerbacks stood on the outside of the two wings, only one step behind the linebackers, covering the receivers. The two safeties were another 11 to 12 yards behind, positioned inward, basically corresponding to the left and right goalposts.

The entire formation was like a deep vase, with a wide belly and a narrow mouth. Anything that came in could be easily trapped.

After the snap, the two safeties, William Moore and Thomas DeCoud, immediately took in the entire field and quickly captured Lu Ke’s drop-back motion. With small, quick adjustments, they preemptively started to move before Lu Ke released the ball. They dropped back to cover the deeper area closer to the end zone.

Lu Ke’s deadly long passes were clearly the main thing the defense needed to guard against.

The situation was as they had expected!

On the left side of the Falcons, Ginn and Logan were lined up. Ginn continued to break through along the outside close to the sideline. He was like a flash of lightning, already in the lead, completely ignoring the cornerback who was meticulously covering him, sprinting all the way toward the end zone. Logan, on the other hand, made an inside cut and sprinted horizontally from the space between the linebacker and the defensive end.

Kendall Hunter, who was also on this side, darted out along the slot after Logan quickly passed in front of him. He continued to break through along the inside, which was closer to the goalpost. Although his speed was a bit slower than Ginn, who was running away on the sideline, in a flash, Hunter had also sprinted more than 15 yards, with only about 10 yards left to the end zone.

On the right side of the Falcons, Vernon and Moss were lined up. Vernon was on the inside and Moss was on the outside. After sprinting forward for about six or seven yards, they made a crisscrossing run. Vernon sprinted toward the outside sideline with a parabolic arc, while Moss made a sharp turn at a right angle and quickly ran across to the middle.

Looking down from above, you could see that Ginn, Hunter, and Vernon were all running in a straight line, with three different speeds, passing through the sky like arrows toward the bullseye. Moss and Logan were both running in a horizontal straight line. They were parallel, one deep and one shallow, sprinting toward each other, one from left to right, and the other from right to left. They then both controlled their footwork in the middle and made a move to catch the ball.

If you were to connect all the running routes and their development trends, you would see a crisscrossing chessboard layout. This was the real game!

But the Atlanta Falcons’ defense had already made their judgment in advance. The cornerbacks and safeties all dropped back, doing their best to sprint toward the end zone with their coverage targets. The three linebackers also split into two. Outside linebacker Weatherspoon followed Hunter’s footsteps and began to drop back. The other two linebackers stood in the middle of the field, forming three parallel lines with the positions of Moss and Logan.

It was a long pass.

The entire Atlanta Falcons’ defense made the same judgment. Moore and DeCoud in the backfield immediately began to drop back, trying to get a head start by moving in advance. The two linebackers in the front were staring at Lu Ke with a tense expression, hesitating whether they should step up and rush or drop back to cover. And then... Lu Ke passed the ball.

The description was very long, but the actual situation was only 1.88 seconds. Lu Ke’s release speed was very fast. The rhythm of the changes on the entire field seemed to happen in a blink of an eye, forcing the defenders to react based on their instincts.

The two linebackers in the middle of the front, Akeem Dent and Stephen Nicholas, both had the same reaction. They jumped high, waving their hands, trying to intercept the flying football and break up the pass. But then, both of their eyes showed shock and fear because...

The football’s trajectory was actually under their arms!

It wasn’t because they had jumped too high. It was because the arc of Lu Ke’s pass wasn’t a long pass at all. It was actually a straight bullet pass. Could it be a short or medium pass?

Wait!

For a short pass, there was Logan. For a medium pass, there was Moss.

Akeem and Nicholas could make a judgment in an instant. Logan deliberately bent his knees and squatted down, missing the flight path of the football. This meant that the target of the pass was Moss. But the players in the backfield couldn’t make an accurate judgment immediately because of their position and space, and the football had already quickly arrived.

Moss maintained absolute focus. He looked like he was sprinting very fast, but his footwork was always in control. There seemed to be a field around his body that could capture all the crises in the zone defense. In a state of high alert, he cut into the middle.

His body didn’t need to adjust. Maintaining his horizontal movement, he slightly turned his body and accurately caught the football in his arms.

At this moment, if time could be frozen, you could clearly see that Moss was in the middle of a deep vase. On his left, closer to the end zone, were two safeties. On his front and back, there were two cornerbacks. On his right, closer to the line of scrimmage, were two linebackers. A total of six players had Moss surrounded. The straight-line distance to his left and right was only three or four yards. The physical distance to his front and back was only five or six yards.

Being surrounded on all sides was a perfect description of the situation at this moment.

But Moss, like a person pulling a chestnut from a fire, cleanly completed the catch while surrounded by enemies. There was no fumbling or hesitation, and then he started to move again.

Moss’s feet were on the 10-yard line when he made the catch. Lu Ke’s pass was a medium pass of about 15 yards. Moss then continued to advance diagonally to his front-left. Before the circle of cornerbacks and safeties could completely close in on him, he cut into the 5-yard line. Only then was he surrounded and tackled in place.

"Snap!"

"Lu Ke is observing, Lu Ke is still observing! Lu Ke releases!"

"The pass speed is very fast! The target of the pass is... Logan Newman! No! Newman squatted and dodged it, so the target of the pass became Moss! Randy Moss! Beautiful!"

"Moss made the catch in the defensive circle!"

"The Atlanta Falcons’ defense made a misjudgment. The safeties, cornerbacks, and linebackers all judged that the pass would go to the end zone. They all thought Lu Ke would choose a long pass. Ginn and Vernon had already entered the end zone. It was truly too dangerous. This also made the Falcons’ defense put a lot of players in the end zone!"

"But they didn’t expect Lu Ke to surprisingly choose a medium pass!"

"Moss’s catch was truly spectacular! It was like taking the enemy leader’s head in the midst of a great army. He effortlessly diffused the opponent’s layers of defense. Unstoppable! The San Francisco 49ers’ offense is completely unstoppable now! The combinations of these plays seem to be impossible to solve!"

"Danger!"

"The Atlanta Falcons’ defense is in danger! Lu Ke surprisingly lined up again and quickly snapped the ball! The Falcons’ defense can’t keep up with the rhythm and speed. They haven’t even fully lined up yet, but there’s no time! After Lu Ke snaps the ball, he quickly makes a passing motion!"

"But!"

"Wait, Lu Ke surprisingly chose a run play!"

"Now the one with the ball is Kendall Hunter! Hunter is breaking through to the right! The Falcons’ defense couldn’t form an effective tackle. It’s too late! It’s already too late! Hunter enters the end zone! Hunter scores a rushing touchdown! Touchdown! This is a touchdown! It’s too fast! Everything happened too fast!"

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